1895. 



THE AMERICAN BEE JOURNAL. 



311 



What I Know About Swarming. 



BY ADRIAN GETAZ. 



Some time ago a query was printed in this journal asking 

 the causes of bees swarming. Nearly all answered, " Dissatis- 

 faction." A few added, "Caused by lack of room," etc. But 

 admitting that dissatisfaction is the cause, and this seems to 

 be almost incontestable, it would yet be in order to find how 

 the dissatisfaction is brought about. 



Some of our ablest writers have said that swarming is a 

 provision of " Nature," to multiply and increase the bees, and 

 that it is as impossible to prevent the bees from swarming as 

 it is to prevent young people marrying. The funniest part of 

 it is that the "leading apiarist," who advocates that theory, 

 has himself an out-apiary run for extracted honey, and where 

 his bees do not swarm at all, or nearly so ! Nevertheless, his 

 theory is true to the extent that swarming is unquestionably 

 the means of multiplying and increasing the number of bees 

 in the world ; but it would be wrong to say that bees do neces- 

 sarily swarm every spring under any and all circumstances. 

 In fact, if we knew exactly what coudtions provoke and cause 

 swarming, we would be able to prevent it without damaging 

 our bees or our honey crop. 



The Dadants say emphatically that the chief cause of 

 swarming is the lack of room for the queen to deposit her 

 eggs, or for the bees to store their honey, and it must be ad- 

 mitted that the facts sustain their position. Remember, here, 

 that the lack of room does not mean only a hive too small, but 

 the lack of empty combs. In working for extracted honey, in 

 a well-organized apiary, empty combs can always be provided, 

 but not so where comb honey is the object in view. 



Sometimes bees will swarm because their hive is entirely 

 too small, or so hot as to be uncomfortable, or some other rea- 

 son of that sort. Such cases I should call " absconding," and 

 will not be considered in this contribution. I am speaking of 

 bees under normal circumstances, and supposed to be properly 

 attended. Like all my other contributions, this is written by 

 a comb-honey producer, and from that standpoint. 



It does not seem to me that the lack of room causes the 

 swarming, or rather the dissatisfaction, which eventually 

 prompts the bees to swarm out, (I repeat here that the ex- 

 treme cases, or rather the absconding cases, are not consid- 

 ered), for the following reasons : 



First, bees have frequently been known to be very crowd- 

 ed and not swarm, even to the extent of building combs under 

 the portico, under the hive (when it is high enough from the 

 ground), or simply attached to the outside of the hives if this 

 is protected, as it is ordinarily the case in several European 

 countries. Second, bees never swarm (barring the absconding 

 cases) without having built queen-cells, and hardly ever be- 

 fore, at least some of the queen-cells are capped or very ad- 

 vanced. Third, swarming frequently occurs when queens are 

 superseded, even when there is abundant room. All this 

 seem to me conclusive proof that the presence of the queen- 

 cells is the true cause of swarming, or rather dissatisfaction. 

 We all know the antipathy between queens, and even between 

 queens and queen-cells, if that expression can be used ; how 

 excited the queen becomes in the presence of the cells ; how 

 the bees try to protect the cells ; and how the excitement 

 grows from day to day until swarming finally occurs. 



Several times the opinion has been advanced that the 

 young bees were the ones getting dissatisfied when the lack of 

 room prevented them from carrying on the work of brood- 

 rearing, and using the food they were preparing in abundance. 

 That theory was very strongly advocated a few years ago by 

 Messrs. Hasty and Stachelhausen. I was very much im- 

 pressed by it, but I cannot admit that the young bees which 

 have hardly been out of the hive yet, should be the ones to 

 insist upon emigration. Nor is it in the nature of young 

 beings (whether bees or human) to be dissatisfied. Dissatis- 

 faction is rather a production of old age. 



Lately, I have thought a good deal on the subject, and 

 finally came to the conclusion, that if the young bees are not 

 the ones to start the dissatisfation, they certainly are the ones 

 to start the queen-cells, not with the purpose to swarm, but 

 simply because the queen and the brood cannot consume all 

 the food they prepare. As long as the brood gives them all 

 they can do, they attend to it. When, by lack of space or the 

 failing of the queen to lay a sufficient number of eggs, they 

 have a surplus of larval food, they build some cell-cups to 

 store it. As the space, or rather the empty cells get scarce, 

 the queen is eventually compelled to lay eggs in these cups. 

