SWARM CATCHING, HIVING, AND TRANSFERRING. 89 



of a swarm of bees when on the wing. It was equal to the ringing 

 of a bell and saying, "This is to give notice these bees belong to 

 me." I have more than once seen the queen on a leaf some feet 

 from where the swarm was clustering. I have seen her parading 

 to and fro on a rail while the swarm was clustering on the post, 

 the bees paying not the slightest attention to her. At other times 

 I ' have seen her alight on the cluster and burrow in amongst 

 them. Evidently she had been on the wing for some time after 

 the main body had settled. 



When bees have once clustered they are in the best of temper ; 

 you may do almost what you like with them. Frequently, to 

 prove to onlookers the ease and freedom from danger with which 

 you can handle bees under such circumstances, I have bared my 

 arm and passed my hand through to the other side of them. To 

 do so your movements must be slow and gentle. Try it; but, in 

 doing so, don't forget, r 'Be gentle." 



If bee-keeping be indulged in as a hobby, artificial swarming 

 robs it of one of its most interesting and fascinating features. 



As a rule, early spring swarms do not abscond on the day 

 they leave the parent hive. Sometimes they will hang for days to 

 the place where they first settled. Early swarms cluster low. 

 The reason is not far to seek. It is the old, pregnant queen that 

 issues forth with the early swarms. She is heavy, and the workers 

 know it. Sometimes bees cluster in the most inaccessible places; 

 against a wall, in the cleft in a log or stump, in between the forks 

 of trees; from such places you cannot shake them. It is under 

 such conditions as these that the amateur's courage and patience 

 are put to the test. How can they be dislodged and put into a 

 box prior to hiving ? Sometimes you may dislodge them with 

 smoke. The most effectual way is to remove them with the hand. 

 Place the receiving-box as near to the bees as you can ; on the 

 ground is best. Then scoop them up in handfuls, placing the 

 first few nandfuls on the ground. Put the receiver over them, 

 resting on a small stone with room enough to give access ; then 

 throw other handfuls near the entrance to the box. When you 

 see those you have placed on the ground freely enter the box, 

 those bees you have left behind will soon follow. But if you are 

 present when the bees are on the wing, all this mav be avoided: 

 "Prevention is better than cure." When you see the bees have 

 chosen a place of settlement from which it will be difficult to dis- 

 lodge them, take a leafy bough and quietly move it up and down 



