SWARMING AND HIVING. 125 



The Apiarian who desires by natural swarming to mul- 

 tiply his colonies as rapidly as possible, will find full 

 directions in the sequel, for building up all after-swarms, 

 however small, so as to make vigorous stocks. 



It will be remembered, that both the parent-stock from 

 which the swarm issues, and all the colonies, except the 

 first, have a young queen. These queens never leave the 

 hive for impregnation, until they are established as heads 

 of independent families. They generally go out for this 

 purpose, early in the afternoon of the first pleasant day, 

 after being thus acknowledged, at which time, the drones 

 are flying most numerously. On leaving their hive, they 

 fly with their heads turned towards it, often entering 

 and departing several times, before they finally soar into 

 the air. Such precautions on the part of a young queen 

 are highly necessary, that she may not, on her return, 

 lose her life, by attempting, through mistake, to enter a 

 strange hive. More queens are thus lost than in any 

 other way. 



When a young queen leaves for impregnation, the bees, 

 on missing her, are often filled with such alarm that they 

 rush from the hive, as if intending to swarm. Their agita- 

 tion is soon quieted, if she returns in safety. 



The drone perishes in the act of impregnating the 

 queen. Although, when cut into two pieces, each piece 

 will retain its vitality for a long time, I accidentally ascer- 

 tained, in the Summer of 1852, that if his abdomen is 

 gently pressed, and sometimes if several are closely held 

 in the warm hand, the male organ will often be perma- 

 nently extruded, with a motion very like the popping of 

 roasted pop-corn ; and the insect, with a shiver, will curl up 

 and die, as quickly as if blasted Avith the lightning's stroke. 

 This singular provision is unquestionably intended to give * 

 additional security to the queen, when she leaves her hive to 



