68 
NUCLEUS SWARMING. 
in a gauze wire cage. Having filled up the nucleus hive with 
empty frames, exchange the places of the two hives, bringing 
the entrance of the nucleus hive where the old stock has stood, 
and where the mass of the old bees will return from the fields, 
thus throwing out of the old stock swarms of workers into the 
nucleus hive, while the old bees from the nucleus will enter the 
old hive and minister to the wants of the numerous brood of the 
parent stock. The bees must not be swarmed between the hatch- 
ing and fertilization of the queen, and should they be swarmed 
when the honey harvest has received a check from a storm or 
drought, the bees thus empty of honey and consequently more 
quarrelsome, being suddenly thrown into the presence of a strange 
queen (although of the same scent) are inclined to sting her. To 
prevent this she is caged for thirty-six hours, when the bees 
from the old stock will mostly have joined the nucleus colony 
and she may be safely liberated. But, if she was taken from 
another nucleus, we sometimes let her remain caged a day 
longer, or smear her well with warm honey and drop her in 
among the bees. They immediately commence licking up the 
honey and forget to sting her.' 
If from any cause the stocks are swarmed when the bees are 
working but little, and after three or four days the nucleus swam 
be found deficient in bees, it may be strengthened by exchang- 
ing some of its empty frames for frames of capped brood from 
the parent stock, or should the flowers yield bountifully within 3 
week, the location of the two hives may again be exchanged 
The bees will not quarrel as they are of the same scent, unless a 
nucleus has been formed several weeks, or when honey is scarce. 
