>>Could I set up a trap hive and catch these robbers ,requeen them, 
and start a new colony?

What kind of trap did you have in mind?  You'd need a screened funnel 
set-up to let the robbers in but prevent them from coming out.

How many would you realistically trap?  Foraging involves feedback.  
With no returning foragers, the flow of new recruits would quickly 
dwindle unless you release at least some robbers to take the message 
back to the parent colonies.

You would then need to move the robbers to a distant location so they 
would not go back to their original colonies.  In my opinion, this is 
not worthwhile.

>>Is this an unethical way of increasing my colony numbers since I 
would be taking the foragers from other colonies?

I think you know the answer by asking this question. :)  I would not 
be happy if my hives were within a couple of miles of your 
location...  If you are in the middle of nowhere with no other 
beekeepers in the area, the robbers could be from feral colonies.  
I'd suggest bee-lining back to the feral colonies.  Once located, you 
could then remove and hive the ferals quite ethically.

>>Also, since the wild bees have found this hive would it be a good 
idea to put a bait hive in its place in case of swarming
activity?

Absolutely.  A typical bait hive consists of a single deep with 
minimum one drawn-out frame up in a tree.  The entrance should be 
facing south or south-east.  They say a queen lure makes a difference 
in attracting swarms.

Waldemar
Long Island, NY

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