DIVIDING.
The simplest method of artificial increase is to lift from the populous colony a portion of the combs, with adhering bees, and place them in another hive near the parent colony, taking care that the part without any queen should have a majority of the bees and should be on the old stand. If a mature queen cell is at hand to give to this part a day or two after the division, the new colony will soon have a laying queen, should all go well. But this last point will need looking after ten days or so later. Should a laying queen be at hand to supply to the queenless portion of the divided colony, the queen found in the hive at the time of the division had better be left in that part of the colony which remains on the original stand, since the old bees will of course return to that spot and will not as readily receive a strange queen as will the removed portion of the colony which has parted with its flight bees. By introducing a laying queen when the division is made the deposition of eggs will be begun a week earlier than if a cell only should be given. At this season of the year this will make a difference of a good many thousands of workers, and will also prevent the bees from clogging the brood combs with honey, as they would if left without a laying queen for a week or more. The supers are to be placed on this part on the old stand, which, having most of the flight bees, will be far better able to store surplus than the other portion. The plan of making the division nearly equal is quite objectionable in case it is followed closely by the main honey flow of the season, for it places neither colony in the best condition for immediate storing. But if only a moderate yet continuous honey flow, followed by a larger yield, is to be anticipated, both parts will have time to become populous, and the equal division, if done in time—that is, before the "swarming fever" has taken hold of the colony—will be likely to prevent swarming.
DRIVING OR BRUSHING.
In case, however, some immediate work is expected of either part of the divided colony, it is preferable to make the division in such a way as to secure about all of the flight bees as well as most of the young bees, which will soon become flight bees, in the hive on the old stand. This may be done by shaking or brushing nearly all of the bees from the combs of the hive to be divided, or, if the latter is a box hive, the swarm may be driven into an empty box, as described under "Transferring," in Chapter VII, and then hived as an ordinary swarm, the parent colony receiving also the same treatment as described under "Natural swarming."
THE NUCLEUS SYSTEM.
Perhaps the safest plan, considering that the yield, even when one is acquainted with the flora, can not be foretold, is to follow the plan of making nuclei, and, as soon as these have laying queens, building them up gradually to full colonies by adding frames of brood, frames filled with worker comb, or with comb foundation, or merely starters, as may seem best. This system, besides being safe, has certain other advantages. It leaves the parent hives strong for the working season, yet tends to discourage swarming, because whenever colonies become overcrowded, and before they have contracted the swarming fever, one or more brood combs are removed and the colony is thus induced to continue work in the brood chamber to fill the empty space, while, of course, they are kept supplied with plenty of storage room above for surplus honey. Furthermore, it is easy to exchange the young queen of the nucleus, as soon as she commences laying, with the queen of the full colony. If the nucleus has been started early, the full colony will thus secure a queen of the current season's raising sufficiently early to reduce greatly the probability of its wanting to swarm that year, even though permitted to get very strong, as it is almost certain to do under such circumstances. These nuclei build straight combs and may be relied on to build, even without foundation, worker comb only.
On the whole, a rational method of artificial increase is preferable to natural swarming; but experience and judgment in carrying it out are required to make it advantageous. It should be cautiously undertaken by the beginner, and the main reliance placed upon natural swarming until the bee keeper is familiar with the bees' way.
PREVENTION OF SWARMING.
The most commonly practiced and easily applied preventive measure is that of giving abundant room for storage of honey. This to be effective should be given early in the season, before the bees get fairly into the swarming notion, and the honey should be removed frequently, unless additional empty combs can be given in the case of colonies managed for extracted honey, while those storing in sections should be given additional supers before those already on are completed. With colonies run for comb honey it is not so easy to keep down swarming as in those run for extracted honey and kept supplied with empty comb. Free ventilation and shading of the hives as soon as warm days come will also tend toward prevention. Opening the hives once or twice weekly and destroying all queen cells that have been commenced will check swarming for a time in many instances, and is a plan which seems very thorough and the most plausible of any to beginners. But sometimes swarms issue without waiting to form cells; it is also very difficult to find all cells without shaking the bees from each comb in succession, an operation which, besides consuming much time, is very laborious when supers have to be removed, and greatly disturbs the labors of the bees. If but one cell is overlooked the colony will still swarm. The plan therefore leaves at best much to be desired, and is in general not worth the effort it costs and can not be depended on.