258 AN INTRODUCTION TO ZOOLOGY 



sions of yellow jackets, bee moths, and other bees by workers, 

 who wander back and forth near the entrance, and examine every 

 creature that visits the colony. If the swarm is strong, the guards 

 succeed, with the aid of the beekeeper, in warding off all honey- 

 loving enemies. 



SWARMING. The number of bees in a hive increases very 

 rapidly, since the queen usually lays from 950 to 1200 eggs per 

 day. When the colony is in a prosperous condition, and there 

 is danger of overcrowding, queen cells are built by the workers, 

 usually around the fertilized eggs, and new queens are reared. 

 Two queens do not live amicably in one hive, and, if such a con- 

 dition arises, either there is a battle between the two, resulting in 

 the death of one of them, or the workers kill one, or else the old 

 queen collects from two to twenty thousand workers about her 

 and flies away with them to found a new colony. This is known 

 as swarming. The old hive is not broken up, but continues its 

 existence as before. 



Swarming occurs in May, June, or July, according to latitude, 

 and a second swarming period may be inaugurated if weather 

 conditions result in a midsummer flow of honey. Before issuing 

 from the hive, the honey sacs are filled with honey to serve until 

 a new home is found. The swarm, after flying a short distance, 

 comes to rest upon the limb of a tree or other object where it 

 remains sometimes for several hours. A site for the new colony 

 is sometimes chosen by scouting bees several days before the 

 swarm leaves the parent hive. These scouts may also partially 

 prepare the place by cleaning out loose dirt, bark, etc. The 

 usual choice is a hollow tree, such as the wild ancestors of the 

 honeybee inhabited, and henceforth is called a " bee tree." One 

 of the duties of the beekeeper is to hive the swarms before they 

 succeed in escaping to the woods. Swarms may also be formed 

 artificially. 



The Enemies of the Honeybee. Weak or neglected hives 

 may be attacked by the Bee Moth, Galleria mellonella, which 

 takes advantage of every opportunity to enter and lay its eggs. 



