Ken Coyle wrote:

>    I am looking for plans on the net for building a pollen trap, can any
> one help?  I know there are different styles, what are the pros and cons
> of each.--

We've used variants of the OAC (Ontario Agricultural College) trap here in
Tucson, Arizona for decades, and have always been satisfied with it. I
believe there are plans online (?).
   As for cons, if you are in rainy areas, a screen bottom in the pollen
tray is a good idea. Try to avoid pollen trays that pull out from the hive
front - the bees don't like that. Side trays are workable, but rear access
trays will allow the hives to be closer together, and generally work out
better. The disadvantage of the full-size traps is that the whole hive has
to be taken apart for the initial installation, but after that, there are
ways to slide out or tip up the screen, and the trap body stays in place -
the metal screen can also help keep mice out.
   The actual pollen-removal screen that the bees crawl through is usually
metal, either hardware cloth (wire mesh) or punched holes in metal sheets
(our favorite).  Dead bee traps are incorporated in the trap body sometimes,
and allow monitoring of mortality levels in the hive, and also chalkbrood
"mummies". Some traps (OAC,) have built-in drone escapes - these usually
work out fine, and keep dead drones from building up on the bottomboard.
   There are also "external" traps, which attach to the main entrance or at
a gap between boxes above the entrance. They are not usually as efficient,
and tend to be fragile.
-----------------------------------------------------------
John F. Edwards
"Feral Bee Tracker and AHB Identifier"
Carl Hayden Bee Research Center
Tucson, Arizona 85719