14 



partially filled frame of honey in the super. This frame is taken 

 from the brood chamber below. 



The outer frames in the brood chamber are often com- 

 posed of solid sheets of honey without brood, but if this is 

 not the case an uncapped frame of brood may be used, making 

 sure that the aueen is not taken up with it. The placing of 

 empty frames in the brood has a tendency to discourage swarm- 

 ing. When the swarming fever has not been suppressed and 

 queen cells are started in the hive and are capped pver, which 

 takes about eight and one-half days after eggs are laid, the old 

 queen gees out with all the working bees of the hive making a 

 swarm. Queens do not always swarm out when the new queen 

 cells are firtit capped, but often wait until the the new queen 

 appears. To prevent swarming during a heavy flow some bee 

 keepers look over the brood chambers every eight or ten days, 

 cutting out the queen cells. This takes a great deal of time and 

 even then some cells are apt to be overlooked and a swarm 

 comes off. 



Swarming generally occurs in_ the morning from nine until 

 twelve. xfefeewererT-thSTnornThg is cloudy and there are indi- 

 cations^ rain, swarms which would naturally occur then, do not 

 come off until afternora. Swarms that come off at this time 

 generally cluster and remain until the next morning. When such 

 clusters are found they should be handled with great care as the 

 bees have used up all their honey during the night and are not 

 docile but sting at the least provocation. 



After once hearing the noise made by bees swarming one 

 will never mistake it. The bees, if it is a large swarm, seem to 

 boil out of the entrance of the hive. They remain in flight 

 around the hive until the queen and all the swarm bees are 

 out of it. After a few minutes flight the queen settles on some 

 object and the bees cluster about her. They remain there until 

 the scout bees return and in their bee language tell their fellow 

 workers they have found a suitable place in which to establish 

 their new colony. The bees often cluster on trees, remaining at 

 least two hours before flying away. If the bees have started to 

 work before the return of the scouts they will not go to the 

 home recommended by the scouts. It is .almost impossible to 

 stop a swarm of bees in flight after the scouts have returned. 

 Before bees swarm they fill themselves with sufficient honey to 

 feed upon until they find their new home, and also for use in 

 constructing the new comb. If one has been fortunate in hiving 

 the swarm, the bees under normal conditions begin at once to 

 make wax to build their comb. Often swarms, after being 

 hived, will not remain in the hive but will swarm again. To 

 prevent this it is advisable to give them a frame of uncapped 

 brood. If this is done bees seldom swarm a second time. The 

 first swarm goes out with the old queen, generally when the 

 queen cells are capped over. The second swarms occur when 

 the virgin queens come out. Sometimes there are two or three 

 after-swarms, according to the strength of the colony. It is not 



