Little John
Drone Bee
- Joined
- May 27, 2012
- Messages
- 1,655
- Reaction score
- 4
- Location
- Boston, UK
- Hive Type
- Other
- Number of Hives
- 50+
Ok - as promised here is a thread about Swarm Arresting and Re-Hiving.
This was a technique which was very much in vogue towards the end of the 19th century, during the heyday of beekeeping inventions, but which seems to have been overlooked as the years have ticked by.
Several US Patents were awarded for the more viable of these, and here are a few which I have found to be - well - at least interesting to read:
00316349 Ferguson - Horizontal tube connecting donor hive to swarm cage.
00474115 Dibble - Horizontal tube connecting donor hive to swarm cage.
00476762 Taylor - Just a catching cage/net.
00497518 Floyd - Simple horizontal tube connecting donor hive to swarm cage.
00509438 Langdon - Swarming prevention by confusing the bees. Uses cone escapes.
00590366 Duncan - Dual-hive body - uses Q/X plus Queen trap cone.
00700452 Stemmler - vertical
01410444 Aspinwall
02607053 Harrison - vertical
Let me start this thread then, by quoting a few opinions about such devices:
I personally think that Barnum and Holterman just about have it summed-up - such devices are perhaps the most useful for those with only a few hives, and who cannot justify being close to them constantly throughout the swarming period, and yet at the same time cannot afford to lose large amounts of bees.
Ok - here's a simple example, just to get the idea:
You can guess the approximate date of this from the round 'skep' receiver.
Far more recently (in 2011) on another beekeeping website, Bernhard Heuvel discussed his 'Swarm Catching Floor' - being an experimental work in progress - which is intended to sit beneath a hive permanently. However, this is not something I favour myself, as the drones are permanently imprisoned within the apparatus. And, by offering them some means of escape, an exit would also be made available for the Queen.
My own prospective solution therefore is to only fit a Swarm Arrester when Queen Cells have been observed during routine inspections, and when it is thought that swarming may be expected within just a few days.
This is a shot of my Mk.I (still very much under construction) :
I have retained Heuvel's basic idea of separating incoming from outgoing traffic (which he tells me works well), and in addition have elevated the exit point to not only ensure total traffic separation, but also to add a degree of congestion - a feature I consider desirable.
I have also retained Heuvel's idea of fitting a Queen Excluder within the exit at an angle of 45 degrees, and have fabricated a precision Queen Excluder with 4.10 mm (+/- 0.025mm) spacing for this purpose. (cf. EU standard of 4.3mm)
Again, the idea being to generate some modest congestion during normal (foraging) operations. (The Mk.2 will have a removable Q/X so that other widths may be experimented with)
Thus, the workers can normally exit the hive by just a little wriggling and inconvenience. Their return journey, in contrast, is unimpeded - except for when the pollen traps are in place - but - when the bees come 'barrelling out' as the swarm begins to issue, only relatively few bees will be able to pass through the q/excluder in a given time - the vast majority, including the Queen (who will not be able to pass through the Q/X anyway) will be preferentially directed upwards (and towards the light) into a connecting tube, the lower half of which will be made from mesh, with the upper part connected to an awaiting empty hive - offering darkness and sanctuary.
This recipient hive will be standard, but will have two additional features: the first being a queen excluder on the floor, allowing those bees which were able to successfully exit via the lower Q/X to rejoin the newly re-hived swarm.
The second feature will be a special 'divider' frame, constructed such that access to 2 frame spaces at one end of the box are denied to the newly housed swarm. Once the swarm has settled for the night, a frame of brood and a frame of stores will be placed there, and a 'guillotine' slider removed from the divider frame, in order that the swarm has access to the brood, and thus be more firmly 'anchored' to that box. All other frames will be fitted with starter-strips only, as the swarm will of course be in comb-building mode.
Well - that's 'Plan A', as at the end of June. Unfortunately I've already taken routine anti-swarming measures in my hives - but if I pull my finger out and finish this Mk.I lash-up, I just might be able to provoke one or two of them to swarm, by cutting-down on their available egg-laying space. We'll see.
