About the swarms

Bees can swarm for many reasons. Perhaps there are two queens in the hive, and one of them is leaving with her followers. The farmer tries to prepare for the swarming time by putting empty hives in places where the bees can see them. Then they will not fly too far away.

The farmer knows, too, that if he can pick up the queen bee and place her in a new hive, all the others will rush after her, make her comfortable, and begin building new cells again. Bees will also swarm if they do not like their hive, or if there is not enough food nearby. Sometimes they just want to return to the wilderness and live in trees again. The farmer will often try to prevent swarming by cutting the queen's wings. He knows that the swarm will not go far away from the queen.

If the queen cannot fly away,'the farmer will always be sure of capturing the swarm again. But if the farmer takes care of his bees, they will not fly away from him. Bees like comfortable homes, just as we do, and hardly ever move away without a good reason