=Swarming.=--As already explained (pp. 7, 8) a hive will "swarm" when an old queen finds that other queens are being nurtured in the hive. In such a case she calls forth as many of her adherents as will follow her and goes out to found a new community. Oftentimes the site of the new home is definitely settled beforehand in some unoccupied hive, and in such cases scout workers will have prepared and cleansed the hive some days in advance. The passing to and fro of these pioneers will sometimes give the owner of the empty hive the idea that he has bees working there. Generally, however, the swarm issues from the hive without any definite objective and flies on until the queen settles, when her retinue of workers form a cluster around her. As a rule it is an easy matter to tell when the bees are swarming, for they rush pell-mell in a tumultuous stream from the hive, and fly round and round, and in and out, hundreds being on the wing together, taking the appearance of a living cloud. They are perfectly docile and will allow the spectator to stand among them provided they are not provoked. Of course this is easily done: the mere getting entangled in the hair of the onlooker is sufficient to rouse their anger. Any symptoms of nervousness, too, seem to become apparent at once to the bees, and perspiration, again, is objectionable to them. But an expert bee-handler may lift a swarm with his hands and suffer no ill, for so long as they are not crushed the bees will not resent the handling. It is seldom that a first swarm issues from the hive other than when the weather is warm and the sun shining. Generally it is between 9 a.m. and 4 p.m. that swarming takes place. First swarms are usually the largest, for when the joyful hum of the rising swarm sounds forth many of the bees from adjoining hives will be drawn to join the swarm and are received in a friendly manner. _Virgin Swarms._--The bees of a swarm will often follow a virgin queen when she goes out to seek a mate, the bees apparently thinking that if she is lost they will die. It is therefore advisable that a hive which is known to contain a virgin swarm should have the entrance blocked up so that only one or two bees can pass in or out at a time. This may be widened after the queen has been mated. _The Treatment of Swarms_ will be found explained on page 68.