The Cycle of the Year 
81 
records of extraordinarily early swarms are doubtless in¬ 
stances of swarming-out rather than of swarming. Nuclei 
used in queen-rearing are frequently depopulated, but this 
may be a case of the bees accompanying the virgin queen 
on her mating flight. When American foul brood is present 
in a colony, swarming-out is of common occurrence, the 
bees abandoning the hive when in advanced stages of the 
disease. Whether this is due to the influence of the (to 
us) unpleasant odor is not clear. 
Somewhat similar is the abandonment of the hive so 
frequent after hiving artificial or natural swarms or after 
treatment of a brood disease. After the artificial swarm is 
made, the bees may leave immediately or they may begin 
work and then desert the hive within twenty-four hours or 
even later. This is prevented if a comb containing un¬ 
sealed larvae is given the colony or, if a queen trap is placed 
over the entrance, the deserting bees will return to the 
imprisoned queen. When bees swarm-out they may cluster 
or they may fly away as after-swarms often do. After 
artificial swarming, a colony may repeatedly attempt to 
swarm-out, suggesting the intensified swarming sometimes 
observed in northern comb-honey apiaries. After sufficient 
comb is built and when larvae have hatched, this trouble 
disappears. The swarming-out of colonics under adverse 
conditions suggests the reported action of giant bees (Apis 
dorsata), which are said to abandon their combs if attacked 
by the wax-moth, or to migrate with the change in seasons 
to districts where nectar is available. 
GATHERING OF NECTAR AND STORING OF HONEY 
At any time that nectar is available, if the weather is 
suitable for flight, the bees gather nectar to be converted 
into honey for use as food. Usually, as early in the spring 
as bees are able to leave the hive for extended flights, there 
is some nectar available but, under the adverse condition of 
spring, when the colonies are weak and when flying is diffi- 
o 
