TO ALL YOU BEE DRUMMERS:
 
	I don't have any scientific references to drumming, but the practice
was very common at the turn of the century.  Check any circa 1900
ABC & XYZ of beekeeping under the heading of "transferring bees".  Beekeepers
used drumming in transferring bees from "gums" or plank hives into the
Langstroth contraption.
 
	Another comment on a different note (pun intended);  if you have
a swarm on the ground and place a hive next to it, in a few moments they
will troop into the box without drumming.  It may be odor, a dark hole,
the urge to climb, or who knows what, but they will usually enter
unassisted.  After the first few go inside, scent fanning starts and helps
cue the others.  There may be a lot more involved.
 
	Lastly, one story I've heard about "tanging" for bees (banging on an
object to make a swarm alight) is that it was done by people to stake their
claim on an airborne swarm.  It meant that they saw it first and for others
to keep hands off as they would run through the village chasing it.  Oddly
enough, if you bang long enough, the swarm lands.  It's a miracle!