Paradise Beehives - Queen Trap

[Dared]

Hi All,

Just looking at the Paradise hives from Finland which look ok but intrigued by their Queen trap system which I have not seen before. Have pasted the description below so you can have a read as not sure how good a method thisreally is?


Main advantages:
– easy to assemble and use – reduces beekeeping work – increases honey crop
– prevents swarming

"When the main honey flow and swarming season starts, the queen is transferred to the lower brood chamber and the Queen Trap System is placed on top of it. It provides an entrance with a landing board for the bees between the two lowermost boxes. A closing board is used to permanently close the entrance in the bottom board.

The queen is trapped in the lowest brood chamber, but the bees can move freely through the trap’s queen excluder to feed her and take care of the brood. The bees will carry nectar and pollen through the new entrance between the boxes and store the honey in the supers located above. Swarming is prevented because the queen cannot leave the hive through the excluder.

If the colony tries to swarm the bees will realize that the queen is not with them and will return to their hive and continue collecting nectar and pollen. When the swarming fever is over and the queen is laying eggs the normal entrance in the bottom board can be opened again. If there is a virgin queen in the brood chamber the opening of the normal entrance in the bottom board enables her to start her mating flights. Two weeks after opening the entrance the young queen will be laying eggs. Sometimes both the old and young queen are living side by side in the hive. The queens that tried to swarm and their daughters should be replaced before the next season to minimize swarming problems in the future."

 

[Erichalfbee]

I suppose it would enable you to go away for a six week holiday at the height of the swarming season or you could put a Flow super on and never look at your bees.
I don't know how the bees would react to such a system....perhaps badly?
Modern Beekeeping used to advertise this but I haven't looked at the site since giving up on their hives.

PS have a look here, it's been discussed before
http://www.beekeepingforum.co.uk/showthread.php?t=6042&highlight=anti+swarm+trap
And there is more if you put anti swarm trap into search

 

[Finman]

.
In the system the queen is in the prison, and it cannot come out with swarm.

Every hive swarms, if they have healthy swarming genes. You cannot prevent it.

When the queen is in prison, the colony has however the swarming fever. It stops working and wait, when the queen is ready to escape with them. The colony may try many times the departure.


The queen stops laying in warming fever, and later it can be seen in weak foraging power.

xxxxxxxxxxxxx

Much more easier is to clip the wing of queen. Then bees cannot make sudden departure and rise to tree top. They will come back in 30 minutes.

Clipping the wing gives you time to inspect the hive and if you see swarming cells, do the artificial swarm with foundations.

What you get with this system is....

- 1-2 box drawn foundations
- swarming fever will be gone in 2 days and bees forage in normal way and the queen continues brood production

- the hive will not try to swarm during next 1-2 months.

.
If you see in "swarm trap" queen cells, you will do the same procedures as described in artificial swarm.
.

 

[Hebeegeebee]

.
In the system the queen is in the prison, and it cannot come out with swarm.

Every hive swarms, if they have healthy swarming genes. You cannot prevent it.


Much more easier is to clip the wing of queen. Then bees cannot make sudden departure and rise to tree top. They will come back in 30 minutes.


.

Agreed.

 

[simoncav]

I've tried these in the past and their a complete waste of time. The corner pieces break readily and the plastic QA is only supported on three sides meaning that in warm weather it droops and warps allowing the bees to "escape".

Just save your money and avoid...

 

[Chris B]

This system is a glorified queen excluder i.e. you could achieve the same by placing a queen excluder between floor and the queen's brood box.
It's a good technique to buy a little bit of time, but personally I wouldn't use it for more than a week, preferably less, for reasons others have already stated. But occasionally it can be a useful trick.