Honey Bee Swarm Traps

This last winter I went to bee school. Subsequently I am hoping to come upon some bees this summer. I have purchased some equipment to start beekeeping and I am trying to find ways to get bees. One of the most interesting methods of getting started is luring them in with an empty hive. Bees are attracted to the queen pheromone and lemon grass scents so by using these one can commandeer a bee swarm. Below is a shortened bee swarm trap guide from another site.

Bee Swarming

Bees swarming from un-managed honeybee colonies is a natural survival instinct which is natures way to keep the feral honeybee population from becoming extinct. These swarms are usually smaller in size and located in hollow trees. These ferel colonies have little room for expanding. The same thing can and does happen in managed honeybee colonies usually resulting from poor management such as overcrowding and even disease. Even well managed colonies can and have been known to swarm often times resulting in huge swarms that can be 5 to 7lbs or more of bees.

Trapping a swarm is purely luck as many beekeepers have found that just because you set a swarm box or swarm trap it out does not mean you are going to catch a colony looking for a new home. Even though there are several things you can do to entice a colony of bees to enter your swarm box don’t be discouraged if it does not happen.

Swarm Traps

Home made swarm traps by far are the most rewarding to use to capture a feral swarm. Home made swarm traps can be made from unused nuc boxes, full sized Hives or anything that is somewhat weather protected, has an entry hole and some place to staple or place a swarm lure. Some beekeepers have even made use of wine crates/boxes, waxed cardboard boxes. Be inventive but make sure you have full access to the interior of whatever you chose to use for your swarm Trap.

Of all the swarm trap choices available to beekeepers some will say the absolute best trap is a used hive body. Used equipment absorbs the smell of it’s previous tenants therefore making an all natural attractant. Not only do you have the queens pheromone scent you also have wax and other by products of the colony that bees can sense and are attracted to. Often time hives that have been recently abandoned by their previous owners are soon inhabited by another colony looking for a new home.

Trap Misconceptions

• A swarm trap is not actually a trap as once a colony of bees enters, they can leave at will.
• Swarm traps used in an apiary will not cause managed colonies to swarm.
• Swarm traps do not encourage managed colonies to swarm.
• Setting a swarm box or trap next to a colony that is on the verge of swarming will capture the swarm.

Trap Location

Location has everything to do with capturing a colony looking for a new home. Placing a swarm trap inside a thick grove of trees is likely to have poor results. When looking for a new home honeybees often search for a home that allows little flight obstruction and offers excellent foraging. When placing a swarm trap, also look for areas that are bee friendly. Locations such as water sources as seen in the pictures above or around trees that bloom and have a high nectar content or fields that have an abundance of wild flowers or have been planted in sunflowers are ideal locations. You will have the best luck with trapping swarms by placing our swarm traps in open areas just outside a tree or thick brush on an elevated stand.

Some will argue that studies have shown that placing a swarm trap 8 to 9 feet off the ground produces the best results however, beekeepers have had swarms move into empty equipment that is just laying on the ground so I would take this info with a grain of salt. Working off a ladder 8 to 9 feet off the ground can be a sobering experience while wearing a suit and veil with gloves and trying to cut or untie a swarm trap from the crotch of a tree and possibly having hundreds of angry bees bouncing off your veil. Even worse is trying to remove a full size hive body or nucleus hive while trying not to fall from a ladder.

Trap Size

Don’t let anyone tell you size does not matter when it comes to building or choosing a swarm trap. When a honeybee scout goes out to locate a new home the bee searches for a new home of the proper size that will allow the swarming colony to move in with room to grow. For a smaller swarming colony a nucleus size box will do just fine. Often times these swarms are after swarms with young fresh queens and will build up rapidly. For large swarms an 8 frame hive box or even 10 frame is just fine. The problem here is if you offer too much space for the bees to fill and it’s rather overwhelming to them and they pass your swarm trap up another smaller home. When setting up swarm traps most of the time place no more than three frames in a 5 frame Nucleus Box. This gives the scout the elusion that there is space to grow. It will also allow larger swarms to enter the box with no problem. Placing 5 frames in a nuc box cuts down on space and a colony that may enter the the swarm trap may leave due to crowding.

Trap Lures

Anyone that has ever purchased a package of bees or a replacement queen knows “the smell”. It’s somewhat of a lemony fragrance that is unmistakable as the queens pheromone scent. This is the scent the bees come to know as their own queens scent, and even though humans cannot distinguish one queens scent from another, bees can. Most lures attempt to copy the queens natural scent which is a natural attractant to the honeybee scout looking for a new home.

The use of lemon grass oil combined with old dark comb is an extremely good attractant for bees. When using lemon grass oil, only a small amount is needed. We like using a Q-Tip saturated with lemon grass oil on both ends. The Q-Tip is laid across the top of the frames at the back of the Swarm Trap Box.

For some time now people have tried to duplicate the Queens Pheromone scent and some have had extremely good success. These Pheromone scents can be purchased from most major Bee Supply Companies and come in a small Plastic Vile sealed inside a paper envelope. Always follow the instructions that come with the Vile. Some instructions can be rather vague though and the the event you lost your instructions or just can’t make heads or tales of what your reading here is how most Pheromone Scents are supposed to be used.

Do not open the paper envelope and remove the Vile. The scent will penetrate the plastic vile and paper and work just fine. Opening the vile will cause the scent to evaporate and diminish it’s effectiveness. The envelope is used to attach the lure to the trap either by stapling or gluing or whatever means you decide to use. If you are not going to be using the lure right away place the envelope in a plastic baggy or jar and place the lure in the refrigerator. This will keep your lure at it’s maximum potential for quit some time. When you get ready to use the lure simply attach it to the traps side wall, top or wherever is convenient. Your Trap is now ready.

Using Old Comb, Honey and other Products of the hive for a lure. Every Beekeeper should always be concerned about the Health of their Apiary. Many Beekeepers use old comb for a lure which contains small amounts of honey and pollen and also contains the Queens Pheromone scent as an attractant which can produce extremely good results in a swarm trap. It can also attract unwanted pest such as Wax Moths which can decimate a weak colony, ruin stored drawn comb and foundation and can cause damage to hive bodies and frames that often times cannot be repaired.

If your new to beekeeping and do not have access to old comb, all hope is not lost. Most Beekeeping supply stores as well as some Beekeepers sell bars of Bees wax and it’s fairly cheap. The wax bar can be melted and wax can be dripped on the bottom board as well as lightly coating the inside of a couple of frames. Make sure to make the wax coat a little thicker on the under side of the top bar as this is where the Bees will start drawing comb first. When using this method the threat of wax moths is greatly reduced.

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