Swarm Control 



recently emerged and emerging bees. 

 Such colonies are in the best possible 

 condition, to gather and store a crop 

 of honey if the honey flow begins at 

 about the time they reach their maxi- 

 mum in brood rearing, but they are 

 strongly inclined to swarm. 



When brood rearing is conducted 

 moderately, colonies may have as 

 many workers when they reach their 

 maximum strength, but they do not 

 have as large a proportion of young 

 bees at any time as those which build 

 up more rapidly. Thus, two colonies 

 at the beginning of the honey flow 

 may be equally strong as to the num- 

 ber of bees but differ decidedly as to 

 the average age of the bees, and, other 

 things being equal, the tendency to 

 swarm is greater in the colony having 

 the larger proportion of recently 

 emerged and emerging bees. 



INFLUENCE OF YOUNG BEES 



The fact that the tendency to swarm 

 Is greatest at about the time the bees 

 are rearing the greatest amount of 

 brood has led to the' belifef that 

 swarming is caused by the presence 

 in the hive 'Of a largejproportlon of 

 young bees"fiotyeFold enough for field 

 work. "THe^^measufesTTn common use 

 for the prevention of swarming tend 

 to obviate this predominance of young 

 bees or to relieve the crowded con- 

 dition resulting from their presence 

 within the brood nest, and the suc- 

 cessful remedies for swarming are 

 those which correct this unbalanced 

 condition in the population of the col- 

 ony. Natural swarming itself removes 

 the excess of young bees and brings 

 about a condition in which none of the 

 workers need be unemployed if there 

 is a honey flow. It is probable that 

 the bees too young to work in the 

 fields contribute to the tendency to 

 swarm by their persistence in remain- 

 ing for several days within the brood 

 nest near where they emerged from 

 the cells, instead of going to the more 

 remote and less congested parts of the 

 hive, and in this way they produce a 

 crowded condition within the brood 

 nest. 



The sensation of strength in the col- 

 ony is evidently not in proportion to 

 the number of bees within the hive but 

 depends largely upon their distribu- 

 tion. Even weak colonies may become 

 crowded and swarm if most of the 

 bees of the colony confine themselves 

 to the small area occupied- by brood, 

 because this area, is surrounded by 

 sealed honey or imperfect combs, or 

 because the more remote portions of 



57225°— 3X 2 



the hive are so unattractive that the 

 colony does not expand its activities 

 beyond the brood area in proportion 

 to the increasing numbers of oncom- 

 ing young bees. On the other hand, a 

 strong colony which rapidly expands 

 its work into remote parts of the hive 

 may apparently entirely escape the 

 sensation of great strength because of 

 the better distribution of the bees. 



The distribution of the young work- 

 ers during the first two weeks of their 

 lives when they are emerging at the 

 rate of 3,000 or more per day un- 

 doubtedly has much to do with the 

 tendency to swarm. It is, therefore, 

 highly important that those parts of 

 the hive outside of the brood area be 

 attractive and easily available for the 

 oncoming young bees, so that they will 

 expand into and occupy the more re- 

 mote portions of the hive instead of 

 crowding the brood nest. 



INFLUENCE OF HONEY FLOW 



A colony of bees that is approaching 

 its maximum of strength at the begin- 

 ning of or during the honey flow, hav- 

 ing many young bees recently emerg- 

 ed, may be able to send but a com- 

 paratively small number of workers to 

 the fleld because most of them are too 

 young for fleld work. In this case 

 the brood nest is crowded with these 

 unemployed young bees during the 

 heat of the day, and the added pros- 

 perity of the honey flow may quickly 

 bring on the swarming tendency. On 

 the other hand, a colony that has 

 passed its maximum of brood rearing 

 some time previous to the honey flow, 

 having comparatively few emerging 

 and recently emerged young bees, but 

 most of its workers old enough to 

 work in the fields, may send such a 

 large proportion of its workers to the 

 fields when the honey fiow begins that 

 most of the workers are out of the 

 hive during the heat of the day and 

 swarming may be given up. The ad- 

 vent of the honey flow, therefore, may 

 have an opposite effect as to swarming 

 upon colonies which are equally strong 

 in number of bees but different as to 

 the age of the workers. This may ex- 

 plain the variation observed in vari- 

 ous regions as to the effect of the 

 honey flow on swarming. 



INFLUENCE OP WOKK IN SUPEKS 



The giving of additional room and 

 employment to attract the unemployied 

 bees out of the brood chamber is of 

 great importance in the expansion of 

 the activities of the colonies and has 



