104 HANDY BOOK OF BEES. 



should again be thrown back ; but this, as we have said, 

 seldom happens — for aiter the second swarm has departed, 

 all the queens but one are generally destrojed, and no 

 more swarming takes place. 



There is in the history of swarming a critical time for 

 old hives and second swarms. A day or two after second 

 swarms have left their mother hives, the queens of both 

 go out to meet drones. The bees become very uneasy if 

 their queen stay long away. Sometimes they never re- 

 turn — have been lost on their marriage-tours. When the 

 bees find that they have lost their queen, they make mani- 

 fest their loss by their wild excitement and bewilderment. 

 No one can witness this excitement without seeing that 

 something is wrong. Every now and then the bees are in 

 a state of wild commotion, rushing hither and thither in 

 search" of their lost queen. During these paroxysms of 

 grief every bee in the hive seems to be affected. They 

 have no eggs, and therefore are unable of themselves to 

 make good their loss. What should be done with hives 

 thus bereft of their queens ? If surplus ones can be ob- 

 tained, they should be introduced at once to these queen- 

 less hives. If ripe queens cannot be obtained, probably 

 royal cells containing infantile queens may be had. One 

 of these cut out of its hive, and placed between two combs 

 of the queenless one, answers well ; for the bees soon 

 cement it to their combs, and bestow proper care on their 

 now infant and future queen. In the case of the swarmi 

 it is rather dangerous to turn the hive upside down, with 

 a view to place a royal cell between its combs just being 

 formed, as they are apt to fall. Even the smoke of rags 

 should be gently blown into a swarm recently hived. 

 But if one person lifts the hive off the board, say 3 feet 

 perpendicularly, and another person puts in the queen- 

 cell, the work may be easily and safely performed. And 

 if no combs at all have been formed before the queen has 



