112 THE HIVE AND HONEY-BEE. 



If the weather is unpleasant, or the blossoms yield an in- 

 sufficient supply of honey, bees often change their minds, 

 and refuse to swarm at all, even although their prepara- 

 tions have been so fully completed, that, like the traveler 

 whose trunks are packed, they have filled their honey-sacs 

 for their intended journey. 



If, in the swarming season, but few bees leave a strong 

 hive, on a clear, calm, and warm day, when other colonies 

 are busily at work, we may look with great confidence for 

 a swarm, unless the weather prove suddenly unfavorable. 

 As the old queens which accompany the first swarm are 

 heavy with eggs, they fly with such difficulty, that they 

 are shy of venturing out, except on fair, still days. If the 

 weather is very sultry, a swarm will sometimes issue as 

 early as seven o'clock in the morning ; but from ten, A.M., 

 to two, P. M., is the usual time ; and, the majority of 

 swarms come off when the sun is within an hour of the 

 meridian. Occasionally, a swarm ventures out as late as 

 five, P. M. ; but an old queen is seldom guilty of such an 

 indiscretion. 



I have repeatedly witnessed, in my observing-hives, the 

 whole process of swarming. On the day fixed for their 

 departure, the queen is very restless, and instead of de- 

 positing her eggs in the cells, roams over the combs, and 

 communicates her agitation to the whole colony. The 

 emigrating bees usually fill themselves with honey, just 

 before their departure ; but in one instance, I saw them 

 lay in their supplies more than two hours before they left. 

 A short time before the swarm rises, a few bees may 

 generally be seen sporting in the air, with their heads 

 turned always to the hive ; and they occasionally fly in 

 and out, as though impatient for the important event to 

 take place. At length, a violent agitation commences in 

 the hive ; the bees appear almost frantic, whirling around 



