Another trouble met with by the queen-rearer is the loss of virgins with mating swarms. These swarms are rather difficult to prevent in very hot weather when the nuclei have become too strong, for they are prone to hang out in bunches from their entrances. Now if a virgin should fly while such a cluster is hanging, the whole lot will sometimes join her and form a cluster on some bush nearby, in which case the bees never return to the hive, and if not found quickly will eventually fly away as a small swarm.
R.O.B Manley 'Honey Farming' 1946
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