80 
ARTIFICIAL SWARMING 
these are available, frames of empty combs 
may be used, especially if for extracted 
honey, but a full set of empty combs is 
not best for comb honey. Most of the 
bees, including' the queen, are then shaken 
or brushed from the combs in front of the 
entrance of the new hive so arranged that 
they will run into the hive readily; or, if 
preferred they may be shaken on top of 
the frames in the new hive. Some prefer 
to find the queen and set the comb on 
which she was found into the new hive 
first being sure that it contains no queen- 
cells; some find the queen and run her in 
at the entrance of the new hive; while 
others shake and brush all the bees without 
looking for the queen. Whatever the 
method employed, the queen must be in 
the new hive when the operation is com¬ 
plete. 
If comb honey is being produced, usu¬ 
ally two combs with adhering bees should 
be left in the old hive in order that there 
will be enough bees to take care of the 
brood. The number of bees necessary to 
leave for this purpose depends upon the 
weather, more being needed if the nights 
are cool. The combs containing the finest 
queen-cells should not be shaken if increase 
is to be made from the parent colony, since 
shaking the combs injures the immature 
queens in their cells. The queen-cells on 
all the other combs which have been 
shaken should be destroyed to prevent any 
crippled queens emerging; for such a 
queen, if she emerges first, might destroy 
the perfect young queens in their cells on 
the unshaken combs. 
The supers from the parent hive are next 
put on the new hive, and the hive of the 
parent colony is placed by the side of the 
new one, with its entrance facing in the 
same direction but having its entrance con¬ 
tracted. The bees should noAv continue 
work in the supers and rush the incoming 
nectar above, especially if foundation is 
used in the new brood-chamber, for until 
this is drawn out into comb there is no 
place to store it below. 
The hive containing the parent colony 
is left beside the new one a week. Then 
at a time when the bees are working Avell 
in the fields, and preferably Avhile many 
young bees are taking their playfiight 
(gee Playflights of Young Bees), the 
old hive should be moved to a neAV loca¬ 
tion for increase. The old hive should be 
handled carefully while being carried 
away to prevent disturbing the bees, so 
that when the field bees that are in the 
hive go out after another load they Avill 
not note the change in location of the hhie. 
The hive should be carried far enough 
away that the returning bees will not find 
it, and should not be located too close to 
other hives where bees from an adjacent 
hive might enter it by mistake. When 
this is done most of the young bees Avhich 
have become field workers during the week 
will noAv, as they return from the fields, 
enter the new hive on the old stand, and 
at the same time the parent hive is so de¬ 
pleted of its bees that after-SAvarming is 
prevented. See After-swarming, iieddon 
METHOD. 
If extracted honey is being produced, 
all the bees may be brushed or shaken from 
their combs when an artificial swarm is 
made, and the 'old brood-chamber with its 
combs of brood can then be placed on top 
of the supers as tho it Avere an additional 
super, first destroying all the queen-cells 
and placing a queen-excluder betAveen the 
loAver brood-chamber and the supers. When 
the combs of brood are shaken and brush¬ 
ed clean, it is not necessary to find the 
queen to be sure that she is in the neAv 
brood-chamber. 
In this way the parent colony is above 
the supers, and the swarm is beloiv the 
supers, both being in the same hive. They 
are, in fact, a single colony with the young 
and emerging bees in the upper hive-bodv 
and the queen and the neAv brood-chamber 
noAv being established in the loiver line- 
body. As the brood emerges the combs 
in the upper hive-bodv will be filled with 
honey and the former brood-chamber noiv 
becomes a super. It may be adA’isable 
again to destroy all queen-cells in the old 
brood-chaipber 10 days later, tho this is 
not always necessary, especially if sevei'al 
supers are between the loAver brood- 
chamber and this one on top. If increase 
is desired the queen-cells should not be 
destroyed, and the old brood-chamber with 
its emerging brood should be taken aAvay 
a Aveek after the artificial swarm was made 
and used for increase. 
The question may be asked here why 
