THE HIVE-BEE 93 



to live as long as there may be occasion to produce new fertile 

 queens. During this time they fly abroad, or dwell in the 

 hive at pleasure, feeding, but doing no work. There may 

 be two or three thousand in a strong swarm. After mid- 

 summer the workers commonly drive the drones forth to 

 perish of cold and hunger, or bite off their wings. Now and 

 then, when the supply of fertile queens has failed, the drones 

 are allowed to live until they die naturally in September. If 

 food should run short at any time, even in early summer, 

 the drones are always sacrificed. 



The swarming of bees is the sending out of new colonies. 

 In spring, when food is plentiful, breeding proceeds rapidly, 

 and the hive, which during winter was thinly populated and 

 devoid of drones, becomes crowded. Then preparations are 

 made for swarming. Several queen-cells are built, and a^ 

 fertilised egg laid in each. Before leaving the hive, the 

 workers begin to secrete wax, or at least fill their crops with 

 honey, so as to be ready to make new combs without loss 

 of time. When the new queen -cells are sealed, and the 

 larvae in them are about to pupate, the bees are ready to 

 leave. A fine, warm day is chosen, and the bees pour out 

 of the hive in a tumultuous crowd, until nearly all are hovering 

 in the air. The old queen usually goes too; if she is not 

 found by the bees, the swarm soon returns to the hive. In 

 a short time the bees choose a settling-place and form a cluster, 

 hanging in a mass which resembles a bunch of grapes. If 

 they are now gathered into a hive, they will probably accept 

 it as their new home, and return to it from their journeys, 

 apparently taking no more notice of their old quarters. Mean- 

 while, in the old and nearly empty hive, the brood-combs, 

 previously stocked by the queen-bee, soon begin to supply 

 a new population. Eight or ten days after the departure of 

 the first swarm thfe first of the new queens is ready to emerge. 

 She seeks to destroy the inmates of the other queen-cells, but 

 is only permitted to do so if bad weather or deficiency of food 

 renders fresh swarms undesirable. When restrained from 

 attacking the sister-queens in their cgUs, the queen-bee makes 

 a croaking sound, called "piping," which can be distinctly 

 heard when the ear is brought close to the hive; it is an 

 almost certain indication of a second swarm. The issue of 

 the second swarm is less affected by weather than that of the 



