BEEKEEPING IN ARKANSAS 1? 



swanning is the instinct that prompts bees to leave the hive 

 under certain conditions. Another way of stating this is that 

 we don't know the primary cause of swarming. However, we 

 do know what some of the contributing factors are when bees 

 are swarming. These are principally crowding and overheating 

 or lack of ventilation. Evidence that either of these fartors id 

 at work is seen when the bees cluster on the outside of the hive. 

 Since definite preparation for swarming is easily recognized by 

 the appearance of queen cells, swarming can be to some extent 

 prevented by examining the colony every seven days and destroy- 

 ing all the queen cells. 



Clipping the Queen. By cutting off the wings on one side, 

 one-eighth of an inch from the base, the queen is rendered ul- 

 able to fly. A swarm, if it does issue, will not leave without the 

 queen and is therefore easily hived. Clipping the queen is a 

 very common practice and is usually done when examining the 

 bees for the second time in spring. 



More important, however, in swarm control is plenty of 

 room. In spring when a heavy flow is on, and brood rearing 

 almost at its height, one single story 10-frame hive does not pro- 

 vide enuf room for a strong colony. Supers or extra hive bodie>^ 

 must be provided as soon as needed. If there is a lack of room 

 in the hive the bees get too hot because so many of them are 

 moving around in the limited space. If there is a large number 

 of young bees in the brood chamber, it gets too warm. All this 

 creates discontent among the bees, a spirit that seizes also the 

 field workers and causes them to remain at home, thus still 

 more increasing the congestion. The discontent develops into 

 the swarming impulse. By providing sufficient room, moving 

 some of the brood into the upper story, or adding it to a weaker 

 colony, and by providing proper shade, the congestion and over- 

 heating are prevented and the swarming impulse does not de- 

 velop. 



Even when the bees have the full entrance, (seven-eighths 

 of an inch clear across the hive) which should always be given 

 except in case when there is danger of robbing, on warm and 

 sultry days they will cluster on the outside of the hive because 

 of lack of proper ventilation. This is remedied by raising up the 

 front end of the hive, from the bottom and inserting small 

 blocks of wood about an inch thick. 



The different manipulations that aid in swarm control, 

 briefiy summarized are in order of their importance; (1) pro- 

 viding plenty of room for brood and stores, (2) allowing for 

 necessary ventilation by giving full entrance, and more if 

 necessary, (3) clipping the queen's wings, and (4) examining 

 the colony every 7 to 10 days and destroying all queen cells. 

 This manipulation will probably be found necessary only if the 



