“First she manages to escape from her guardians and get out on the running-board of the hive, but her followers are close upon her heels. When she flies up to find a resting place they are close behind. Sometimes she manages to get some distance from the hive before she is overwhelmed with pursuers and brought to a full stop on a tree, or bush, or fence. It generally happens to be on the lower limb of a tree, and it happens more often that the swarm settles near the old hive.
“Once the queen settles on a resting-place all the other bees gather closely around her to prevent her escaping again. They fear she wants to run away from home, so they close in until the poor thing almost smothers. The bees will clasp their antennae through the hooked back-leg of the bee nearest them, and thus form a chain that keeps growing and circling about the cluster around the queen. Sometimes this swarm is so heavy that it falls from sheer weight. But generally the bees hanging on to the bough increase in numbers in order to hold safely aloft the hanging swarm.
“Once the swarm is large enough, it is best for the bee-farmer to gather it into a hive. This is when he beats a drum or a tin pan to imitate thunder. That always frightens the bees and the queen readily leads them into a new home. If a real thunderstorm overtakes the swarm and rain falls heavily before the farmer has gathered the bees into a shelter, he has lost them. For they will scatter and the queen will fly away never to return to the old home.
“Or she may try to re-enter her own old hive and be stung to death by the young queen and her subjects who are now ruling the place. In cases where a princess-queen leaves home to start a swarm, the swarm is never as large or difficult to manage, as the young queen seldom has as many devoted subjects to follow her as an old queen has.”
“Oh, how interesting, Mrs. Tompkins,” exclaimed Janet.
“Yes, we will be glad to have some bees and watch them work,” added Norma.
“If my bees swarm within the next few days I shall be glad to sell it to you. I’ll send word and you can come and get it,” said Mrs. Tompkins, generously.
“How fine! But how do we carry a swarm home?” asked Natalie.
“In your farmer’s hat!” retorted Janet, laughingly.
“Oh, you won’t have to worry over that. I’ll hive the swarm and send the hive right to the farm,” replied Mrs. Tompkins. “But you must be careful to locate them pleasantly, or they may wander off. Bees like plenty of flowers nearby, and the freedom of the fields, yet they want to hear human voices and be able to see their master going about, even if they seldom come in contact with him. They seem to feel secure and safe when living in the shadow of a home.”