CHAPTER V 



ARTIFICIAL SWARMING 



When increase of stock is desired, much time is often 

 lost in waiting for the issue of natural swarms. To 

 obviate this is the object of artificial swarming. 



Artificial swarming (or more correctly speaking, 

 dividing) should only be attempted — 



1. When drones are present. 



2. In warm weather when honey is coming in freely. 



3. When stocks are strong. 



4. During the natural swarming season. 



To divide one colony into tnvo. — Between 10 a.m. and 

 5 P.M. remove from the stock to be divided one 

 frame, containing the queen, bees and brood. Place it in 

 a new hive, filling up the remaining space with frames 

 of foundation. Into the parent hive put a frame of 

 foundation to replace the one taken away, and remove 

 the whole bodily to a new site. The new hive must 

 now occupy the site of the old one. All bees on the 

 wing will join the new hive. 



The parent stock, of course, is now queenless. A 

 ripe queen cell may be given or a new queen introduced. 

 (See Introducing Queens.) 



To divide tivo colonies into three, — In this method of 

 procedure one hive provides the brood, and the other 

 the bees. 



Hive No. I. — From this remove four or five frames 

 full of brood, shaking all the bees back again. 

 Replace these with frames of foundation, 



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