swarm traps

[Marty68]

Ty Apis with that I might be able to catch my first swarm  gonna get a box ready and take it there this weekend. That's good news to hear

[apisbees]

Remember that swarming is a multiple step process. They run out of the hive like a rebellious bunch of teenagers and meet at the local hang out (swarm tree). Then  they come to a consensuses of who's basement to go crash and take up residents in (new colony location). Just because you have finished the rec-room and installed a big screen TV doesn't guarantee they will come to your house (Bait hive with comb and lures). If the majority of scouts come to the consensuses  they want to hang out in the park (in a tree cavity), or behind 7/11 (in a wall) or where ever they decide. It's their choice (the teenagers), no (the Swarm), and just because we have provided what we think is the perfect new space. The bees may not agree.

[crazy8days]

I haven't caught a swarm yet.  Where are good places to set traps?  When using foundationless frames do you add a starter strip?  A couple years ago I made nucs using the 1 sheet of plywood prints.  Could those be used or do I need a bigger trap.

[LazyBkpr]

A 1.4 cubic foot space is "reported" as being ideal. I have caught swarms in deep nuc boxes, and I have caught them in my medium 8 frame boxes. I think the basic thinking by the bees is that they will choose the best location they can find. If your box is less than Ideal they will still choose it if there are no better locations, however, if there IS a better location they will choose it instead.
   Click on Robo's link to his Bee Vac site and then go to his swarm trap page. Lots of good info on there.

[tbonekel]

Where are good places to set traps? 

I caught two last year in traps that were placed just inside a narrow tree line next to a large field. And just on the other side of that tree line, there is a creek. I might have just been lucky. I'm going to place the traps in the same location this year and see if it works again.

[efmesch]

  Where are good places to set traps? 

Not far from other hives. 
My bait hives are stocked with a few frames  (best if built, or at least, with foundation) and placed near my occupied hives. 
so far this year, three swarms moved into my unoccupied equipment, totally uninvited.  I probablty won't get any more because I'm low on equipment and want to have my available frames for second and third supers.

Today I combined two of the three swarms I collected with two of the three moved-in swarms in order to make stronger families to take advantage of the honey flow that is presently moving into full swing.
The third set of swarms was left alone because I couldn't find the queen of one family, even after going through every frame at least four times.  I didn't want the queens to fight it out, so I let them be for the meanwhile, one hive sitting on top of the other.
With  the second  set of merged swarms I decided to experiment and try a two queen arrangement:  Above the bottom brood-nest and below the upper brood nest I placed a queen excluder (in addititon to the slitted newspaper for merging) and I placed an empty super between the two.  I another few days I'll check to see what happened. Hopefully, I'll need to add another super in between

[Boykins]

Would it be ok to set swarm traps on tree stands? Some wood, some metal and anywhere from 8' to maybe 16'.

[brooksbeefarm]

Boykins, that's the way i do it, works great. Jack

[Barbarian]

Ef  ----- sounds like you have other keeps in your area,, or is it feral colonies ?

Would the other keeps be "let alone" types or do Israeli prefer to have bees that swarm ?  I think I read (BKQ) that the Greeks like their hives to swarm.   

[efmesch]

--- sounds like you have other keeps in your area,, or is it feral colonies ?

There are other keeps in the vicinity---particularly in the spring season, when the real honey flows start along the coastal area of the country.  As the season proceeds, many of the hives are moved inland, to the east.  As the topography inland moves higher, the flowering develops later.
In my earliest days of beekeeping I used to collect feral colonies but since the appearance of Varroa on the scene, they have all disappeared.  :'(  Unfortunately, there can be no more "let alone beekeeping" in Israel.  :'(

I wouldn't be surprised if some of the swarms come from my grandson, who has (in my opinion) expanded his holdings too rapidly and has not yet developed the techniques of keeping on top of the "game".  He has about fifty hives in my general neighborhood and has been working hard, but not hard enough, to keep all the hives happy without them going into the ecstasy of swarming. 

At least it keeps things in the family.    I've been sharing a lot of my equipment with him, and if I catch any more swarms, they'll be passed on to  him----I've more than recovered my losses from last autumn and I'm not in the position to handle more hives than I have now.