Farmers' Bulletin 1198 



large brood chambers. Under favor- 

 able conditions a good queen will in- 

 crease the number of eggs which she 

 lays in the spring, as the number of 

 workers to take care of the result- 

 ing brood increases, until 70,000 or 

 more cells may be occupied with 

 brood at one time. If the room for 

 brood rearing is all occupied at any 

 time before the maximum is reached, 

 the colony may prepare to swarm, 

 providing other conditions are favor- 

 able. To prevent swarming from this 

 cause, therefore, it is necessary either 

 to use a brood chamber containing 

 sufficient room for the spring brood 

 rearing or to give an additional brood 

 chamber during the spring if a small 

 hive is used. So far as swarming is 

 concerned, it is necessary to have a 

 large brood chamber only during the 

 short period when brood rearing is 

 heaviest. Large hives, however, do 

 not of themselves entirely prevent 

 swarming. 



CHAEACTEE OF THE BBOOD-COMBS 



The combs of the brood nest should 

 be suitable for the rearing of worker 

 brooa'~ffifougEouf excepf "for a few 

 cells of drone comb in the lower 

 corners of some of the frames, which 

 can not be entirely eliminated. It is 

 quite possible to have a brood cham- 

 ber of ample size for the maximum 

 amount of brood, but at the same time 

 to have the brood-rearing space so 

 reduced by imperfect combs that, so 

 far as swarming is concerned, the 

 effect is the same as if the brood 

 chamber were much smaller. Imper- 

 fect cells and drone comb within the 

 brood chamber not only reduce its 

 capacity for worker brood but such 

 imperfect comb may act as an obstruc- 

 tion to the queen in expanding the 

 brood nest in the spring. If combs 

 unsuitable for brood rearing are be- 

 tween the combf already occupied 

 with brood and the perfect combs 

 beyond, the imperfect comb stands in 

 the way of a free expansion lof the 

 brood nest, the queen may confine her 

 work to but one side of the hive at a 

 time, and swarming may follow. 

 When two stories are used early in 

 the season to supply the necessary 

 brood-rearing space, it is Important 

 that combs which have perfect worker 

 cells to the top bar be used at least in 

 the lower hive body to permit the 

 queen to work readily through both 

 stories. When combs having several 

 rows of imperfect cells next to the 

 top bar are used, the queen may be 

 partially confined to one or the other 



of the hive bodies because of the space 

 which Intervenes between the avail- 

 able worker comb in the two hive 

 bodies. The partial confinement of 

 the queen to one or the other of the 

 two brood chambers in this way may 

 be equivalent to the use of but one 

 brood chamber, so far as available 

 room for the queen is concerned. 



As a swarm-preventive measure it 

 is important, therefore, that all the 

 combs used in the brood chamber be 

 suitable for the rearing of worker 

 brood throughout practically their en- 

 tire area. Such combs can be pro- 

 vided only by the use of full sheets of 

 foundation in the brood frames, to- 

 gether with special care in wiring the 

 frames, imbedding the foundation, 

 and having the combs built under 

 favorable conditions. In extracted 

 honey production much can be done to 

 improve the character of the combs 

 used in the brood chamber by sorting 

 out all imperfect ones for use only in 

 the supers. Some beekeepers use 

 special methods of wiring the frames 

 by which the stretching of cells in 

 the upper portion of the combs may 

 be largely overcome. If brood is ex- 

 tended in new combs to the top bar 

 of the frames during the first season, 

 the combs are so strengthened by the 

 cocoons that there is less tendency for 

 them to stretch subsequently and cause 

 misshapen cells in the upper portion. 



Good combs, so arranged that the 

 brood nest may be expanded without 

 interruption until the maximum of the 

 spring brood rearing has been reached, 

 go a long way toward the prevention 

 of swarming. Nevertheless, for rea- 

 sons given later, these do not of them- 

 selves insure that there will be no 

 swarming. 



SPACE WITHIN THE HIVE 



Space thaMs not^occupled by comb, 

 esi)eciany within the brood chamber, 

 may influence the tendency to swarm. 

 A deep space between the bottoms of 

 the frames and the floor of the hive is 

 undoubtedly advantageous in hot 

 weather. This space may be as much 

 as seven-eights inch, with little or no 

 trouble from the bees building comb 

 below the frames unless they are badly 

 crowded for room. Some beekeepers 

 use a space 2 inches deep or more, but 

 put under the frames a slotted rack to 

 prevent the bees building comb there. 

 This affords a large amount of room 

 for the field bees during the night and 

 also provides abundant opportunity 

 for ventilation during the heat of the 

 day. 



