LOSS OF THE QUEEN. 217 



by other bees, or fall a prey to the moth, or gradually 

 dwindle away. 



As the bee-keeper, from limited space or other reasons, 

 may prefer to keep his colonies close together, I have de- 

 vised a way of effecting it, without risking the loss of 

 the young queens : 



If he relies upon natural swarming, he should remove 

 the mother-stock, as soon as it has swarmed, to a new posi- 

 tion, giving it two or three quarts of bees from the 

 swarm, before they have entered the new hive, which is 

 to be put on the old stand. These bees having the 

 swarming propensity, will supply the place (p. 156) of 

 those which subsequently leave. 



If artificial swarming is practiced, the entrances to the 

 hives of the nuclei should be marked with a leafy twig, 

 and, if possible, made to face differently (p. 189) from 

 those of the adjoining stocks. The new colonies should 

 be formed as directed on page 186. If two Apiaries are 

 used, the artificial swarms may be made in any of the 

 ways previously described, and those colonies which have 

 queens to be impregnated, removed to the second Apiary. 



The bees are sometimes so excessively agitated when 

 their queen leaves for impregnation, that they exhibit all 

 the appearance of swarming. They seem to have an in- 

 stinctive perception of the dangers which await her, and 

 I have known them to gather around her and confine her, 

 as though they could not bear to have her leave. If a 

 queen is lost in what the Germans call " her wedding ex- 

 cursion," the bees of an old stock will gradually decline ; 

 thos of an after-swarm, will either unite with another 

 colony, or speedily dwindle away. 



It would be interesting, could we learn how bees become 

 informed of the loss of their queen. When she is taken 

 trom the m under circumstances that excite the whole 

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