Todd inquired:

>I was perusing the archives, and found a reference to a homemade
>Nasonov lure.  What intruiged me was that one of the three main
>ingredients (Geraniol) is found in bee balm (genus Monarda).

CLIP

>Anyone on the list had any experience with using bee balm in this manner?

    Bee balm works fine, as pointed out by Virgil some two thousand
years ago.  Columella (a beekeeper and writer in the southern part of
Spain during the Roman occupation) expanded upon Virgil's method.  He
advocated that beekeepers use swarm hives scented with bruised balm
and wax-flowers "...and other similar herbs in which this kind of
creatures takes delight, and rub the hives thoroughly with them, so
that the scent and juice stick to them; then, after cleaning them,
they sprinkle them with a little honey and place them here and there
in the woods not far from the springs..."

    Lemon balm grows easily in our area and is somewhat of a pest once
it gets established -- spreading over large areas unless kept under
control. One can also use lemon grass for the same effect.

    For more on the role of these scents, one can read my 1992 January
article ("Swarm movement: A mystery explained") in the American Bee
Journal -- now readily available at:

http://www.beesource.com/pov/wenner/abjjan1992

                                                        Adrian
--
Adrian M. Wenner                (805) 963-8508 (home office phone)
967 Garcia Road                 [log in to unmask]
Santa Barbara, CA  93103        www.beesource.com/pov/wenner/index.htm

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*    "We not only believe what we see:
*  to some extent we see what we believe."
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