 Then the cell-building and queen-rearing naturally follow. I 

 suppose mere cups are not noticed by the queen, but when the 

 cells are pretty far advanced, she realizes that rivals will soon 

 be on hand. She becomes excited and "dissatisfied." The 

 bees become " excited and dissatisfied," too, and more and 



more until all have the "swarming fever." Finally, the first 

 swarm issues. This destroys the swarming-fever and restores 

 " satisfaction " so far as the swarm is concerned, but probably 

 not. or at least not entirely, in th*3 mother colony. Before the 

 " fever " is over, another queen issues in the presence of 

 queen-cells, or perhaps other queens piping in their cells, and 

 the "racket" goes on again, until the swarming is at an end. 



So as far as I can see under our present knowledge, I 

 should say that the swarming is a succession of events. First, 

 the lack of space, or rather empty cells, prevents the queen 

 from laying a sufficient number of eggs. Then the young 

 bees, having more larval food " on hand " than the queen and 

 brood can consume, begin cell-cups to store it. Eventually, as 

 the space gets scarce, eggs are deposited in these cups and 

 queens reared. By the by, the queen gets excited by the 

 presence of the cells. The excitement and dissatisfaction are 

 communicated to the bees, which finally swarm out, taking 

 away the queen with them. I don't think that the queen 

 leads, or even starts the swarm herself. What' she wants, is 

 to destroy the queen-cells. But when the tumult of swarming 

 occurs, she goes out with the rest. 



Now that I have told what " I know " on the subject, let 

 Dr. Miller tell us what he "don't know," and we will be pretty 

 well posted on this matter. Knoxville, Tenn. 



The Southeastern Kansas Convention. 



BY J. C. BALCH. 



The Southeastern Kansas Bee-Keepers' Association met 

 in Bronson, Kans., March 16, 1895. The meeting was called 

 to order by Pres. J. P. Ralston, and the minutes of last meet- 

 ing were read and approved. The President appointed a com- 

 mittee on programme, consisting of W. J. Price, W. H. Burkey, 

 and A. Garber. 



At the proper time the committee on programme reported 

 the following questions, which were discussed : 



IMPROVING NATIVE BEES. 



What is the best plan to improve colonies of native bees? 

 And when the best time ? 



W. J. Price said the best time was at the earliest oppor- 

 tunity when the weather was favorable, and the best plan is 

 to Italianize. 



J. C. Balch said there were several ways to improve the 

 native bees, by the infusion of new blood from the different 

 races of bees, of which he thinks the Italians are the best. 

 The bee-keeper can send to a breeder and get a good Italian 

 queen to rear queens from. While he will get the most of his 

 young queens mismated, the progeny will be an improvement 

 on the native bees ; or, if he wants to have the pure Italians, 

 he can order a queen for each colony, if he has more money 

 than time, and has not too many bees to begin with. 



J. P. Ralston thinks that with the same labor, time and 

 energy given to the native bee that has been given to the Ital- 

 ian, the native bees would develop as many good traits as 

 their Italian sisters. 



C. C. Thompson would get a good Italian queen and rear 

 the queens to improve his black bees, and if they are mis- 

 mated, all right — for he thinks hybrid bees are more indus- 

 trious, gather more honey, can sting harder, and can get in 

 more business to the square inch than the pure stock of either 

 race. 



FEEDING BEES IN THE SPRING. 



Will it pay to feed bees in the spring ? 



C. C. Thompson — If they are hungry, yes. If they have 

 plenty of stores, no. It will not pay to feed bees that have 

 plenty of stores, in this part of the L'uited States in the early 

 spring, to stimulate them to brood-rearing. Why? Because 

 they begin brood-rearing too soon anyway. The soft maple 

 blooms here in February and the first of March. From that 

 they gather pollen, and as soon as they get a little new pollen 

 they begin brood-rearing in earnest, and they use up their 

 honey, feeding young bees, before there are any flowers to 

 gather any more from. 



J. C. Balch said brood-rearing usually begins about the 

 middle of February, and if the weather is warm through 

 March they breed up very fast, because the feed is all in the 

 hive, except what pollen they get from maple, box-elder and 

 Easter flowers in March and April. Fruit-blooms come about 

 the first of May, then from apple, peach, plum, cherry, etc., 

 if they bloom freely, they gather considerable honey to tide 

 them over until the general honey-flow begins, about the first 

 of June. But it often happens that the most of the fruit- 

 bloom is killed, and there is no honey to gather, or if it is not, 

 there comes a week or ten days of cold rain from the first to 



