>Next question: does having attractive bait hives nearby cause bees
>to swarm more than they would if not so tempted, or do they simply
>make it more obvious to use that a swarm has issued?
IMO, if a bait hive is used near the yard, it is
being used in the wrong manner.
-bees seldom select a void closer than
300 m (Seeley, Morse)
I agree that it may simply make it more obvious
that a swarm has issued.
>If bait boxes attract interest, it can be so intense that enough bees
>arrive to inspect the box(es) to make one wonder if a small swarm
>has already arrived and taken possession.
This, IMO, indicates that a swarm is in bivouac
somewhere nearby, and consensus building
is in progress. Frenzy buzzing 15 or more bees
and buzz running at the entrance, and inside,
suggest to me that the site is among the top
candidates and decision is imminent.
Advice here, Skip Sunday service and check the
yard for swarms.
Lures and bait hives are often used incorrectly.
I instruct new bees how to best use lures in the
following guideline, which separates the stages
Colony Founding, and indicates the target.
1. Reconnaissance - A period in the weeks
prior to swarming when former forager
bees begin advance scouting, interested
in house-hunting. (Lindauer)
* Here, baited traps are very effective.
Traps need be out 3 weeks prior to swarming.
The trap will gain valuable advantage
in consensus building, with house-hunting
scouts having advanced knowledge of
its location.
-Time of discovery is a key factor in
consensus building (Seeley)
2. Issuing - The swarm and queen leave
the colony and circle in the air above
or for up to 20 minutes.
* Here, Nasonov lures are effective as a 'settling
pheromone' to entice a swarm to land. Placed within
20 meters; hung directly above at 5 meters with
pulley to lower, or nearby suspended at about 2 meters.
Traps in the yard which attract swarms may not
indicate acceptance, but may simply indicate
settling of a swarm in Bivouac.
3. Bivouac - The swarm then settles on a branch
or other object, where they remain in bivouac for
as little as an hour to as long as several days
while scouts search for prospective nest sites.
* Obviously the best time to catch a swarm
manually.
-Here, baited traps best used at 300 m
or more. (Seeley)
4. Colony Initiation - After deciding on a
new home, the swarm breaks bivouac and flys
off to enter the void and initiate a new colony.
* Here, the decision has been made,
you either WIN or you LOSE.
Best Wishes,
Joe Waggle
http://pets.groups.yahoo.com/group/HistoricalHoneybeeArticles/
A farmer in Crawford county, who
had a skep of bees about to swarm,
wanted to go to church, for it was Sunday.
He was in a quandary. He didn't
want to miss the sermon, neither did
he want to miss the bees, so he caught
the queen bee and clipped her wings so
she could not fly. Then he went to
church. On his way home, he met the
swarm in the path some distance from
home going it a foot, the queen bee in
advance, unable to fly, but manifesting
a disposition to 'go it' anyhow.
-Crawford county, Ohio, 1879
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