ARTIFICIAL SWARMING. 189 



teen minutes, whether she is with them or not. If she is 

 not in the hive, as soon as the bees have entered and begin 

 to cluster, they search for her, and, in a short time, a few 

 will come out and run round, acting evidently as though 

 they had lost something, and were looking for it. The alarm 

 will now be rapidly communicated to the whole colony ; the 

 number of explorers will rapidly increase, the ventilators will 

 suspend operations, and soon the air will be filled with bees. 

 If they cannot find the queen, they will return to the spot 

 where the old hive stood, and if no hive is there, will enter 

 one of the adjoining colonies. If their queen is presented to 

 them before they have gone back to their former location, 

 those running out of the hive, will make a half circle, and 

 return ; the joyful news will, in a moment, be communicated 

 to those on the wing, and they will forthwith alight and enter 

 the hive ; all appearance of agitated running on the outside 

 of the hive will cease, and ventilation with its joyful hum will 

 be again resumed. If the Apiarian wishes to witness these 

 wonderful proceedings he has only to catch the queen and 

 hold her in his hand, until the bees show by their actions that 

 they miss her. If the bees remain quiet for about fifteen 

 minutes, in the new hive, the queen is certainly with them. 

 Bees which miss their queen under such circumstances, will 

 accept of any one that may be ofiered to them, and may of- 

 ten be pacified with brood-comb from which they can raise 

 another. If the Apiarian in making his artificial swarm does 

 not see the queen, he must wait until the bees show by their 

 conduct whether she is with them or not. If they begin to 

 leave the hive in the agitated manner above described, the 

 entrance must be closed to confine them, until the old hive 

 can be examined again, and the queen secured. 



If the attempt is made to pacify the new colony with brood 

 comb from which they can raise a queen, they will fill their 



