Several Swarms at Once. 187 



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useless. It is better that it be clean and pure. With such, if 

 they are shaded, bees will generally be satisfied. But assur- 

 ance 'will be made doubly sure by giving them a frame of 

 brood, in all stages of growth, from an old hive. This may 

 be inserted before the work of hiving is commenced. Mr. 

 Betsinger thinks this will cause them to leave ; but I think he 

 will not be sustained by the experience of other apiarists. He 

 certainly is not by mine. I never knew but one colony to 

 leave uncapped brood ; I have often known them to swarm 

 out of an empty hive once or twice, and to be returned, after 

 brood had been placed in the hive, when they accepted the 

 changed conditions, and went at once to work. This seems 

 unreasonable, too, in view of the attachment of bees for their 

 nest of brood, as also from analogy. How eager the ant to 

 convey her larva and pupse — the so called eggs — to a place of 

 safety, when the nest has been invaded and danger threatens. 

 Bees doubtless have the same desire to protect their young, 

 and as they cannot carry them away to a new home, they re- 

 main to care for them in one that may not be quite to their 

 taste. 



When a colony swarms, the impulse seems to be general, 

 and often a half dozen colonies will be on the wing in a trice. 

 These will very often , generally in truth, cluster together. 

 In this case, to rind the queens is well nigh impossible, and 

 we can only divide up the bees into suitable colonies, and as 

 soon as we find any starting queen cells, give them a queen. 

 Of course we may loose every queen but one. In view of this 

 trouble, and the expense of the various swarm catchers in 

 vogue, I would say clip the queen's wing. 



If it is not desired to increase, the bees may be given to a 

 colony which has previously swarmed, after removing from 

 'the latter all queen-cells, and adding to the room by putting 

 on the sections and removing some frames of brood to 

 strengthen nuclei. We may even return the bees to their old 

 home by taking the same precautionary measures, with a good 

 hope that storing and not swarming will engage their at- 

 tention in future ; and if we exchange their position with that of 

 a nucleus, we shall be still more likely to succeed in over- 

 coming the desire to swarm ; though some seasons, usually 

 wnen honey is being gathered each day for long intervals, but 

 not in large quantities, the desire and determination of some 



