Bait Hives

[MartinL]

. . . . . . . . - he put forty bait hives out in the summer - caught 37 swarms!

MMM, is he a fisherman too?
Sounds like a good tail to me!

 

[jenkinsbrynmair]

Not according to the happy nuns who got most of the swarms.
Out here, swarm catching is how most people make increase or get their first bees. since last year, of the ten hives put out by the orphanage, nine are now occupied, one had a swarm move into a wall nearby (hive not set up properly)an one caught in a cardboard box bait hive which unfortunaely was destroyed in a thunderstorm.

 

[Bob Bee]

It's luck at the end of the day. I have been lucky in the past so a fan.

Better away from your bees but then it may not be your bees that move in.
A single bb solid floor small entrance facing south and 2m off the ground one old piece of comb with no stores the rest empty frames and a few drops of lemon grass oil in the hive.

This and 200 mtrs from your hives, is about all you need to know, sunny spot helps. I have two spots done like this that attracts 3 and sometimes 4 swarms every year (occasionally one of them is mine...).

 

[alldigging]

This and 200 mtrs from your hives, is about all you need to know, sunny spot helps. I have two spots done like this that attracts 3 and sometimes 4 swarms every year (occasionally one of them is mine...).

What's the thought behind the 200m?

 

[pargyle]

What's the thought behind the 200m?

Swarming bees tend to find an initial spot to congregate well within this distance from the hive .. so, if you have a bait box at this sort of distance then there's a chance that the scouts, sent out from their initial settling point, may decide that this is an easy option for a new home.

The other school of thought is that swarming bees can look for places to settle that are within this sort of distance from another colony .. presumably, they recognise that if there is already a colony settled in the area then it's a reasonable place to set up home .. so you may get someone else's swarm moving in.

 

[alldigging]

Swarming bees tend to find an initial spot to congregate well within this distance from the hive .. so, if you have a bait box at this sort of distance then there's a chance that the scouts, sent out from their initial settling point, may decide that this is an easy option for a new home.

The other school of thought is that swarming bees can look for places to settle that are within this sort of distance from another colony .. presumably, they recognise that if there is already a colony settled in the area then it's a reasonable place to set up home .. so you may get someone else's swarm moving in.

I've seen one chart that suggested 300m from parent hive (Can't find it now) but in this shortened version
http://ecommons.cornell.edu/bitstream/1813/2653/2/Bait Hives for Honey Bees.pdf
Page 4 it says distance from parent hive not important

200m is the other end of my street - which would be fine as I have a choice of gardens I can leave boxes in.

 

[pargyle]

Page 4 it says distance from parent hive not important

QUOTE]

Yes it does but this is Tom Seeley's paper on bait hives and the assumption is that you want to catch a feral swarm ... bees that have gone past the initial 'setting down' stage (usually less than 200 mtrs from the original colony) will send scout bees out to find a permanent home ... if there is nowhere suitable in the immediate area they can travel some miles to a home that the scouts feel is appropriate. Even then, when the swarm arrives they can reject the new home and move on.

So ... although distance from the Parent Hive, in this situation, is not important if you have a bait hive within 200 metres of your existing apiary then you have the best chance of a swarm from one of your hives (God forbid !) taking up residence and also the relative proximity of another hive gives you a better chance of attracting a feral swarm or one from someone else's apiary.

At the end of the day .. the Box size, bit of old comb, swarm lure, lemon grass oil and the height off the ground are key components of bait hives but the critical element, to a great extent, is LUCK !!

 

[thorn]

Spoke to a beekeeper this morning - he's currently awaiting the autumn swarming period - he put forty bait hives out in the summer - caught 37 swarms!

JBM, you really should practice better swarm control.

 

[MartinL]

Not according to the happy nuns who got most of the swarms. . . . . . . . . .

I obviously need some Happy Nuns. Did brother Adam have them too??


Any convents in Stratford?

 

[beeno]

Spoke to a beekeeper this morning - he's currently awaiting the autumn swarming period - he put forty bait hives out in the summer - caught 37 swarms!

Obviously, they don't teach swarm management in his part of the world. Where is it, as I am on the move - take it as you like!

 

[beeno]

Not according to the happy nuns who got most of the swarms.
Out here, swarm catching is how most people make increase or get their first bees. since last year, of the ten hives put out by the orphanage, nine are now occupied, one had a swarm move into a wall nearby (hive not set up properly)an one caught in a cardboard box bait hive which unfortunaely was destroyed in a thunderstorm.

Cancel my comment I am not moving there.