38 BEGINNER'S BEE BOOK 



ing of pans and other noise-making implements 

 when the bees swarmed. The idea was that the 

 noise would cause the bees to cluster. Bee- 

 keepers know now that ninety-nine times out 

 of one hundred they will cluster anyway with- 

 out so much fuss, and the hundredth time they 

 will leave without ceremony in spite of the 

 noise. Clustering is a normal part of the 

 swarming and is as much to be expected as any 

 other natural impulse. 



It is an easy matter to hive the swarm by 

 placing a hive in position and shaking the bees 

 in front of it. They will usually go in without 

 difficulty. If a small cluster remains on the 

 outside, care should be used to see that the 

 queen is not left behind, for otherwise the bees 

 will not stay long inside the new home. 



The first swarm to issue is called the prime 

 swarm and there is no way to foretell its ap- 

 pearance without an examination of the in- 

 terior of the hive. Since the colony is divided 



