Author Topic: 1st trap out. I am not a fan of heights.. (Read 13784 times)

Yankee11 · « **on:** April 05, 2014, 11:56:52 pm »

This is a 3 story house. Bees are between 2nd and 3rd story. Made a corner platform and sealed everything up but the one entrance. Will let them get used to this then in a week or so place the cone over entrance and put a frame of eggs in the nuc. Supposed to be in low 40's next couple of nights, so i figured it would be to cold at night to start it now.

Hard part is done though.

I told home owner I would not do it off a ladder. He had some brick layers come and put up two sections of scaffolding. Not bad when I have a platform to stand on.

Jen · « **Reply #1 on:** April 06, 2014, 02:12:44 am »

Wow Yankee! That was real darned nice of the them to help you out like that! Bravo!

Yankee11 · « **Reply #2 on:** April 06, 2014, 12:00:47 pm »

Yea Jen, It was nice of them, BUT with this one, I am looking at it the other way.

I am helping them out.

Jen · « **Reply #3 on:** April 06, 2014, 12:54:32 pm »

I love beekeepers

G3farms · « **Reply #4 on:** April 06, 2014, 01:17:00 pm »

Go ahead and put your cone on there to collect a mess of bees, use an old brood comb to attract them, if you have one. After a day or two add in you frame of eggs. That way you are starting out with plenty of bees in the bait hive to cover the brood. I like to leave most of the nurse bees on the open brood to feed the larva, this will let the foragers remain foragers and not have to revert back to nurse bees.

Yankee11 · « **Reply #5 on:** April 06, 2014, 02:01:01 pm »

Ok. I'll do the. I'm going to wait a few days. We have cool temps. 40 at night. and rain the next 2 days. Then sunny and middle and
upper 70's.

I figured not much flying going on right now.

I will add cone then go back after a few days and add the brood. Thanks,

Yankee11 · « **Reply #6 on:** April 06, 2014, 02:48:04 pm »

Does this funnel look to be long enough.

tbonekel · « **Reply #7 on:** April 06, 2014, 03:14:40 pm »

That is a great looking funnel! I did a trap out last year and my funnel was about that long. Only I didn't have #8 hardware cloth at the time. All I had was metal window screen. It still worked though.

iddee · « **Reply #8 on:** April 06, 2014, 03:21:32 pm »

Why a nuc? Do you think the colony is that small?

If you put the cone on without the egg frame, what will attract them to the box?
Will they just gather at their old entrance and freeze that night?

Yankee11 · « **Reply #9 on:** April 06, 2014, 05:38:38 pm »

I decided a nuc because it's very high off the ground and I didn't want to deal with weight and bulk of the separate pieces of a deep set up. Plus it is early in season. If the nuc fills up quick, i"ll stick another one up there and another frames of eggs.

As far as why waiting for the eggs. This is my first trap out and G3 suggested it above

. I do have 3 drawn frames of brood comb and lemongrass oil in the small box. I am not going to put funnel on until it warms up. I don't want bees or eggs/brood to get chilled.

I have watched both you and G3's videos on trap outs.

So, you suggest the eggs the same day I put the funnel on?

Yankee11 · « **Reply #10 on:** April 06, 2014, 05:54:45 pm »

Looking at weather.

This next Saturday is high 76 low 59. I will put funnel on Saturday morning. Might just go ahead with the eggs/larva that day while I am up there.

76 degrees, I bet they will be flying like crazy that day.

iddee · « **Reply #11 on:** April 06, 2014, 06:55:00 pm »

G3 leaves the nurse bees on the frame, too. I guess that's just more insurance. I see nothing wrong with it if they don't fight, but I think it's unnecessary. I put just the frame with brood and eggs on one trap when it was 75 at 10:00 AM. The cone went on at the same time. We had frost the next morning. A week later I had 4 nice queen cells. I robbed 2 and started a nuc at home. Both the nuc and trap ended up with very nice queens.

LazyBkpr · « **Reply #12 on:** April 06, 2014, 07:00:17 pm »

Interesting.. I'll try it next time I do one that way.
I usually put the cone on in the morning and go back about 1 or 2 PM to drop in the eggs/larvae frame so I was insured there would be plenty of bees around the cone. Putting them in right away would make one less trip back and forth as long as they dont get chilled waiting for the bees to come in and cover them.

iddee · « **Reply #13 on:** April 06, 2014, 07:07:27 pm »

I have set them and seen bees going in at the position of the egg frame within 2 to 4 minutes of finishing the set up. Two to three hours of warm and I think they are covered, although I have never actually checked one before the next day.

Yankee11 · « **Reply #14 on:** April 06, 2014, 07:19:40 pm »

I can't wait to get started. I hope this thing fills up about 3 - 4 nucs. I'll keep you posted.

Yankee11 · « **Reply #15 on:** April 06, 2014, 07:35:36 pm »

So, having those larva make it that night with the frost. Can you guys take a look under the Raising Queens and take a look at a post I started today about making up some nucs this week.

Queen cells will be 10 days after grafting on wed. Tuesday night temp may me 39.

blueblood · « **Reply #16 on:** April 06, 2014, 08:01:13 pm »

Looks good! I had a trap out last year that I had to put two deeps on. I quit using nucs for trap outs unless I think it is a smaller colony or space confines.

Yankee11 · « **Reply #17 on:** April 06, 2014, 08:47:41 pm »

Wow, what time of year was it?

I would love to get 4 nucs from this trap out. That would be cool.

blueblood · « **Reply #18 on:** April 06, 2014, 09:24:59 pm »

Quote from: Yankee11 on April 06, 2014, 08:47:41 pm

Wow, what time of year was it?
I would love to get 4 nucs from this trap out. That would be cool.

I started it May 10, 2013 and ended it July 7, 2013. It is still kicking and promises to be a whiz banger for 2014.

iddee · « **Reply #19 on:** April 06, 2014, 09:36:37 pm »

""So, having those larva make it that night with the frost.""

I don't know for sure that they did. It may have been the eggs that hatched after the temp rose again. The bees may have kept the larva warm, or it could be that eggs can take cooler temps than lava. I really don't know that much about it. That's why I always specify eggs, not larva, in the bait box.