73 
AMOUNT OP BEES THAT CONSTITUTE A SWARM. 
There are three classes of bees that inhabit a hive,— 
the queen, drone and worker, — though it is not neces- 
sary that the whole three classes should always be 
present in order to have a swarm. A queen with a 
handful of workers is properly a swarm ; if there is 
twenty or thirty thousand, or even sixty thousand 
present, it is but a swarm. 
The following table of the average number, measure 
and weight, is taken from Key’s Treatise. This table is 
not far from correct. It is very necessary to take into 
account the state of the bees at the time when the cal- 
culation is made. If they are alive, they weigh less 
than when dead, and also if weighed immediately after 
they have emigrated from the mother hive, as they are 
then loaded down with honey and farina, and will weigh 
more. This calculation was made when the bees were 
in their natural state, alive. This will allow the api- 
arian to make a pretty close calculation upon the 
number of bees his hives contain, when he sees them in 
clusters or heaps. 
(Dry measure is here made use of.) 
15.000 bees constitute a medium swarm. 
25.000 bees constitute a good swarm. 
35.000 bees constitute a large swarm. 
I have seen in some colonies, just before swarming, 
forty, fifty and even sixty thousand. 
100 drones weigh . 
290 workers weigh 
4,640 workers weigh 
450 (about one gill,) 
1,830 workers, (a pint in measure,) . 
3,660 workers, (a quart in measure,) 
lbs. oz. pwfc. 
0 10 
0 1 o, 
1 0 0 
0 1 10 
0 6 5 
0 12 10 
