184 To Prevent Swarming. 



stalled the issue of after-swarms, except as other queen-cells 

 are afterward started, which is not likely to happen. 



If it is found too hard to move the hives, we can place a 

 sheet over the old hive, place the caged queen on this, just in 

 front of the entrance, which is covered by the sheet, and when 

 the bees return and have all clustered about the queen, we 

 have only to carry them to the new hive and turn them in 

 front of the entrance. The old queen is liberated as before, 

 and we are in the way of soon having two good colonies. 

 Some apiarists cage the queen and let the bees return, and 

 then divide the colony, as soon to be described. 



Some extensive apiarists, who desire to prevent increase of 

 colonies, cage the old queen, destroy cells, and exchange this 

 hive — after taking out three or four frames of brood to 

 strengthen nuclei — with one that recently swarmed. Thus a 

 colony that recently sent out a swarm, but retained their 

 queen, has probably, from the decrease of bees, loss of brood 

 and removal of queen-cells, lost the swarming fever, and if we 

 give them plenty of room and ventilation, they will accept the 

 bees from a new swarm, and spend their future energies in 

 storing honey. If the swarming fever is not broken up, we 

 shall only have to repeat the operation again in a few days. 



Still another modification, in case no increase of bees but 

 rather comb honey is desired, is recommended by such apiar- 

 ists as Doolittle, Davis, and others. We cage the queen ten 

 days, then destroy 'the queen-cells in the hive, and liberate 

 the queen, and everything is arranged for immense yields of 

 comb honey. In this case the queen is idle, but the bees seem 

 to have lost not one jot of their energy. Dr. C. C. Miller, 

 instead of caging the queen, places her with a nucleus on top 

 of the old hive, thus keeping her at work, by exchange of 

 frames. After ten days he destroys the queen-cells in the old 

 hive and unites the nucleus with it. Here the queen is kept 

 at work, the swarming impulse subdued, and a mighty colony 

 made ready for business. 



If the apiary is some distance from the house, a simple di- 

 aphragm telephone will inform the bee-keeper when swarming 

 occurs. The roar of the telephone caused by the bees strik- 

 ing the wire gives the warning. 



Two objections are sometimes raised right here. Suppose 

 several swarms issue at once, one of which is a second swarm, 



