Page:How to Keep Bees.djvu/109

Rh of colonies is increased as much as if the swarm had come off naturally.

By removing the queen.—Some apiarists remove the queen during the honey-harvest and cut out all the queen cells. They give the queen a nucleus if they wish more brood; meanwhile the colony will not swarm without her. Whether queenless bees are as easy in their minds and, therefore, as ready and enthusiastic in the task of gathering honey, is a mooted question. Bees, like people, work to the best advantage when they have fewest worries. One difficulty with this method is that before we are aware of it a queen may be reared despite our careful and onorous labours in hunting for queen cells. Another difficulty with this practice is the encouragement of the egg-laying workers, which is a most demoralising influence to introduce into a hive.

AFTER-SWARMS

An after-swarm is one that is led by a virgin queen and may come off within sixteen days after the first natural swarm departs; usually it occurs within a week. Most bee-keepers consider the after-swarm as a manifestation of "pure cussedness" on the part of a colony; but it is only a poorly adjusted method practised by the bees for getting rid of superfluous princesses. After the old queen decamps with her followers, there are usually several queens ready to emerge from their cells; the ordinary story, as told in books, is that the first queen that emerges hastens to slay her yet helpless sisters, or battles with