284 THE BEB-KEEPERa' REVIEW 



The Cause of Swarming and Swarm Control 



By J. A. PEAROE, 



Author of the Pearce Method of Bee Keeping 



It is very probable that the 

 cause of Swarmiug, and its control 

 is not very well understood by 

 many of our bee-keepers, and I 

 feel sure that these two things are 

 of greater importance than almost 

 anything else in our pursuit for 

 so many other things are effected 

 by them. For it would seem as if 

 on these (hang all the low and 

 the prospect) of bee-keeping. It 

 is generally supposed that swarm- 

 ing is the natural and legitimate 

 way of increase for the Bee fam- 

 ily, and therefore it is not much 

 use to try to prevent it or find 

 out the cause. 



But it has been noticed that 

 usually when there is a big sudden 

 honey flow there is a spell of 

 excessive swarming and therefore 

 these two conditions seem to be in 

 some way connected. So then bees 

 do not swarm at all times alike as 

 might be expected if they were just 

 fulfilling the law of increase to 

 perpetuate the race. It also has 

 been observed that when bees 

 swarm about all available space in 

 the hive is filled up. It does not 

 necessarily follow that all the combs 

 are wholly filled or sealed up for 

 as soon as ever so little honey is 

 placed in the cells they are of no 

 more use for the queen to deposit 

 eggs in until this honey is moved. 

 Then if a sudden large honey flow 

 comes on and all available space 

 in the hive is filled there is noth- 

 ing for the bees to do but start 

 queen cells and swarm out as there 

 is no place for the queen to de- 

 posit eggs. Bees will not cease 

 gathering honey for any cause if 

 any is to be had and if there is a 

 goodly number of bees in a hive 

 and a large honey flow comes on 

 and the queen depositing one to 

 two thousand eggs in a day with 

 pollen being brought in to feed the 

 bees, it is only a question of a very 

 short time till there will not be an 

 available cell left for the queen to 

 deposit eggs in and then swarming 

 is inevitable as the only way to 

 make more space for the queen to 



deposit eggs whether we want 

 swarming or not. Therefore, it 

 seems as if there being no more 

 space available in the hive for 

 tne queen to deposit eggs in is 

 the prime cause of swarming. 



If this is so it would be an un- 

 wise thing for a bee-keeper to not 

 provide a queen with adequate 

 space to deposit all the eggs she is 

 capable of, especially in early 

 spring when a big stock of bees are 

 so essential. It is no use raising 

 bees after the harvest is over or 

 too late to be available for work 

 when the harvest comes. It is said 

 that no bee carries in more than, a 

 spoonful of honey in her life time. 

 If so it is only by securing a< great 

 number of bees early that we can 

 be assured a large honey crop. 

 Several different ways have been 

 adopted to give the queens more 

 room. 



Our Veteran Bee Keeper Alex- 

 ander used to extract from the 

 brood chamber in the spring to 

 give his queen room and feed back 

 as needed. But this was a great 

 deal of trouble and would not fill 

 the bill as a very prolific queen 

 might soon overflow a small hive 

 with eggs alone. Then others run 

 for extracted honey and extract 

 from the surplus cases in order to 

 give more room. But this is not 

 much use if the brood chamber is 

 too small and unless the queen is 

 allowed to go above, swarming is 

 liable to occur. None of us wants 

 swarming as early as fruit bloom, 

 it is an intolerable nuisance. A 

 large bee-keeper a number of years 

 ago, I do not now remember his 

 name, said if he "could only control 

 this everlasting swarming he 

 would surely have a great thing." 

 Many devices at different times by 

 different men have been gotten up 

 to prevent swarming but nearly all 

 have failed and did not provide for 

 the making of increase artificially if 

 increase is needed. Therefore it 

 seems almost certain that the great 

 cause of swarming is the queen be- 

 coming hampered by inadequate 



