30 
NATURAL SWARMING. 
wise, when a stock has swarmed, there remains in it a young 
queen to be fertilized. Consequently, should she be lost on her 
bridal tour the stock is left without either a queen or materia] 
from which to rear one, as the eggs left by the old queen at her 
departure, with the first swarm, are too far advanced to be used 
for that purpose. 
Queens are seldom lost except while making these excursions, 
when they are sometimes caught by birds, but far more fre 
quently slain as intruders by entering the wrong hive on their 
return, mistaking it lor their own. The bereaved colony will 
exhibit the greatest agitation. Bees will be running about the 
entrance and up the sides of the hive, searching everywhere for 
their beloved queen. This commotion is very noticeable the 
next morning after the loss, while other colonies are quiet, and 
for two or three mornings as it gradually wears off. The bees will 
sometimes work with their accustomed vigor, and, still hoping to 
succeed in rearing another queen, their drones are preserved, 
after those of other stocks are destroyed. There being no far- 
ther increase in the colony, it dwindles away as daily losses oc- 
cur, and, should the bee-keeper not come to the rescue, must ere 
long fall a prey to worms and robbers. The loss of queens is 
usually the result of placing hives of the same color or general 
appearance too close together. Colonies that have young queens 
to be impregnated should stand five feet or more apart. Such 
colonies are all old stocks that have cast swarms, and all swarms 
after the first from any stock. Also, if the hives appear much 
alike, each one should have a different mark to guide its queen 
in returning to her hive. When using common hives, the bee- 
