220
control of the hive. In the meantime, the old queen leaves the hive with about half
the workers, and occupies a new nesting site, stopping along the way at various
places. When a swarm lands at one of these intermediate sites, scout bees fl y off in
all directions to locate potential nest sites. They return to the main swarm and
perform dances that advertise the locations they have found. When many scouts
have agreed on a single nest site, the swarm fl ies off to the new location, and takes
up residence there.
Aristotle says little about this phenomenon,^10 but he does make note of the fact
that the hive ’s leaders may sometimes be killed by other leaders, especially during
periods of adverse environmental conditions [ 222 ].
Many of their rulers are also frequently killed, and especially the bad ones, in order that the
swarm may be dispersed by the numbers. They are more disposed to kill them when the
swarm is not fruitful, and no casts are formed. At such times they destroy the royal cells, if
any have been prepared, for they are the leaders of the swarm. (Book IX:26)
He also mentions occurrences of the ‘king’ leaving the hive in the company of
many bees, although he neglects to explain why.
The king bees never leave the hives , either for food or any other purpose, except with the
whole swarm; and they say that, if a swarms wanders to a distance, they will retrace their
steps and return until they fi nd the king by his peculiar scent. They say also that, when the
king is unable to fl y, he is carried by the swarm; and if he perishes, the whole swarm dies
with him. (Book IX:27)
One of the fi rst discussions of the causes of swarming behaviour appears to have
been written by the English apiarist John Geddes in his 1721 monograph The
English apiary, or, The compleat bee-master [ 223 ]. Here, he blames low food stocks
and inclement weather, coupled with overcrowding in the hive , for forcing bees to
abandon their old nest.
...but if the summer be also moist, the increase of bees [ sic. ] will be great; but because of
the scarcity of honey , this increase will prove a decrease... for the weather keeping them
much in, they can do nothing but breed, and when they go abroad, bring in nothing but bee-
bread [ pollen ] and water, wherewith they feed their young, but can fi nd nothing to lay up in
store, so that moist weather gives them two causes of swarming, plenty of bees , and penury
of honey; and so neither winds, nor clouds, nor rain can stay them. (p. 40)
The Solega have quite explicit knowledge of why a swarm leaves its natal colony,
and of the events that occur between departure and arrival at a new nest location.
Here, too, population increase in the original colony is held responsible for trigger-
ing a swarming episode:
Ra:ṇi noṇa e:na ma:ḍutte, be:re mari ja:sti ma:ḍidella, a: kuṭumbake ondu ra:ṇi noṇa ce:nj
a:gu uḍte. Ra:ṇi noṇa ce:nj a:da:ga be:re kuṭumbaka ba:ga a:godde. Ra:ṇi noṇa mari
ma:ḍda:ga ma:tra. Ra:ṇi mari ma:ḍadiddare, adu onde kuṭumba. A: ra:ṇi noṇa ba:ga
a:da:ga be:re mane kaṭṭutte ho:gi. A: ra:ṇi noṇa matte a: kuṭumbadalli uve ade ma:ḍutte.
A:ge ba:ga:gi ba:ga:gi ja:sti je: nu gu:ḍu a:dde.(^10) Some translators have made liberal use of the word ‘swarm’, but the contexts clearly indicate that
Aristotle meant ‘ hive ’ in most cases, e.g. “ The bee will live for six years, some have lived for
seven, and if a swarm lasts nine to ten years, it is considered to have done well.” ([ 222 ], VII:9)
7 Honeybee Lore