136 HANDY BOOK OF BEES. 



brood from the egg up, in all stages. The hives are choke- 

 full of bees. The noise and internal heat of such hives 

 are very great. They may or may not cluster outside. 

 Generally speaking, as has already been said, small hives 

 do cluster and large ones do not. "Whether this cluster- 

 ing of small hives is owing to the fact that they are hardly 

 able to send off respectable colonies without first accumu- 

 lating outside, or from other causes, I am unable to say ; 

 and whether the large hives swarming before they are 

 quite so full as small ones is owing to the inability of 

 the bees to ventUate by their own natural powers such 

 large hives, I am unable to say. 



Hives, whether large or small, that have but little 

 honey in them, are much better filled with bees than 

 hives containing a good deal of honey. Bees do not sit 

 closely on honeycomb, even on the eve of swarming. 

 Hungry hives, i.e., those with little honey in them, yield 

 much the largest swarms, and afterwards remain stronger 

 in bees. First swarms vary in weight from 4 to 8 lb. ; 

 second swarms from 1| lb. to f> lb. The second swarms 

 of small hives are hardly worth the hives into which they 

 are often put. 



We have said that the eggs are generally four days in 

 the royal cells before first swarms issue. But sometimes 

 the weather prevents the bees from swarming till the 

 young queens are nearly matured. The time is therefore 

 uncertain. Sometimes there is a miscarriage. The swarni 

 goes without the queen, and soon returns. Next day, 

 probably, a successful attempt wiU be made, both swarm 

 and queen going together. Sometimes there are several 

 miscarriages. The swarm always returns. How is this ? 

 The queen cannot fly. In attempting to follow or go 

 with the swarm she falls over the flight-board, and may 

 be found crawling on the ground. The noise of the bees 



