Some time ago there was some discussion about lures and whether or not they
work.  The general consensus seemed to be that they don't.  I had several
lures ordered but I only put in one lure.  I put together 7 swarm boxes made
of 1/4" plywood and containing 5 frames.  I used them to start my nucs this
year to get some "bee smell" in them.  I put them in 3 locations.  A week or
so later my sister in law called and ask me to come and get the bees off the
top of her shed.  They were in the box with the lure.  I brought the bees
home and put them in a hive and put the box at one of the other locations.
Two weeks later it was full of bees, the others untouched.  One swarm moved
into one of the unabated boxes at the 3rd location.  I brought some of the
boxes home last weekend and stacked them under some tin roofing along with
the bated box which I had just emptied.  I left it with 2 old rat chewed
frames.  I came in from the road last night and when I checked the swarms in
the back yard this morning, you guessed it, another swarm had moved into the
bated box.  All the boxes I used had at least 2 frames of old combs. Only
difference was the lure.  That box caught 4 swarms while the other 6 only
caught 1 between them.  Do Pheromone lures work?  I'm now convinced that
they do.  Next year I intend to put lured in all my swarm boxes.
 
Frank Humphrey
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