SWARMINO. 123 



first day Sitter the skep has given a swarm, as offering least 

 risk of injury to brood. 



214. Casts. — As above stated (206), swarms usually issue 

 shortly after the sealing of the earliest queen cell, which takes 

 place on the ninth day from the laying of the egg. Seven or 

 eight days later the young queen leaves her cell, and attempts 

 to destroy the royal nymphs (199). Early in the morning, or 

 in the afternoon, when the bees are still, her shrill piping may 

 be distinctly heard, and also the muffled, piping answers of 

 the royal nymphs who, still imprisoned in their cells, are con- 

 scious of impending danger. If the colony bo sufficiently 

 strong to give off a cast, the bees mount guard around the 

 queen cells, and refuse to permit the young queen to destroy 

 her rivals. On the following day, which usually is the ninth 

 day after the departure of the prime swarm, the young queen 

 and the second swarm, or cast, issue (20). If, however, the 

 weather be very unfavourable, the exit of the cast may be 

 delayed, and even the queen cells and their occupants be 

 destroyed (Fig. 14, B, page 36), and further swarming be 

 deferred, or ended for the season. But young, unmated 

 queens are somewhat reckless and impetuous, and will often 

 come out with a cast on a rainy day ; they will fly farther than 

 aged queens before alighting ; and such casts are more likely 

 than are prime swarms to abscond, even after they have been 

 hived. Second casts usually issue two or three days after the 

 first cast, and third and fourth casts on the next and the follow- 

 ing days respectively. Sometimes two or more virgin queens, 

 emerging from their cells on the same day, accompany one 

 cast. The cast being hived, all but one queen will be 

 destroyed. Although, in a favourable season, an early first 

 cast may be made profitable, after swarms should be dis- 

 couraged because, weak themselves, they so depopulate the 

 parent stock that neither can be of much use that season. 



215. Hunger Swarms — Occasionally bees will forsake their 

 hives on any day of the year, except in winter, either as a 

 complete stock or as a swarm, and will locate themselves in 

 any available nook or corner. This may arise from the pre- 

 sence in the hive of something distasteful to the bees (232). 

 But most frequently it is the result of hunger ; when, a portion 

 of the bees will abandon the hive, in a spirit of self-denial 

 leaving such food as remains for the queen and the remainder 

 of the stock ; or the whole stock will depart, knowing that 

 starvation is imminent, and in a desperate hope of bettering 

 their condition elsewhere (307). Obviously, the remedy is, in 

 the former case, to introduce them to a clean hive ; in the 

 latter case, to provide them with food. Examination of the 

 hive will generally show what has been the cause of the 



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