Swarm Control and Increase 



277 



cells. The comb is built up rapidly, in fact so rapidly as to 

 be considered a disadvantage at times, in that brood is so 

 quickly reared that the increase in population may again 

 induce swarming. The use of full sheets of foundation may 

 increase the work done in the brood-chamber, at the expense 

 of the surplus. 



Narrow strips of foundation, perhaps an inch wide or less, 

 may be used, and this usually results in slow progress in the 

 construction of combs in the 

 brood-chamber. The bees 

 then do more work in the 

 supers, if they have been 

 started, and it is so long be- 

 fore the colony can rear much 

 brood that they rarely at- 

 tempt to swarm again in the 

 season. However, combs 

 built on strips of foxmdation 

 often contain many drone 

 cells, especially if the comb 

 building in the brood-cham- 

 ber progresses faster than the 

 cells are filled with eggs by 

 the queen or when comb is 

 built outside the space needed 

 for brood. If the parent colony has a brood disease, the use 

 of strips of foimdation is preferable, thus combining swarm 

 management and disease treatment. When either strips of 

 foundation or full sheets are used and partly drawn combs 

 are present in comb-honey supers, the queen may go above 

 to lay eggs and this should be prevented by the use of the 

 queen excluder (Fig. 115) for a few days or until there is 

 room for egg-laying below, when the excluder may be re- 

 moved. If the supers are left off for a time, work will 

 progress in the brood-chamber so that space for egg-laying 

 will be available there and the queen will not go to the supers. 



One or two empty combs may be used in the brood-cham- 



FiG. 115. 



Queen excluder (" honey 

 board"). 



