SWARMINQ. 125 



energies above, and the inducement to swarm will be 

 minimised, if not entirely removed. (193 and illus. page 129. J 



218. Ventilation. — Excessive heat in a crowded hive 

 encourages swarming. Th(Meforc, hives, in warm weather, 

 should be well ventilated ; the doors should be opened to full 

 width ; the ventilator in the floor board (85) should also be 

 opened. A ventilating dummy (95) may be used at the back 

 of the brood chamber, the body box being moved backwards 

 on the floor board to admit air through the dummy, or an 

 opening in the back of the hive being provided for that pur- 

 pose, so that it can be closed from the outside, or partially 

 closed as required. The floor board, when constructed so ss 

 to admit of this, may be lowered, to admit air from all sides. 

 The body box may be raised half an inch from the floor 

 board by wedges at the corners. The roof may be tilted 

 up in the front, may be shaded from direct sunrays by trees, 

 or by a make-shift shade of one kind or another ; in extreme 

 cases, a sack may be soaked in water and placed upon the 

 roof, and be kept damp and cool during the hottest hours of 

 the day. Bees will not for long tolerate an upward draught, 

 and, although to meet a sudden emergency an upward draught 

 may be caused by placing a feeding stage (121) upon the sheet 

 ancl raising the roof, such an expedient must be only 

 temporarily adopted. Hives should never have the floor board 

 permanently fastened to the body box, because of the difficulty, 

 among others, of ventilating; and all ventilators applied to a 

 hive should be of such a nature as to be easily opened, and as 

 easily closed, without the risk of disturbing or crushing bees; 

 for, in our climate, chilly nights frequently follow warm days, 

 when, should the ventilators be left fully open, chilled brood 

 might result. (338). 



219. Limiting Drone Rearing — A third circumstance 

 incident to swarming lies in the breeding of excessive quanti- 

 ties of drones — fussy, and somewhat pushful insects which 

 raise the temperature of the hive, and by their very presence 

 suggest, continuously, the rearing of young queens. There- 

 fore, the production of drones should be limited by the use of 

 only worker-cell foundation, and in full sheets, wired, to 

 prevent breakage and consequent construction of drone 

 cells (195) and also by cutting out unnecessary drone 

 comb when discovered in the hive. The skilful bee-keeper 

 makes it a point to limit drone rearing in all his stocks, 

 except in those that are headed by his best queens. Thus he 

 secures that the drones which shall fertilise his young queens 

 shall be of the best blood in his apiary, and by careful selection 

 he keeps up, and even improves the quality of his stocks. 



