Chris wrote

> What we need before the start of the experiment is a good design for a 
> dead
> bee trap that will prevent bees that die in the hive from being removed by
> their  sisters. Does anybody have such a design that we could use?  It 
> would be
> helpful also to have an idea of its efficiency.


A design for a dead bee trap is to make a compartment that fits over the 
front of the hive.  Galvanised metal is best.  The one that we used when I 
worked for the Department of Primary Industries was the width of the front 
of the box (16 inches) about 8 inches tall and about 20 inches back as we 
covered the top with a queen excluder. It was punched metal excluder with 
wooden cleats about 3/8 inch thick around the edge.  This was so it could 
slide in and out a rebate at the top.  Towards the bottom of the trap, there 
was a baffle which was at 45 degrees to the top.  The idea was that the bees 
came out of the entrance with the dead bee but could not fit it through the 
excluder.  The dead bee was then dropped and it slide down the baffle at the 
bottom.  It was 45 degrees so the bees could not easily see the dead bees. 
Under the baffle was a tray, into which the bees fell, which was accessed 
from the front.

A few tricks with setting the hives up.   If you have the hives in a  group, 
you need to do all the hives with dead bee traps.  If not, the bees do not 
like going in and out of the dead bee trap and so drift to the hives without 
the dead bee trap.  If you have to set up a hive without the dead bee trap, 
it needs to be many yards away so that it will not attract those drifting 
bees.  Also it was best for us to face the entrance to the north.  So in the 
northern hemisphere you would need to face it south.

Trevor Weatherhead
AUSTRALIA

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