Elements of Beekeeping 13 



Swarming may be reduced: (1) By providing sufficient 

 room in the brood-chamber by removing some of the heaviest 

 combs of honey, replacing them with empty ones, or exchanging 

 frames of brood for empty combs in the weak colonies. Addi- 

 tional room may be provided early in the spring by placing on 

 top of the brood-chamber either a shallow extracting-super or 

 an extra hive-body containing frames of drawn comb; (2) By 

 avoiding overheating of the colony by giving wide entrance 4nd 

 raising the hive at the back about an inch from the bottom 

 board; (3) By going thru the hive every week when the swarm- 

 ing instinct is prevailing and cutting out all the queen cells; 

 (4) By the introduction of a young queen reared from a colony 

 not having a tendency to swarm. 



Some beekeepers follow Demaree's plan in swarm control. 

 Just before the swarming instinct prevails, put into an extra 

 hive-body all the brood except one frame containing the last 

 brood, with the queen and adhering bees. Fill the remaining 

 space in each hive with frames containing full sheets of comb 

 foundation. Set the hive containing the brood on top of the one 

 now holding the one frame of brood and queen. Between the 

 two hives place a queen-excluder. Go thru the upper story a 

 week later and destroy all queen cells. As the brood hatches 

 in this story the combs will be filled with honey making them 

 extracting combs. 



Hiving a Swarm. When the swarm issues, the old hive 

 should be removed to a new location and a new hive containing 

 frames with full sheets of foundation, put into its place. Ex- 

 change a frame of brood from the old or parent colony for an 

 empty frame of the new hive. This frame of brood will usually 

 prevent the swarm from deserting the new hive. Shake the 

 swarm at the entrance of the new hive on the old location and 

 transfer the supers from the parent colony to the swarm. The 

 bees that have issued with the swarm have the storing instinct 

 and will continue storing in the supers while the foundation in 

 the brood frames is being drawn out in preparation for brood 

 rearing. After the old hive is removed to the new location 



