The Hiving of Bees 



Natural swarming, with its uncertainties, anxieties, and vexatious 

 losses, is destined to become eventually a thing of the past. Methods 

 of controlling increase, preventing it altogether, or else doing the work 

 artificially, will reach such perfection that swarming will be eliminated. 

 Alany bee-keepers are alread}- forestalling swarming by some artificial 

 method of increase, notably that of shook swarming. No professional 

 bee-keeper, worthy of the name, any longer allows natural swarming, 

 uncontrolled, in a large apiary. The days have passed when we can 

 afford to allow several swarms, issuing at the same time, to join forces 

 and make merry in the top of some tall tree. Even if swarming is 

 allowed, the queens are either clipped or else controlled by means 

 of queen-traps in front of the entrances of the hives. Two or more 

 swarms issuing at the same time may unite, and give trouble by attempt- 

 ing to enter one hive when they return, but there will be no loss of bees 

 nor climbing of trees. The bees will stay in the yard, and can be brought 

 under control. 



When swarming is allowed, I believe that the majority of advanced 

 bee-keepers now hive their swarms by having the queens' wings clipped, 

 and allowing the bees to return to their old location, which they will 

 do when they find the queen is not with them. Of course the queen 

 attempts to follow the bees, and is found in front of the hive by the 

 bee-keeper, who cages her and sets the old hive to one side, replacing 

 it with a new hive prepared for the occupancy of the swarm. When 

 the bees return they enter into the new hive, supposing it to be their 

 old home, thus hiving themselves. While the\' are entering the hive th 



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(jueen is allowed to run in with them, and the work is done. 



There is another methixl of carrying out this principle — that of 

 catching the queen in a trap in front of the hive. The lower part of 

 the trap is covered with perforated zinc, the perforations being of such 

 a size that the workers can pass but not the queen. When a swarm 

 issues, the queen attempts to follow, and, eventually, finds and passes 

 through a cone-shaped opening in the upper part of the trap. Here 

 she finds herself trapped in another apartment, as the chance that she 

 will find the narrow mouth of the cone, and return, is as one in a 

 thousand. The use of the trap saves clipping the queen's wing, also 



