ARTIFICIAL SWARMING. 193 



induce them to fill their honey-bags. Then lift the 

 frames one after another, and search for the queen 

 till found. Take her gently between the first finger 

 and thumb, seizing her by the wings, place her at 

 the entrance of the skep, and see that she runs in. 

 Shake on to the board, close to the skep, the bees 

 from the frame on which the queen is found, and, after 

 replacing it in its own hive, take out and shake off 

 bees from other frames in succession, till a sufficient 

 amount to make a swarm has been let run into the 

 skep. They, with their sovereign, will ascend to the 

 crown of their abode, and then may be secured by 

 tying a cloth over the open part of the straw hive, 

 and despatched to their destination. Of course the 

 frames must be replaced in the stock hive as they 

 are cleared. The remaining bees will soon make a 

 new queen for themselves, and will care for the 

 developing brood. Judgment must be exercised, so 

 as not to weaken too greatly the population of the 

 parent-hive. 



Another method, still simpler, is to begin operations 

 in the morning of a bright day, and to shake off the 

 queen and bees from two frames only, and put the 

 colony on to the old stand, removing the stock to a 

 distance of a few yards. The bees abroad for sup- 

 plies will, on their return, remain with their queen, 

 and make up a sufficiently strong community ; while 

 the young, and those who prefer the old stock, will be 

 sufficient to meet its requirements. 



A third plan is to take the frame on which the 

 queen is, with bees and brood, and place it, with two 

 or three other frames from the same stock in another 

 hive, which should be placed on the old stand. 



O 



