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Date: | Mon, 4 Apr 2011 21:05:34 -0400 |
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From: "Larry Krengel" <[log in to unmask]>
>I have often wondered if the smell of the beeyard draws the scouts
> to look in that area for new accommodations. Swarms are drawn by bee
> smell - lures or used comb - so it seems possible.
I can't see any issue with placing bait hives at the bee yards. Back in the
80s when there were lots of wild colonies, I put out bait hives (all in my
bee yards) and captured nearly 100 swarms one spring. I can't absolutely say
that none of these were from my bees, but my bees had been split and most of
the swarms came from the wild. Many of them were the snotty black bees that
once were so common in the river swamps around here - and I'd have to
requeen them to use for pollination. I believe these were remnants of the
European black bee that some love so much. I don't; if I used them for
pollination, I'd get complaints from my clients. Varroa mites and clearcut
logging pretty well removed them from the scene.
Here, bait hives should have been up about three weeks ago as we had some
swarming about two weeks ago - and those early swarms are gold. The weather
went back somewhat cold and stopped the swarming, but it's now warming back
up and I expect it to continue. Indeed I note that swarm scouts are about
looking, yesterday and today, if you are alert to them. I believe swarmy
hives are already well aware of suitable cavities before the swarm ever
emanates from the hive, so bait hive can hardly be placed too early.
When I did this, I would find two suitable trees 14-16 inches in diameter
that were within 8 ft of each other. I'd nail two 2x4 studs on the trees to
make as near a level platform as possible, about six feet high. Today, with
battery powered screwdrivers, I'd prefer screws, as they would be simpler to
remove.
Then, I'd fasten three single story hives up on the 2x4s. Two would face one
way and the third (center one) would face the opposite direction. Each hive
would have nine frames of foundation and one frame of comb. If you see
scouts checking them out, it's pretty good odds that there will be bees in
them on the next visit to the bee yard - and the swarm will have popped out
the foundation into nice new comb, so fast it's almost unbelievable.
Dave Green, SC
(Retired)
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