Any scouts at your swarm trap?

[Erichalfbee]

Now that's a good tip.

 

[Antipodes]

I'd imagine they only collect swarms that pitch within the apiaries' immediate vicinity, so they are confident it came from their hives. I spoke to one recently who went to their hives on pollination duty in April to find a swarm on the outside of a hive. I presumed from the conversation that they collected it.

Is a commercial beekeeper in the UK one with 200+ hives, like here?

 

[gwt_uk]

Some interest this afternoon

 

[Do224]

Some interest this afternoon

Nice location

 

[Newbeeneil]

I now have 3 bait boxes within 5m of each other 20, 30 and 35lt. All were being investigated today, it will be interesting to see which they go for in the end.

Update!
After much dithering they chose the 30l box

 

[Erichalfbee]

Mummy bear

 

[Newbeeneil]

The Goldilocks box!

 

[jeff33]

A swarm has settled in my bait hive in one of my out apiaries. I haven't had a chance to deal with it yet and see what is what.

 

[user 20297]

Finally, the apiary bait hive has (semi-)permanent residents.

In this case, it was an Abelo deep box, half-filled with foundationless frames and one old comb at the back, with a dab of lemongrass oil on its top-bar.
The box has a solid top and bottom of 25mm PIR board. Being an Abelo, I used the vent-hole as the entrance; the location of the hole meant I had to place the frames "warm-way". I'm wondering if the void left by only half-filling the box might hive been alluring to the bees.

As it's the first time a swarm has "caught" itself for me, despite being prepared for it, when removing the box from the tree I was surprised at how heavy bees can be! It would be interesting if they're not from one of my hives; first indications are that they are very stripey, so I might be in luck.

 

[nettle]

I've got this nuc sitting at the back door, and this afternoon suddenly scouts have appeared. It was on top of a shed, but as I haven't seen a honey bee here since the apple blossom finished, and as it was blocking my old little cat's access to the shed (she got stuck last week), I took it down. Now it's just full of foundationless frames. I even took the old comb out, and nearly shut the entrance yesterday to stop spiders getting in. Fingers crossed! Although, the old woman next door will utterly freak if a swarm does materialise outside her door...

 

[Bluebell1985]

I had two Payne's 6 Frame poly nucs sitting in my apiary. One frame of foundation and 5 frames with 1inch starter strips filling each box. Ply covering the vented floor.

A few days of scouts and then a swarm moved in. 5 days of rain so I fed them after a day. It's been about 4 days now and they are happily bringing in pollen. After a day I removed the ply board from the floor (attached on the outside) as they were bearding quite a bit.

I'll go in there tomorrow and access them to see what I've got.

 

[masterBK]

Five swarms have taken up residence in bait hives in my garden over the last three weeks, the last one, a caste, arriving at lunch time today. Not unexpected as bees have been checking out a bait hive ( a maisemore nucleus hive with a frame of old comb inside ) over the last three days . Of these only one was a prime, the other four were castes. Most seem to come from the direction of an apiary at the local convent about half a mile away. The Nuns have had bees for years but never seem to get on top of swarm control. Their bees are usually quite defensive. I intend to unite this latest one with the other castes at the out-apairy to generate a production colony and replace the queen that survives the royal punch-up with one reared from one of my better colonies ( have several spare current years queens laying but still in mating nuclei that need to be moved on ASAP)

 

[JamezF]

I only put bait hives out at home two days ago and this morning there are perhaps a dozen bees investigating one of them. It could just be that they're interested because there's a frame of old comb inside and they're looking to see if there's any honey left, but we'll see how it goes.

I now have agreement in principle to put another couple of bait hives, potentially increasing to a full out-apiary, in a large garden a couple of miles away. The owners are apparently keen because they have a number of colonies in the eaves of their house and they'd like to encourage them to move elsewhere before they have the walls re-rendered next year. Not sure that's going to happen, but perhaps I'll see what's possible once the scaffolding is up.

James

 

[0bee-1]

strange hardly any activity in my part of Norfolk... a few scout bees around an empty hive in my garden the first sign of anything.

 

[JamezF]

Bees were still investigating one bait hive right up until dusk, so perhaps "there's a swarm coming", as they say in the films. This one is on a flat roof a couple of metres off the ground, facing south-west and mostly in full sun. The two in the shade in the apiary facing south may have attracted the occasional bee -- I think I saw one or two from a distance when I was there this afternoon -- though not many. The three (four since this evening) stacked up against the north-east wall of the house have been shown no interest whatsoever. The other major difference with those is that they haven't had any lemongrass oil put in them (and won't do, until they're actually "deployed") and two have no old comb in, because I ran out.

At one point I did also see a hornet buzzing around the first hive. Initially it seemed interested, but was perhaps put off by the restriction in the entrance. I used a 38mm diameter hole saw to cut the entrance and then put a nail down the middle to try to keep birds out.

James

 

[user 20297]

At some time during the last fourteen days a swarm of possible Buckfast has taken residence in my isolated, formerly bee-less apiary in the hills. I'd run out of kit, so this one is a little box intended for small animals or hens. Inside it's cobbled together to hold a few DN4 frames, but most of these are just the top bar only. The entrance used one of three, tiny ventilation holes, with two of them blocked with wine corks. I've removed one of these to improve access. Once inside, the bees have a wall of insulation blocking them and have to go up and over....it's therefore very warm-way.
I didn't expect them there and was around for other reasons, so inspection will have to wait....as said, I need more kit in any case
View attachment 20220611_114232.mp4

 

[JamezF]

Just had a swarm arrive

We saw a swarm flying when we were eating lunch, but only briefly. It seemed very small at the time, and pretty much disappeared from view. About quarter of an hour ago however it lifted off from the rowan tree in our garden and disappeared over the roof. I rushed to look out of the windows at the other side of the house and it was swirling around the bait hive, bees slowly piling up on the side with the entrance. It didn't take them long to settle. The entrance itself I cut with a 38mm hole saw, and as they went inside it was like watching water swirl down a plug hole

All inside now, so this evening I shall move them and put another bait hive in its place.

I'm intrigued to know where the swarm came from. I'm as sure as I can be that it wasn't from one of my hives (and they took a pretty strange route if it was, settling sixty-odd metres from the nearest hive when there are plenty of trees closer), but I don't know of any other hives locally.

James

 

[Erichalfbee]

I'm intrigued to know where the swarm came from. I'm as sure as I can be that it wasn't from one of my hives (and they took a pretty strange route if it was, settling sixty-odd metres from the nearest hive when there are plenty of trees closer), but I don't know of any other hives locally.

Have a look at Beebase you might be surprised at how many there are.

 

[jeff33]

Still haven't managed to find time to sort out the swarm which moved in the bait box 2 weeks ago..... I will one day!!

 

[Newbeeneil]

I have two swarms sitting in bait hives but I've not had time to rehome in the isolation apiary yet.