THE HONEV-BEE^ 
197 
On the Management of Bees in the Swarming 
Season. — Tlic approach of this interesting season is 
indicated to the Bee-master by the appearance of the 
drones or males, which shew themselves about the 
end of May or the beginning of June, sooner or later, 
according to the general nature of the climate, and 
the particular state of the colony to which they be- 
long. In the meantime, the population has increased 
rapidly, and the heat of the hive is greatly augmented. 
Excited by these causes, the queen hurries over the 
combs from one quarter of the hive to another, commu- 
nicates her agitation to her subjects, and, accompanied 
by a multitude of them, rushes out of the hive. (See 
p. 138.) The bee-owner is forewarned of this re- 
volution by several not insignificant signs. In many 
cases, for several preceding days, the bees have been 
hanging in clusters from the mouth of the hive, as if 
unable to find room within, and desirous of seeking a 
new domicile ; on the morning of the day on which 
the emigration takes place, they may be observed 
listless and idle at the entrance, frequently entering 
within the door, and returning in small parties of 
two, three, or four, seemingly insensible to the fra- 
grance exhaled from the rich flower-vegetation, and 
testifying none of their usual activity in profiting by 
it ; while, as the day advances, the males, on the 
other hand, are hurrying to and fro with a prodigious 
bustle and noise, as if conscious of some revolution 
impending in which they would have to bear a pro- 
minent part ; and, lastly, the moisture or sweating, 
as it is called, which, in the early part of the day, 
