PEIMABY SWARM. 209 



First or Primary Swarm. 



409. The first swarm is almost invariably led off by the 

 old queen, unless she has died from accident or disease, 

 when it is accompanied by one of the young ones reared to 

 supply her loss. There are no signs from which the Apia- 

 rist can predict the certain issue of a first swarm. For 

 years, we spent much time in the vain attempt to discover 

 some infallible indications of first swarming ; until facts 

 convinced us that there can be no such indications. 



410. If the weather is unpleasant, or the blossoms yield 

 an insufficient supply of honey, bees often change their 

 minds, and refuse to swarm at all. If, in the swarming 

 season, but few bees leave a strong hive, on a clear, calm, 

 and warm day, when other colonies are busily at work, we 

 may look with great confidence for a swarm, unless the 

 weather prove suddenly unfavorable. 



If the weather is very sultry, a swarm will sometimes 

 issue as early as seven o'clock in the morning; but from 

 ten, A. M. , to two, P. M., is the usual time ; and the majority 

 of swarms come off when the sun is within an hour of the 

 meridian. Occasionally, a swarm ventures out as late as 

 five, p. M. ; but an old queen is seldom guilty of such an 

 indiscretion. 



411. We have repeatedly witnessed in our observing- 

 hives (374) the whole process of swarming. On the day 

 fixed for departure, the queen is very restless, and instead 

 of depositing her eggs in the cells, roams over the combs, 

 and communicates her agitation to the whole colony. The 

 emigrating bees usually fill themselves with honey, just 

 before their departure ; but in one instance, we saw them 

 lay in their supplies more than two hours before they left. 

 A short time before the swarm rises, a few bees may gener- 

 ally be seen sporting in the air, with their heads turned 



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