NATURAL SWARMING. 99 



are hardly worth the price of the hives into which they 

 are often put. 



We have said that the eggs are generally four days in 

 royal cells before first swarms issue. But sometimes the 

 weather prevents swarming till the young queens are 

 nearly matured. The time is therefore uncertain. Some- 

 times there is a miscarriage. The swarm goes without 

 the queen, and soon returns. Next day, probahly, a suc- 

 cessful attempt will he 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 the swarm she falls over the 

 flight-board, and may be found crawling on the ground. 

 The noise of the bees on their return to the hive attracts 

 her to it. This may happen again and again ; hence these 

 miscarriages. Such queens are old, and will soon die. If 

 a young queen (virgin) could be obtained anywhere, it 

 were wise to unite her to the swarm rather than carry 

 the old one to it. If the old queen found below the 

 flight-board be put in an empty hive, and placed on 

 the stand of the old one for an hour till all the bees 

 return, the swarm may now be placed in any part of 

 the garden, and the old hive put back to its original 

 place. 



While a swarm is in the act of leaving the hive, there 

 sometimes comes a sudden change of the atmosphere. 

 The sun is clouded, the air chiUed, and rain may fall. 

 The bees already on the wing cannot fly. They are full of 

 honey, and come to the ground in thousands, — bees being 

 unable to carry such heavy loads in cloudy cold weather 

 as they do in the sunshine. If a shower follow, thousands 

 never-rise. If the sun shine out warmly in the afternoon, 

 or even next day, many of the bees which fell will rise 

 and go back. The attempt to swarm at an unfavourable 

 moment is often disastrous. The skill of the bee-keeper 



