THE AUSTRALIAN BEEKEEPERS’ JOURNAL. 
63 
PROCEEDING'S op BEEKEEPERS’ 
SOCIETIES, <&c. 
South Australian Beekeepers' 
A ssociation. 
Queen-rearing. 
At the meeting on 1st April, Mr R. Fiebig, 
jun , read a paper upon “ Artificial Increase of 
Bees,” of which the following is a full 
abstract: — “ The natural method of increasing 
colonies of bees is by swarming, but the 
apiarist who allows this is dependent upon the 
will of his bees. If bees have sufficient room 
in the hive for storage of honey, &c., they are 
less inclined for swarming. The beginner who 
has not got the number of colonies he desires 
to keep may safely double his stock by division, 
or artificial propagation, but he must be 
acquainted with the habits of bees, else he may 
suffer loss and disadvantage. Dividing should 
only be resorted to when the colony is strong 
enough ; when it could afford a natural swarm- 
ing without disadvantage, and when the brood 
chamber (or central combs) are well filled with 
brood. Dividing may be classified thus : — 
1. Dividing the bees only; and 2. Dividing 
the bees and combs. The most suitable time 
is between 10 a.m. and noon, because then 
most of the old bees are away from the hive 
and do not molest the operator. I will describe 
four methods of making artificial swarms which 
by experience I have found best. 
“ No. 1. The hive which is to be divided — 
I will call it the parent hive — is left on its 
former place, and the empty hive put along- 
side of it. Now a brood comb is taken out of 
the parent hive, containing mostly unsealed 
brood, and one comb with honey, with all the 
adhering bees, and put in the empty hive. 
Comb after comb has to be taken out of the 
parent hive, and the bees are brushed off with 
a feather into the new hive. If the queen is 
found on a comb with unsealed brood, this 
frame may (as this is the safest way, especially 
for a beginner) be put in the new hive. 
Unfortunately the queen may be on a comb 
with sealed and nearly-hatching brood. It 
would in this case be wrong to take the frame 
and put it in the new hive, as by so doing the 
parent hive would lose a great number of 
young bees. The queen must in this case be 
induced to run on the combs in the new hive. 
The remaining space of the new hive is filled 
up with frames, fixed with starters of comb 
foundation. The cleared-off combs from the 
parent hive are put back to their former places. 
The artificial swarm is now ready to take its 
new place, which should be some distance from 
the parent hive. All the old bees will return 
to their old home, and as all the sealed brood 
is left there — consequently a great number of 
young bees hatch every day — the parent hive 
will in a short time have reached its former 
population. If a young fertile queen is at 
hand she may be inserted in a cage to the 
parent hive and set at liberty twenty-four 
hours after (provided the old queen has been 
put in the new hive.) By doing so the swarm 
in a few days is in perfect working order, 
whilst if they had to rear a queen it would be 
weakened very much. The new colony must 
be provided with plenty of honey, because all 
the bees are young ones, and these cannot 
gather any honey fur the first few days. Young 
bees do not gather honey — even at the peril 
of starvation — before they are sixteen to 
eighteen days old. 
“No. 2. This method differs from the first 
in the time of performing the operation. It 
must be done when most of the bees are at 
home. The combs of the parent hive are 
divided in two equal parts with all the adhering 
bees, so that each part has equal numbers of 
frames with open and sealed brood and honey. 
The artificial swarm must have the old fertile 
queen, and be removed to a place beyond one 
mile from their former standing-place, because 
if left here the old bees would fly back to the 
parent hive, and thus weaken the new colony. 
A young fertile queen or sealed queen cell may 
be given to the parent hive. 
“No. 3. This method of making artificial 
swarms is only practicable if the apiarist has 
already a large number of hives. A brood 
comb is taken out of a strong colony, the bees 
brushed off, and a young fertile queen caged 
on it. This comb is put in the middle of the 
empty hive. From each of six or seven of the 
strongest colonies one brood comb containing 
honey, with all the adhering bees, is taken out 
and put in the new hive. Care must be taken 
not to put any other queen into the hive. To 
prevent the bees from fighting with each other 
a little smoke is used. Then the swarm is 
provided with a vessel of pure water inside of 
the hive, and kept in a cellar or any other 
dark and cool room for not less than three days 
in order to unite the bees properly. The fourth 
or fifth day the artificial swarm may be placid 
on its stand in the apiary, and the queen 
liberated. 
“No. 4. The brood comb on which the 
queen is found in a strong colony is taken out 
of the hive and put with the adhering bees in 
the middle of an empty one. The remaining 
space is filled up with frames fixed with starters 
of comb foundation. This new hive is put in 
the place of the parent hive, and the latter in 
any other place in the apiary. But this must 
be done when the most bees are out of the hive. 
The consequence of changing the hives is that 
all the old bees, who know their former 
