36 NATURAL SWARMING. 



wise, when a stock has swarmed, there remains in it a young 

 queen to be fertilized. Consequently, should she be lost on her 

 " bridal tour " the stock is left without either a queen or material 

 from which to rear one, as the eggs left by the old queen at her 

 departure, with the first swarm, are too far advanced to be used 

 for that purpose. 



Queens are seldom lost except while making these excursions, 

 when they are sometimes caught by birds, but far more fre • 

 quently slain as intruders by entering the wrong hive on their 

 return, mistaking it for their own. The bereaved colony will 

 exhibit the greatest agitation. Bees will be running about the 

 entrance and up the sides of the hive, searching everywhere for 

 their beloved queen. This commotion is very noticeable the 

 next morning after the loss, while other colonies are quiet, and 

 for two or three mornings as it gradually wears off. The bees will 

 sometimes work with their accustomed vigor, and, still hoping to 

 succeed in rearing another queen, their drones are preserved, 

 after those of other stocks are destroyed. There being no far- 

 ther increase in the colony, it dwindles away as daily losses oc- 

 cur, and, should the bee-keeper not come to the rescue, must ere 

 long fall a prey to worms and robbers. The loss of queens is 

 usually the result of placing hives of the same color or general 

 appearance too close together. Colonies that have young queens 

 to be impregnated should stand five feet or more apart. Such 

 colonies are all old stocks that have cast swarms, and all swarms 

 after the first from any stock. Also, if the hives appear much 

 alike, each one should have a differed *>™.rk to guide its queen 

 ji returning to her hive. 



