I am a new beekeeper and have very little experience with the different
bees, however my interest in beekeeping came from reading an excerpt from a
(approx. 1940's) article on beelining (source unknown).
After building a bee box, which I'll try and explain the basics of, I was
able to track two colonies to their trees using the "bee line method"...
 
     The procedure is not complicated once a suitable box has been
constructed.   The box consists of two adjoining compartments.  I divided a
small box into 2 approx. equal chambers by taping a piece of cardboard in
the middle.   It's important to leave a small area at the bottom of this
cardboard divider which serves as a permanent opening or walkway between
chambers one and two. ( use your imagination here)  The first chamber has a
lid (hinge recommended for lid but I used cardboard and duct tape for the
hinge).  This compartment is used for catching the individual bee(s) as it
forages for nectar.  There is a second rear chamber formed by inserting the
cardboard divider and it is connected to this entry compartment.  The
second compartment has only one feature:  A small window ( made of heavy
plastic and duct taped to the box) which can be covered or uncovered to
allow light into the rear chamber when desired.
We left an opening between chambers one and two so we need to make a simple
device which I'll call a sliding door  which can be operated from outside
of the box and will allow entry and exit (or no entry/exit)  to and from
the rear chamber, ( something like a 1" wide tongue depressor with a
rectangular door slot cut into it maybe an inch or so from one end.  If the
box used is 4" wide this sliding door will need to be about 7-8" wide.
(The sliding door is inserted parallel to and in such a way as to
physically touch the (cardboard) divider.  ( I visualize the slide as you
might an arrow extending from each side of the box- yes it is a bit awkward
to handle but functional nonetheless).   The slide is operated from the
outside of the box..  When the hole in this sliding door is moved over the
permanent cut hole (doorway ) between the chambers,  a walkway is created.
Conversely, when the two holes are out of alignment and not properly
overlaid, there is no entry from one chamber to another.
Once the principles of beelining are understood, it's a simple matter to
construct a bee box of suitable nature.  Apparently just about any shape or
size will work.  Experiment.  My first box was made in about 15 minutes and
consisted of one "hot cereal" box which is about 6"L by 4"W by 3" tall,
some mostly clear plastic sheeting (4ml) (2"x2") for the window and some
duct tape..  To complete the process of bee lining, you will also need
sugar syrup as bait,  some sort of small dish to feed the bees from, and a
little patience..
     Here's the method I used successfully to track two colonies  in a very
short two days effort:.
 A single bee is captured by placing the box under the foraging bee and
gently closing the lid over her.   She is encouraged to enter the rear
compartment by first aligning the two slots opening the doorway.  The rear
window is uncovered ( or opened ) so light enters the rear compartment.
The bee moves toward the light and will soon be seen buzzing around the
window in the rear compartment.  Once the bee is in the rear chamber, close
the door.  She is captured there by moving the door slide out of alignment
with the permanent door opening.  NOTE- beelining can be done with only one
bee, but a few 4-5 would be preferable.  Catch a second, third, fourth,
etc. by the same technique.  Trap in the front compartment, open the rear
window for light, and open the slide  for bees to gather in the lighted
rear compartment.  Close door and repeat for each bee...
   If you've followed me so far,  we have one to several bees trapped in
our rear chamber.   Now we need to feed them..  With the door between the
chambers CLOSED, open the hinged lid to the front compartment and insert a
tiny container which will hold sugar syrup (I used a chunk of wax hollowed
out to form a serving dish.  This dish must be small enough to fit easily
inside the front compartment, yet large enough to hold several eyedroppers
of syrup.  The bees don't seem to care what kind of dishes they are served
on.   Several eyedroppers full of sugar syrup might be enough to get them
"running the line"..  Close the hinged lid of compartment one and open the
sliding door making a  passageway for the bees to access the food in
chamber one..   Leave the bees there for 3-5 minutes before opening.  If
all goes well,  when you open the hinged lid on the front chamber, at least
a couple of the bees will be seen bending over the dishes loading up on
what must seem to be a free meal.  Once a bee has loaded, she will leave,
fly off to the colony and report her good news and should within 10 minutes
return for a second load.  Usually she brings a friend or two with her to
share in her find.   To make a long story short,  within 20-30 minutes
depending upon the distance to the hive many bees will now be loading,
leaving, and returning with more friends..  At this point, you need to
regularly replenish the sugar syrup source in the front chamber.
