814 
SWARMING 
all that is necessary to prevent swarming is 
to continue regularly killing cells, believing 
that there will be no swarming so long as no 
ceils are allowed to approach the sealing 
stage. But it doesn’t work out that way. 
After a colony once fully gets into the no¬ 
tion of swarming, it seems only to make it 
more stubborn to have its cells killed, and 
finally it may swarm with nothing further 
than eggs in queen-cells, if indeed there is 
that much preparation. 
So it is a matter of some nicety to decide 
when it is wise to continue to depend upon 
killing cells and when to resort to some 
other measures. Suppose a colony had cells 
killed June 10, and it is again visited June 
18, 19, or 20, and at this time nothing fur¬ 
ther than eggs are found in queen-cells. No 
trouble to decide in this case. Kill the eggs, 
and continue killing them each time no fur¬ 
ther advance is made. It sometimes happens 
that eggs are found upon one or two visits, 
and then the bees go thru the rest of the 
season without any further thought of 
swarming. 
Suppose, however, that in the same hive, 
upon visiting it June 18 or 20, we find 
queen-cells in number, some of them well 
advanced or even sealed. In this case it 
will be useless to think of depending upon 
any further cell-killing. 
Between these two extremes, only eggs 
and many advanced cells, come all degrees 
of advancement, and it is not easy to know 
where to draw the line. If only small lar¬ 
vae are found, they may be considered the 
same as eggs, and killing cells continued. 
Something depends on the number of cells 
found. If not more than three or four, even 
tho quite well advanced, it may be counted 
safe merely to kill them. Something, too, 
depends upon the time. Early in the sea¬ 
son the bees are more persistent about 
swarming, whereas later the killing of cells 
may be more relied on, even tho well ad¬ 
vanced. Also cells late in the season may 
mean superseding the queen, especially if 
the cells be few in number. 
It is no little trouble to keep killing cells 
every eight or ten days, and the question as 
to how efficient the plan is is a fair one. 
Also, it is a matter of some consequence to 
know what bearing this sort of management 
has upon the crop. These questions may be 
fairly well answered by quoting from Glean¬ 
ings in Bee Culture for 1905, page 1174, 
where I reported: 
“Of 160 colonies run for comb honey that 
were fair subjects for comparison, 13% per 
cent went thru the season without ever of¬ 
fering to start queen-cells; 12% per cent 
started cells one or more times, but gave it 
up when their cells were destroyed; and 73% 
per cent seemed so bent on swarming that 
they were treated by being kept queenless 
ten or fifteen days. The colonies that were 
left with their queens all the time aver¬ 
aged 36% per cent more sections than those 
that were treated. But that’s better than 
they would have done if. left queenless for 
twenty-one days, which would have been 
the case practically if swarms were shak¬ 
en.” Altho it is mentioned that treatment 
was given that left colonies queenless ten 
or fifteen days, it should be said not often 
did the time extend beyond ten days. 
Of course seasons differ: but likely enough 
1905 was about the average. It should be 
remembered that this was with 8-frame hives 
run for section honey. With larger hives, or 
with extracted honey, the result would have 
been better. 
One trouble with so much shaking of bees 
off the combs is that it sometimes happens 
that on a certain visit we find a colony with 
no cells and then at the next visit queenless, 
the queenlessness in some way no doubt 
caused bv the operator. 
I said that early in the season every col¬ 
ony must be examined and cells killed, but 
later in the season there were exceptions. 
Those exceptions become more numerous as. 
the season advances, and occur whenever a 
young queen of the current season’s rearing 
is introduced. We then write in the record 
book the word “Pass,” and for the rest of 
the season that hive will not again be 
opened. It is possible that a colony with 
such a young queen may swarm, but it so 
rarely happens that it is not worth while 
to keep watch for it. When a colony is 
treated for swarming, if its queen is not a 
little better than the average, it is always 
desirable that she shall be replaced by a 
young queen, and thus the ranks of the 
“Passers” are constantly recruited, and the 
work of killing cells is lightened. 
When it is best to stop the business of 
killing cells it is not easy to say; but hardly 
much before the waning of the fall flow. 
If continued too late it may interfere with 
those colonies that want to supersede their 
queens. But killing cells in the later months 
is by no means so important as earlier, for 
a swarm in August will interfere very little 
with the crop as compared with one in June. 
REMEDIAL MEASURES. 
After everything has been done that is 
possible to prevent swarming, conditions 
beyond the control of the beekeeper may 
bring about preparations for swarming in 
some of the colonies. When any colony per¬ 
sists in building queen-cells preparatory to 
swarming and refuses to yield to preven¬ 
tive measures it is necessary either to ap¬ 
ply a remedy to prevent the issuing of the 
swarm or permit the swarm to issue and 
hive it as previously described. When the 
beekeeper can be among his colonies every 
day during the swarming season it is usu¬ 
ally just as well to permit the bees to com¬ 
plete their program as to swarming and to 
