SWARMS AND SWARMING 



81 



"White-gum" tree one hundred feet high as it is to hang 

 on a wire fence, the saving of time in thus hiving' them 

 becomes apparent. 



Clip all laying- queens. But sometimes there will l)e 

 swarms led by royal mothers proud of their full wings. 

 How al)out hiving them I Very often the wings of the 

 (lueen have not l>een used for some time, and the royal 

 insect is rather heavy with eggs, so she does not fly veiy 

 far liefore forming the cluster; this is almost the rule. 



8WARMING BOX. 

 The swarming-box (Fig. 41) is then brought into 



41. Swarming liux. 



requisition. This box is simply made, and is a great 

 convenience. A 3 inch hole is bored through two sides 

 and covered on the inside with wire cloth. The dotted 

 line in the diagram represents a tin slide to cover the 

 holes and darken the box. Go to the swarm, and with 

 the sliding lid pulled open as illustrated, cut otf the 

 swarm from the twig or fence so that it falls into the 

 box. Hold the box close up to the swarm (Fig. 43) . Close 

 the lid except for a small space of say, 1 inch, and stand 

 the box down on end, with the entrance at the bottom so 

 that the remaining bees can enter. This they will quickly 

 do; the lid is then shut entirely. If the swarm is to be 

 carried a lengthy distance remove the tin slides to ]iermit 

 air to circulate through the box. There is then no danger 

 of the bees smothering even in the hottest Australasian 

 summer. 



