April 1908.] 



341 



LIVE STOCK. 



ABSCONDING SWARMS OP BEES. 



By R. Beuhne, 

 President, Victoria Apiarists' 

 Association. 



The absconding of swarms is a source 

 of annoyance to the beekeeper at any- 

 time ; and, during, or just before, a 

 honey flow it is a serious loss. 



There are quite a number of causes 

 which induce bees, after swaiming and 

 hiving, to swarm out once more and 

 depart. Occasionally it may also 

 happen that a swarm will issue from a 

 hive and fly straight away without first, 

 as swarms usually do, settling in a 

 cluster on some object not \ ery far from 

 the hive. A swarm Avhich absconds 

 without first settling is nearly always 

 from a hive which by some means has 

 lost its laying queen, and the queen 

 which accompanies the swarm is a virgin 

 queen raised from the brood which was 

 left when the old queen died or failed. 

 As it takes sixteen days from the egg to 

 the emerging of the queen, and a few 

 more days before the young queen is 

 ready to take wing, very little, if any, 

 brood will be left when she takes her 

 mating flight, which is about five days 

 after hatching. As she leaves the hive 

 the bees follow as a swarm and usually 

 depart with her. It is of course im- 

 possible to entirely prevent this kind of 

 absconding, for every hive cannot be 

 examined often enough to discover the 

 loss of a queen, but whenever a colony 

 is found in which the presence of queen 

 cells and the absence of eggs indicate 

 queenlessness, all the queen cells except 

 one of the best developed should be 

 destroyed. After the young queen has 

 emerged, one, two or three combs (ac- 

 cox-ding to the strength of the colony) 

 of eggs and young larvse from other 

 colonies able to spare such, should be 

 given. The presence of this young 

 brood will hold the bees, that is, prevent 

 them going with the queen when she 

 leaves the hive for the purpose of 

 mating. 



This practice of breaking out surplus 

 queen cells and giving young brood 

 after the only remaining cell has hatched 

 is also the best way of preventing the 

 issue of after-swarms from hives which 

 have thrown a first or prime swarm, and 

 from which further swarms are not 

 desired. 



In the case of ordinary box hives, 

 which owing to the absence of frames 

 cannot be dealt within the way des- 

 cribed, the same object may be attained, 



but with less certainty, by placing the 

 uewly-hived first swarm on the spot 

 occupied by the old box after having 

 removed the latter to a new stand. This 

 causes most of the old bees which still 

 remained in the parent hive when the 

 swarm issued, to join the swarm because 

 it occupies the spot to which they fly 

 when returning from the fields. Thus 

 only bees which have never yet been 

 flying out remain in the parent hive 

 which in consequence is not able to cast 

 another swarm when the first of the 

 queen cells hatches. The first emerging 

 queen is therefore allowed by the bees 

 to destroy the remaining queen cells. 

 When a colony swarms before any queen 

 cells are sealed, and there is much brood 

 in the hive, sufficient bees will have 

 become of field age during the extra 

 length of time which must elapse before 

 the first queen hatches, to bring the 

 colony to swarming strength, and a 

 second swarm may result notwithstand- 

 ing the removal of the colony to a new 

 stand when the first swarm issued. 



Much of the absconding of swarms 

 which issue in a normal season could be 

 prevented by the owner of the bees if he 

 were aware of the causes which bring it 

 about. One cause is leaving the swarm 

 too long before hiving it. A normal 

 swarm usually settles somewhere not 

 far from the old hive. After an hour 

 or so scouts go out looking for a place 

 to found a new home, and after such has 

 been found the swarm will often persist 

 in turning out after hiving and perhaps 

 finally absconding to the place selected. 

 Other causes of swarms refusing to stay 

 when hived are excessive heat, want of 

 ventilation, annoyance from ants or 

 robber bees, or an objectional odour of 

 the box, that of kerosene, for instance. 



The bees of a swarm are in a state of 

 excitement, and the box in which they 

 are hived should be well shaded and 

 given a large entrance for three or four 

 days. It should also be free from odours 

 or stickiness of honey, which would 

 attract ants or robbers. 



Turned out swarms are more trouble- 

 some than swarms issuing for the first 

 time. In the latter case the bees are 

 gorged with honey and therefore heavy ; 

 they settle low and are seldom inclined 

 to sting. On the other hand bees swarm- 

 ing out of an empty hive after having 

 consumed the honey they carried are 

 light on the wing, often settle in inaces- 

 sible places, sting more readily, and 

 frequently abscond.— Journal of the 

 Department of Agriculture of Victoria, 

 Vol. VI., Part. 3, 9th March, 1908. 



