142 Clustering and Selecting' New Home. 



where bees have been seen to clean out their new home 

 the day previous to swarming. In each case the swarm 

 came and took possession of the new home the day after 

 the house cleaning. The reason of clustering is no doubt 

 to give the queen a rest before her long flight. Her 

 muscles of flight are all "soft" as the horsemen would say. 

 She must find this a severe ordeal even after the rest. 



If for any reason the queen should fail to join the bees, 

 and rarely when she is among them, possibly because she 

 finds she is unfit for the journey, they will, after having 

 clustered, (they rarely fail to cluster) return to their old 

 home. The youngest bees will remain in the old hive, to 

 which those bees which are abi'oad in quest of stores will 

 return. The presence of young bees on the ground imme- 

 diately after a swarm has issued — those with flight too 

 feeble to join the rovers — will often mark the previous 

 home of the emigrants. Mr. Doolittle confines a tea-cupful 

 or less of the bees when he hives the swarm and after 

 the colony is hived he throws the confined bees up in the 

 air, when he says they will at once go to the hive from 

 which the swarm issued. 



Soon, in seven days, often later, if Italians, the first queen 

 will come forth from her cell, and in two or three days she 

 will, or may, lead a new colony forth; but before she does 

 this, the peculiar note, known as the piping of the queen, 

 may be heard. This piping sounds like "peep," "peep " 

 is shrill and clear, and can be plainly heard by placing the 

 ear to the hive, nor would it be mistaken. This sound is 

 Landois's true voice as it is made even in the cell, and also 

 by a queen whose wings are cut off. Cheshire thinks this 

 sound is made by friction of the segments one upon the 

 other as the queen moves them. The newly hatched queen 

 pipes in seven or eight hours after coming from the cell. 

 She always pipes if a swarm is to issue, and if she pipes a 

 second swarm will go unless weather or man interferes. 

 The second swarm usually goes in from thirty-five to forty- 

 five hours after the piping is heard. This "piping of the 

 liberated queen is followed by a lower, hoarser note, made 

 by a queen still within the cell. This piping is best heard 

 by placing the ear to the hive in the evening or early morn- 



