Division of the Colony: Swarming
. . . [God is] the Lord of the East and the West and everything between them. . . .
(Surat ash-Shu'ara': 28)
As already mentioned, from early spring on, the queen lays 1,500 to 2,000 eggs a day. If bees in the colony do not take precautions to respond to this increase, then the capacity of the hive will soon be unable to meet the needs of the rising population. Given the speed at which the queen lays her eggs, this means that between 45,000 and 60,000 bees are added in a single month. This rapid population rise will soon lead to congestion and malfunctioning.
As we know, the substance that the queen releases is one of the factors that establishes order in the hive. As the number of workers increases, the level of that "queen substance" to each worker must thus decrease. The reduction in the quantity of this substance indicates that the time has come for the hive to solve the problem of its rising population.91
When there is a rise of population, the measures to be taken are clear: either the hive has to be expanded, or else the population has to be reduced. Bees implement the most appropriate of these two options. Expanding their accommodations is no answer, because the problem stems from the insufficiency of the queen mandibular pheromone, rather than a lack of space. When there is too little of this substance, the females' ovaries start to develop and the colony's distinctive odor will weaken. As a result, the workers will set about constructing new queen cells-and the equilibrium in the hive will be damaged.
The population-planning method implemented in beehives is the most rational option. When the population rises too high, the bees set about lowering it-but not by killing the larvae and pupae, as they must do in the winter months. They adopt a very rational solution, beneficial from all points of view. When the population of a hive rises, one portion of the bees leave in a group, together with the queen and begin looking for a new place to settle.
This practice, known as swarming, allows the surplus bees to establish a brand-new colony.
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