WHY BEES SWARM 



nest will reveal the presence of queen cells, 

 and it is by taking advantage of these signs 

 we can often prevent swarming by giving 

 enlarged storage room. If we fail to fore- 

 stall them, then we may look for a swarm to 

 come forth some beautiful day in May or 

 June, and the way the bees will come boiling 

 out of the hive is a revelation to the tyro. Out 

 they come literally by the thousands until the 

 air is filled with them and their roar can be 

 heard at a considerable distance. 



The swarm is not, as is popularly supposed, 

 made up of young bees, but is composed prin- 

 cipally of the old bees and the old queen, and 

 with the exception of the time she flies as a 

 virgin to be mated, this is the only time that 

 her majesty comes forth. 



For several minutes the swarm will swirl 

 about in the air, and with rare exceptions, will 

 in a short time begin to cluster on the branch 

 of a tree, and often at an inaccessible height, 

 and will hang there probably for an extended 



period. 



85 