Once a rousing line starts (maybe a couple of hundred bees will get
involved),  it becomes possible to see a general direction that the bees
use when leaving.  The first few trips it's very difficult to see a line
because the bees are cautious when arriving and departing.  After a few
minutes of what appears to be confused circling,  however, it becomes
apparent in which general direction the bees are traveling.  Once you have
a general idea of direction, we are ready for move #1.
     Move #1 consists of first capturing as many bees as possible in the
bee box and then moving the entire setup in the direction of this estimated
line.  To capture the bees which are now gobbling up sugar syrup like crazy
from within the bee box is a simple matter of closing the hinged lid, and
like before using light from the rear compartment to coax the critters into
the rear chamber after which the door slide is shut behind them.  Capture
some more in the front chamber and repeat the process of trapping them in
the rear compartment until a substantial # of bees is captured.  (20-30)
foraging feeding bees is enough to make a move....  Once the bees are in
the rear compartment, we move up the estimated line a couple hundred yards
and set up again..  This consists of refilling the syrup container in the
front compartment FIRST and then shutting the hinged lid  BEFORE releasing
the bees from the rear  compartment.  The bees will now fill up and in 3-5
minutes can be allowed to fly home from this new location when you open the
hinged lid..  The line will start again and this time (since we've gone in
the direction of the hive we hope) things happen much quicker.  The bees
return quicker from each load and bring more friends each trip.  It's
important to keep the bees dish/container full and they will consume lots
of syrup in a short while..
   The point here is to again pay attention to the direction in general
that the bees leave.  Once they are comfortable with the new site ( a
couple of minutes at most) they will pretty much "bee line"  it home.  Once
the estimated line is established,  we are ready for Moves 2,3,4 and as
many as need be until the hive is located.  With each move ( which should
be  shorter moves the closer we get to the hive) we should get closer to
the actual colony and the increasing numbers of bees makes it easier to
determine the "bee line".
    At a point in time one of 2 things will happen.  First off we will
simply see where the bees are flying to (most likely it will take a bit of
looking even when close- just keep watching the estimated direction) OR
two,  the bees will do something really odd.  They may seem to be going in
the direction from which you just came (in which case you can be assured
that you have gone past the hive) and you should go back somewhere on the
line between where you last set up and this point (past the hive and too
far up line)...
   It's confusing without a diagram I admit to build the box.  I have plans
for a simple bee box here as well as a short detailed description of the
above, but I do not have a way to scan into the computer at this time.
However,  If you would be interested in getting a copy, I'll try and work
something out from this end...  E-Mail me for more details...
   Note- No self respecting bee would think to sting the hand of a generous
beekeeper feeding them such wonderful sugar syrup, and there is no worry
whatsoever of getting stung while "lining"..  I can not believe the same
case will come should you decide to rob the nest..  I think swarm traps and
pheromone lures are appropriate ways to catch a swarm from and not destroy
a healthy colony or tree....
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> From: Steve Davis <[log in to unmask]>
> To: [log in to unmask]
> Subject: Apis mellifera mellifera
> Date: Saturday, February 15, 1997 5:38 PM
>
> Bee-Listers,
>    My reason for posting this and question is: Does anyone know of a
> realible method of tracking bees back to their tree?  If I can find it,
> the last thing in the world I want to do is cut it down. But possibly
> I'll be able to catch a swarm with a bait hive placed nearby.
>
> Thanks,