Hello All,

> Next time, I'll slide an excluder under the
box for a few days until the queen starts laying in the new box!

Works everytime!

When I was a boy my beekeeping mentor (90+years old) said to rub the leaves
of a peach tree on the box and the bees would stay.

 I run a small orchard (which includes peach trees) and found the method has
a degree of success.

 Over the last  few decades the bees seem to prefer the peach tees for
swarming, Then pine trees and last apple trees. I have never had bees swarm
into a pear tree, cherry tree, Asian pear or Missouri almond tree ( I
brought back from California on a flatbed bee truck as far as I know the
first almond trees to Missouri around five years ago).
Also the bees have never swarmed into a freestone peach tree but only
Redhaven peach trees. Very strange!

I get a few swarms every spring in the orchard as I usually keep around a
100 new hives in the field by the orchard in April  but this spring over
200. I guess this will be my last year keeping so many new hives on the
place . Not because of stings as neither my wife or the neighbors got stung
but all complained about the cars being poop bombed.

Bee poop not washed will lift paint about the size of a pencil lead off some
car paint jobs.

I carry with me also special swarm boxes made from a full depth hive body
which is screened on the bottom (8 mesh) and a screened (8 mesh) removable
lid. I take these with me on which ever truck we are using in the swarm
season. At the end of the day if a swarm is caught I place the swarm box in
a dark cool place overnight and spray with sugar water.
When hived the next day they usually stay put.
Sincerely,
Bob Harrison

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