286 THE BEE-KEEPER’S MANUAL. 
“Thou wert working late, thou busy, busy bee ! 
After the fall of the cistus flower ; 
I heard thee last as I saw thee first, 
When the primrose blossom was ready to burst ; 
In the coolness of the evening hour, 
I heard thee, thou busy, busy bee !” 
SouTHEY. 
Swarming.—The month of May, in fine seasons, 
usually brings with it the period of the greatest 
interest to the proprietor as regards the swarming 
stocks of bees; on which subject we would refer to 
page 46. Drones now begin to make their appear- 
ance, darting out of the hive in the middle of warm 
days, though occasionally in strong stocks they may 
be seen in April; in which event early swarming 
may be looked for. The usual limits during which 
swarming takes place vary in different localities; 
but in general they are comprised within the months 
of May and June, though in extraordinary circum- 
stances @ swarm may issue somewhat earlier, or a 
little later than this. When it is expected, the hive 
should be watched from ten in the morning till two 
or three o’clock, after which time a just swarm 
rarely sets forth.* In particular, the bees ought not 
to be left for five minutes if a hot sun intervene 
between showers; for a greater predisposition to 
swarming then exists than in dry weather. It 
seldom, however, takes place with an east or north 
wind. 
It is not always easy to distinguish the appear- 
ances that precede a first (or prime) swarm, and 
* After-swarms may be later ; Von Berlepsch draws the distinction 
that the one usually starts in a morning and the other in an afternoon. 
