What are these Bees Up to?

[gwt_uk]

It does appear the old comb had some morsel of honey still left. Was there any you are aware of?

I didn’t see any honey, there was the odd cell of old pollen but they haven’t been touched

 

[Earthboy]

thanks - I have just popped out to the garden and had a quick look. There are sections of drawn comb that look like they have been eaten back down to the level of the foundation so I am assuming that’s what they are up to. Here was me getting all excited about a swarm coming!!! I may remove one of the frames of old comb and keep the hive going anyway on the off chance a swarm decides to come my way.

Don't despair just yet. The visitors' colony seems to be building toward "swarm-strength," so they now know where the bait hive is, a likely destination to move in when they swarm.

 

[gwt_uk]

Don't despair just yet. The visitors' colony seems to be building toward "swarm-strength," so they now know where the bait hive is, a likely destination to move in when they swarm.

thanks - we have a couple more days of rain forecast then some warm dry weather on the way (hopefully!) so that may work in my favour!

 

[Earthboy]

I didn’t see any honey, there was the odd cell of old pollen but they haven’t been touched

Since there was no morsel of honey you have seen, I will settle for recycling then. During the day time, you will notice a stream of bees going in and out as if a swarm had moved in. BUT in the evening, they would be all gone. Again, leave the bait hive there and be patient. It is likely to happen either this spring or this fall.

 

[Erichalfbee]

bloody bees would not leave me alone buzzing around my hands.

How about this?

 

[Earthboy]

How about this?

View attachment 26246View attachment 26247

If they are attempting for an art of bee beard, they should have a queen caged in and then wear the cage like a necklace. But I will defintely go for the second pic for aesthetic appeal, Dani.

 

[Erichalfbee]

Since there was no morsel of honey you have seen, I will settle for recycling then. During the day time, you will notice a stream of bees going in and out as if a swarm had moved in. BUT in the evening, they would be all gone. Again, leave the bait hive there and be patient. It is likely to happen either this spring or this fall.

Fall?

 

[Erichalfbee]

If they are attempting for an art of bee beard, they should have a queen caged in and then wear the cage like a necklace. But I will defintely go for the second pic for aesthetic appeal, Dani.

But the first is a famous work of art and the second is a modern version.

 

[Earthboy]

Fall?

In the US, there are TWO distinct swarm seasons: they seem to occur after a flow (spring (March through May) and summer (July through August). Swarms in the former tend to be bigger while the latter spins smaller and sometimes nano swarms.

 

[pargyle]

Yes I have been using an attractant oil. The instructions said to put a couple of drops on top of the frames then out the vial in a envelope at the back of the hive.

I think you have your answer .....

 

[drex]

The old comb I put in bait hives is usually much older than the pics of frames you use. Never see that nibbled for recycling. I just set up bait hives and leave them to it, just having a look up at them when I walk past on a visit to apiary. After all, once set up, there is nothing more I can do to make them more attractive. They move in or they don't.

 

[jenkinsbrynmair]

I didn’t see any honey, there was the odd cell of old pollen but they haven’t been touched

Take it from me - that localised destruction pattern on the comb is definitely bees robbing stores, the location of the destruction is also where you would expect to find the last remnants of stores on old comb.
Bees are slightly smaller than us so just because we can't see it, doesn't mean there's no honey there

 

[Moobee]

Have you been using lemon grass oil or a queen pheremone attractant ?

If so ... it does attract a lot of bees in the vicinity ... I made the mistake of checking to see if there was any lemon grass oil in my vial of it by tipping it up and got some on m fingers ... I then went out to do some weeding .... bloody bees would not leave me alone buzzing around my hands.

How far away can they detect it? I’ve had a bait hive out for a several weeks and replenished a few drops of oil inside each week. No interest at all
Anything I should change? Move it? (it’s about a metre from my existing hive, slightly shady spot). More oil inside? (It’s a brood box with an old brood frame, varroa floor in, small entrance).

 

[Erichalfbee]

How far away can they detect it? I’ve had a bait hive out for a several weeks and replenished a few drops of oil inside each week. No interest at all
Anything I should change? Move it? (it’s about a metre from my existing hive, slightly shady spot).

Move it well away, put it 10 feet up on an outbuilding or tree in the sunshine.
Put it on a Ley Line

 

[jenkinsbrynmair]

How far away can they detect it? I’ve had a bait hive out for a several weeks and replenished a few drops of oil inside each week. No interest at all
Anything I should change? Move it? (it’s about a metre from my existing hive, slightly shady spot). More oil inside? (It’s a brood box with an old brood frame, varroa floor in, small entrance).

The thing is, just because you've put a bait hive up, however 'attractive' it's made, it doesn't mean you're going to catch a swarm

 

[Moobee]

The thing is, just because you've put a bait hive up, however 'attractive' it's made, it doesn't mean you're going to catch a swarm

I know, just wanted to check I was doing the right things. It seems they are in short supply on the Sussex coast and they’re aren’t masses of apiaries in the area either (well according to the fiction on beebase anyway!)

 

[jenkinsbrynmair]

I know, just wanted to check I was doing the right things. It seems they are in short supply on the Sussex coast and they’re aren’t masses of apiaries in the area either (well according to the fiction on beebase anyway!)

The only things you can do to make is more attractive is to put it as high as possible (remembering that you also may have to bring it down with a colony inside)
And South facing, catching the sun but also shaded from it

 

[Newbeeneil]

I think swarming is slow this year so bait hives are going to empty for a while yet. I guess we may get some activity this coming weekend as the weather warms. This time last year I had collected 3 swarms in bait hives, this year I've hardly seen a scout!

 

[robmort]

I've had 5 swarms from my 4 hives so far, despite taking all precautions, and still have 3 of them, given one away. Rather exhausting and hope to control them better from now on. They expanded rapidly early with OSR next door despite the cold weather which made me hesitate to inspect too closely.

Correction now 6 swarms....