30 



spacing of the remaining nine. There are many other means taken by 

 apiarists to eliminate swarming, such as destroying aueen cells every 

 week, using queen traps or entrance guards to prevent the queen from 

 leaving the hive, spreading the brood, raising the brood to the upper 

 story, and many other laborious manipulations or extra contrivances 

 which require much extra time. 



abtificiaIj increase. 



Where the apiarist desires to increase the number of colonies in the 

 apiary it is best to practice some method of artificial increase rather 

 than wait on the pleasure of the bees to swarm. There are a number of 

 different methods of increasing the apiary, such as dividing the brood, 

 and bees, of an individual colony into two equal portions and providing 

 a queen for the queenless half or dividing the parent colony into small 

 colonies or nuclei. These plans are not as satisfactory as "shook" 

 swarming, for colonies so made lack vigor and the entire season is re- 

 quired to build them up to strong colonies. 



"Shook" swarming consists merely of shaking the bulk of the bees 

 from the combs of a strong colony into another hive on the old stand. 

 The new hive should be supplied either with full sheets of foundation 

 or drawn combs or a combination of both with the addition of one frame 

 of unsealed brood to prevent the bees from leaving. The hive containing 

 the remaining brood with some bees should then be removed to a new 

 location. If supers have been previously installed they should be placed 

 over the artificial swarm with a queen excluder between it and the brood 

 chamber. This method should not be practiced too early in the season 

 as natural swarming may take place later. Dividing should be done in 

 the middle of the day when the bees are in the field and the yield of nectar 

 is abundant. 



Some beekeepers prefer using narrow strips of foundation for the 

 artificial swarm. This provides no cells for the queen to lay eggs 

 for a time, thus reducing brood rearing. However, by the time brood 

 is reared the profit derived from the young bees is usually past. This 

 is a gain rather than a loss, because the bees will largely divert their 

 time gathered nectar and place it in the super as there are no cells, 

 in the brood compartment in which to deposit the honey. The combs 

 will be gradually drawn out and brood rearing increased in accordance. 

 Suificient amount of honey will be placed in the brood chamber for 

 the winter supply. The chief disadvantage in using narrow strips of 

 starter is the excessive drone comb which is likely to be built. 



It is essential to note if queen cells are present in the hive with the 

 remaining brood. If none are present, eggs or young larvae under 

 three days old should be provided in order to rear a queen for this 

 colony. A better plan, however, would be to provide a queen so as to 

 hasten brood rearing. 



QUEENliESS OOLOMES AND LAYING WORKERS. 



Many times a colony loses its queen either by old age, accident 

 through careless manipulation and many other causes too numerous 

 to mention. Bees in a colony that is queenless usually manifest the 



