Swarming is the natural way in which colonies subdivide and form new ones. The impulse to swarm in the spring of the year is conditioned largely upon the prospect of liberal food supply. In this respect the bee is governed by the same natural laws which control the fluctuations of all other members of the animal kingdom.

The swarming season varies by seasons and location. In California it may begin as early as March first and last till June 15th.

To properly understand the subject it is necessary to begin our observations with the beginning of the increasing season which also marks the termination of the broodless period. During the dormant or broodless period in midwinter the colony steadily decreases in numbers and is at its lowest point when the first flowers of the season being to furnish fresh pollen and nectar. The bees rouse themselves from their stupor and the queen begins laying first on one comb then on two, gradually widening the brood area. She is limited from the outset to the amount of brood the workers can nurse and cover. Bees that have lived over winter die off rapidly. So for a time the colony will remain stationary as to numbers even after the young bees begin to emerge. Once the young begin to predominate, the colony will forge ahead if seasonable conditions are favorable. The rapidity with which a vigorous queen will fill her hive with brood and bees is often astonishing. From a feeble start on one comb January 15th, I have seen two story hives boiling over with bees and swarming right and left by the middle of April. They begin to think about swarming as soon as the hive is about full of brood and young bees. The appearance of queen cells is the first indication. The workers build the cells, a dozen or more scattered about through the hive. The queen lays an egg in each one. Within eight days thereafter these queen cells will be sealed over. Usually about this time or a day or two later the prime swarm will be cast. It may emerge as early as 9 A M. or as late as 2 P. M. but it seldom occurs after 12 o'clock. The queen usually accompanies the swarm. She ceases laying several days before the event in order to reduce her weight so she can take wing. It is an intensely interesting sight to watch a swarm emerging from the hive. The workers pour out of the hive pell mell and take wing. They circle about until all have emerged. The queen is usually among the last to leave the hive. About two-thirds of the bees join the swarm. By what means they decide who is to go and who is to remain with the hive is a mystery. The swarm will settle on a tree or shrub in a few minutes. Occasionally they will make off without settling but not often. No attempt to hive them should be made till they are nicely settled. Then get a hive with combs or foundation (if you want to be doubly sure of success put a frame of fresh brood in the hive) and place it so the swarm may be shaken down near the entrance. It is not necessary to put the bees in the hive. They seem anxious enough to go in especially if the hive is baited with brood as above described. If the weather is warm no time should be lost in hiving them. If they settle in a tree top or other inaccessible place it may call for a little ingenuity on the part of the beekeeper to successfully hive them. A step ladder and a basket come in handy in such a case. A swarm shaken into a basket will cluster there and may be carried to any point in the yard. The queen of course is among the bees and follows their lead into the new hive. If she should take wing instead the swarm will follow her. If she is accidentally killed in the act of hiving, the swarm will eventually return to the parent hive. If, however, you have used fresh brood in hiving them they will remain and begin constructing queen cells by which to replace the lost queen.

Now let us return for a moment to the parent colony from which the swarm has come. It will be found that only about one third of the bees have remained behind to care for the brood which is all sealed brood and therefore requires a minimum of attention.

This brood is hatching all the time and within a week will go a long way toward restoring the colony to its original strength. But in the meantime something else has happened. The queen cells will have begun to hatch and one of two things will happen. The first virgin to emerge will destroy all the remaining cells or what is more likely, she will lead off an after swarm. If several virgins emerge at the same time the after swarm may split up into small bunches no larger than a man's fist, each with a virgin queen. The hive may cast an after swarm each day for two or three days, etc. The best way to prevent this freakish behavior is to destroy all but one cell in the parent colony immediately after the prime swarm has emerged. The parent colony should be examined two weeks after swarming to make sure that the young queen has been successfully mated and commenced laying. The following reckoning should be used in dealing with the periods of the queen cell and virgin queen. Egg three days, larvae five days, sealed cell seven days, altogether from the egg to young virgin fifteen days. The virgin should mate when seven days old and lay the tenth day. Inclement weather may interfere with mating, so reckon accordingly.

Now I have said that the queen accompanies the swarm. This is not always the case. If the queen is old and feeble or otherwise unsatisfactory to the bees they will deliberately set about to supersede her. A number of queen cells will be built with this end in view. If the colony is strong enough and the swarming season on, the first virgin to emerge is apt to lead off a small swarm. The next virgin to emerge will become the successor to the old queen who will eventually disappear. In such a case it is not uncommon to see two queens, mother and daughter living peacefully together In the same hive.

If a strong colony becomes queenless during the swarming season they are very apt to swarm when their queen cells hatch. Professional beemen dislike to be bothered with swarming. They prefer to have their colonies remain strong as the honey gathering capacity of a colony is largely determined by its strength. If they want more colonies they prefer to increase by artificial methods. A colony may be divided at the time and convenience of the beekeeper while if left to swarm naturally it will swarm when it gets ready whether the beekeeper is on hand to capture the swarm or not.

Under the head of "Spring Management, " I have outlined means of swarm prevention.