> BTW, The term 'bee lining' is a relatively obscure, more recent 
> term, and not commonly used amongst traditional bee hunters.  
> 'Bee hunting' 'honey hunting' or 'coursing bees' were the terms 
> used through generations, and where the tradition is handed down, 
> so is the lingo, and are still the terms used by those practicing 
> this tradition.

The use of terminology different from what Joe would prefer
is deliberate - it is to differentiate modern techniques and gear 
that yield tangible results from old techniques that have been 
overwhelmingly discredited as complete and utter fictions when 
subjected to actual field conditions.

Most accounts of 'Bee hunting' 'honey hunting' or 'coursing bees'
one can find are complete fictions.  The problem here is that
the authors of these historical accounts got their information
second-hand, third-hand, or worse.

None of it mattered in pre-1985 conditions when the woods were
full of swarms.  One could simply throw a rock in a random direction
and following the rock's trajectory, find a hive along that vector
without too much trouble.

After the exotic invasive mites came to the western hemisphere, the
number of swarms went down, and the more comical techniques for 
"finding bees" were quickly exposed as fraudulent.

About the only book I think is worth reading on the subject is 
"Bee Hunter" by Edgell, 1949. He at least clearly tested his
techniques, and his observations are consistent with what one finds
in the woods.

But post-mite bee-lining (or whatever you want to call it) is 
as different from the pre-1985 "traditional practices" as 
modern beekeeping is from pre-1985 beekeeping.

For example, setting out a "dish" with feed, even heavily scented
feed may be an exercise in frustration during any bloom period.
During a dearth, it works more often, but it is still more efficient
to seek out water sources than it is to attempt to "attract" bees 
with anything less than queen pheromone or a Pherotech swarm lure.

At EAS 2004 at Seven Springs PA, we set out a dozen different substances
only 50 yards away from the apiary hives, and got no takers for the
honey,
scented sugar water, honey-b-healthy, and so on.  We moved the "baits"
closer over the week, and ended up 20 feet away.  Now, these bees had
been
relocated only recently, but they clearly were foraging.  Baits are not
a consistently successful approach.

The best triangulation tool one can have is a GPS with a "project
waypoint"
function.  One releases bees, and gets a compass vector on their
last-seen
position as they fly off (after the circling they do upon takeoff to 
literal "get their bearings"), and one can use the "project waypoint" 
function for bees released from as few as 2 widely different points to 
locate the hive with surprising precision.  

Many times, I could not find the hive at the intersection of the flight
vectors, but could detect the bees with a parabolic mike and a pair of
headphones.

Joe's approach of using foragers from other hives, and releasing them to
hope
that they find a hive, dance about a food source, and thereby cause
more foragers to visit is interesting. Please drop me a e-mail the next 
time you want to stomp around, and I'll drive out your way.  How far
away 
from their "home" hives are you taking these bees to release them?




 

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