thousand answers 245 
A. Set the hive on the ground with the entrance close to the 
bees, put a few at the entrance, and let the rest follow. 
Q. I have just started in beekeeping. I keep my bees in a large 
attic. Having only one colony, I would like to get another swarm 
started in swarming time. Can they be made to go into another 
hive while swarming? 
A, Of course a swarm- can be hived in any hive, just the same 
as if the bees were on the ground instead of being in an attic. 
What you probably mean, however, is to have the bees enter the 
hive of their own accord. That can be managed, too, just the 
same as if the bees were on the ground. Have the queen’s wing 
clipped. Then when the swarm issues catch and cage the queen, 
move the old hive to a new place and set the new hive where the 
old hive stood. The swarm, having no queen, will be sure to re- 
turn within a few minutes, and finding the old hive gone, will 
enter the new one sitting where it left the old one. As the bees 
are entering the hive, free the queen and let her run into the hive 
with them. 
Q. In hiving a swarm where only the queen and not quite two 
frames of bees can be captured, should the division-board be used 
as in nuclei, and about how many frames of comb or foundation 
should be given them? 
A. A division-board is not needed, but it is better to have a 
dummy; that is, a board like a division-board, but having a space 
all around. The hive may be filled at first with combs, or you may 
give only one comb more than the bees can cover, adding others 
as they are needed. 
Swarms, Issue of. — Q. What time of the day do bees swarm? 
A. The prime swarm, which issues with the old queen, gener- 
ally comes off somewhere between 9 and 12 o’clock. An after- 
swarm, having a virgin queen, is more irregular, and may issue 
earlier or later, in some cases as early as 6 in the morning, and 
as late as 4 or 5 p. m. If a morning is very hot, a swarm may come 
out early. If the day should be rainy, and clear off rather late in 
the afternoon, a swarm may come then. 
Q. Do bees find a home before they swarm? 
A. Often, and perhaps generally. 
Q. Are there any indications to tell when the first swarm will 
issue ? 
A. Yes; when a colony decides to swarm it starts a number 
