148 
SWARMS. 
When the swarming is over in any particular hive, 
the new Queen, on the departure or death of the rest, 
and the restoration of the ordinary tranquillity of the 
community, goes abroad on the following day, gene- 
rally the fifth of her existence, to meet the males, 
and is impregnated. Forty-six hours afterwards, she 
commences laying the eggs of workers, and continues 
to do so for the eleven succeeding months. This 
does not, however, hold strictly true in every case ; 
for it sometimes happens, if the season be favourable, 
that the swarm led off by the old Queen, produces, 
in about a month afterwards, a new colony, which is 
also headed by the same female. Before leaving the 
old hive, she had terminated her great laying of drone 
eggs, and thus became able to fly from her greater 
lightness, and to set out to found a new colony. In this 
she recommences the laying the eggs of workers, and 
continues to do so for ten or twelve days, after which 
she deposits a few drone eggs in cells which the bees, 
as if aware that she would require them, have already 
prepared for their reception. These male eggs, 
though few, are enough to encourage the bees to 
construct royal cells ; and if, in these circumstances, 
the weather be favourable, a swarm may be formed, 
and the same Queen depart at its head. Nor is this 
variation in the swarming operations restricted to the 
instance of the old Queen ; we have known two or 
three instances in which a young Queen, that is, a 
Queen of the current year, after leading off, as in 
ordinary circumstances, an after-swarm, has again 
issued with another swarm from her new habitation. 