Hope this has been of interest,
LJ
This was a technique which was very much in vogue towards the end of the 19th century, during the heyday of beekeeping inventions, but which seems to have been overlooked as the years have ticked by.
Several US Patents were awarded for the more viable of these, and here are a few which I have found to be - well - at least interesting to read:
00316349 Ferguson - Horizontal tube connecting donor hive to swarm cage.
00474115 Dibble - Horizontal tube connecting donor hive to swarm cage.
00476762 Taylor - Just a catching cage/net.
00497518 Floyd - Simple horizontal tube connecting donor hive to swarm cage.
00509438 Langdon - Swarming prevention by confusing the bees. Uses cone escapes.
00590366 Duncan - Dual-hive body - uses Q/X plus Queen trap cone.
00700452 Stemmler - vertical
01410444 Aspinwall
02607053 Harrison - vertical
Let me start this thread then, by quoting a few opinions about such devices:
I personally think that Barnum and Holterman just about have it summed-up - such devices are perhaps the most useful for those with only a few hives, and who cannot justify being close to them constantly throughout the swarming period, and yet at the same time cannot afford to lose large amounts of bees.
Ok - here's a simple example, just to get the idea:
You can guess the approximate date of this from the round 'skep' receiver.
Far more recently (in 2011) on another beekeeping website, Bernhard Heuvel discussed his 'Swarm Catching Floor' - being an experimental work in progress - which is intended to sit beneath a hive permanently. However, this is not something I favour myself, as the drones are permanently imprisoned within the apparatus. And, by offering them some means of escape, an exit would also be made available for the Queen.
My own prospective solution therefore is to only fit a Swarm Arrester when Queen Cells have been observed during routine inspections, and when it is thought that swarming may be expected within just a few days.
This is a shot of my Mk.I (still very much under construction) :
I have retained Heuvel's basic idea of separating incoming from outgoing traffic (which he tells me works well), and in addition have elevated the exit point to not only ensure total traffic separation, but also to add a degree of congestion - a feature I consider desirable.
I have also retained Heuvel's idea of fitting a Queen Excluder within the exit at an angle of 45 degrees, and have fabricated a precision Queen Excluder with 4.10 mm (+/- 0.025mm) spacing for this purpose. (cf. EU standard of 4.3mm)
Again, the idea being to generate some modest congestion during normal (foraging) operations. (The Mk.2 will have a removable Q/X so that other widths may be experimented with)
Thus, the workers can normally exit the hive by just a little wriggling and inconvenience. Their return journey, in contrast, is unimpeded - except for when the pollen traps are in place - but - when the bees come 'barrelling out' as the swarm begins to issue, only relatively few bees will be able to pass through the q/excluder in a given time - the vast majority, including the Queen (who will not be able to pass through the Q/X anyway) will be preferentially directed upwards (and towards the light) into a connecting tube, the lower half of which will be made from mesh, with the upper part connected to an awaiting empty hive - offering darkness and sanctuary.
This recipient hive will be standard, but will have two additional features: the first being a queen excluder on the floor, allowing those bees which were able to successfully exit via the lower Q/X to rejoin the newly re-hived swarm.
The second feature will be a special 'divider' frame, constructed such that access to 2 frame spaces at one end of the box are denied to the newly housed swarm. Once the swarm has settled for the night, a frame of brood and a frame of stores will be placed there, and a 'guillotine' slider removed from the divider frame, in order that the swarm has access to the brood, and thus be more firmly 'anchored' to that box. All other frames will be fitted with starter-strips only, as the swarm will of course be in comb-building mode.
Well - that's 'Plan A', as at the end of June. Unfortunately I've already taken routine anti-swarming measures in my hives - but if I pull my finger out and finish this Mk.I lash-up, I just might be able to provoke one or two of them to swarm, by cutting-down on their available egg-laying space. We'll see.
Hope this has been of interest,
LJ
