Beekeeping and Swarm Trapping

Beekeeping and Swarm Trapping

This manuscript is Part II of my previous work, â€œFree Bees: The Joy and Insanity of Removing and Retrieving Honey Bee Swarms.â€

My earlier manuscript, available at my author page at www.createspace.com/4107714 covers the dynamics of the natural swarming process, and how a beekeeper can intercept that process and get some free bees.

That earlier manuscript, technically Part I, covers how the swarming impulse starts, how it builds, how the swarm leaves the hive and how you can catch them. Youâ€™ll also find tips on how to thwart your own hives from swarming on you!

My practical intent in that previous manuscript was to show you how to get on a swarm call list so people will call you, then how you can arrive at the site to remove the bees and put them to work in your apiary.

I detail how to approach that anticipated phone call (and the questions you should ask so youâ€™re not coming to â€œsaveâ€ a nest of hornets in the ground).

I also share how to get those bees into a hive body and put them to work so theyâ€™ll produce you some honey.

And the beauty of chasing swarm calls is the free bees.

Well, almost free.

There are instances when you donâ€™t get to the swarm site in time. While youâ€™re on route, the scout bees have found a great place, then convinced the other bees in the swarm cluster to follow them, and the swarm leaves.

Sometimes they leave just minutes before you arrive. Then I find Iâ€™ve invested time and energy and a gallon of gasoline for nothing. It is that very feeling of frustration that moves me to take my swarm chasing to the next level and consider swarm trapping.

This manuscript, â€œSwarm Trappingâ€ is the follow-up to the manuscript on chasing swarms.

Swarm trapping is another aspect to free bees that entails catching that runaway swarm even when Iâ€™m not around and in places I canâ€™t always be. Iâ€™ve had my share of experiences where the swarm departed for some unknown destination, and then Iâ€™ve wondered about the swarms that come out of bee trees in remote areas where no human being was able to discover them and call me.

And what about the swarms that people find but they donâ€™t know who to call? Eventually those swarms will leave for a hollow tree or somebodyâ€™s garden shed. How can I get those swarms I donâ€™t even know about?

Then I began to think about creating some kind of a temporary location that would attract the scout bees so I wouldnâ€™t necessarily have to be present to retrieve the swarm, or if I arrived a minute too late, how I might still catch that swarm by setting a trap over the hill or in various locations around the community?

I got to thinking: how could I put up some kind of trap, some kind of artificial container to attract those bees before they decided to leave for a hollow tree or somebodyâ€™s garden shed? Could I pre-empt the process of another â€œcut-outâ€?

Instead of a cut-out, it would be a simple transfer so this box or artificial container should be large enough to hold conventional frames. And how could I take that box home, simply transfer the frames and start keeping bees in it?

So I began working on this idea of trapping swarms. It wouldnâ€™t necessarily be a trap so much as a temporary residence. But how do I make these boxes attractive to the scout bees? (Iâ€™ll cover that later.) Where would be the best spots to place these traps? (Yep, Iâ€™ll get to that as well.) And if I could devise a box that would hold conventional frames, wouldnâ€™t that make the transfer to a normal hive body easy? (Absolutely!)

I concluded that if I could attract a swarm to move into my trap, then I could move this box with the bees to a bee yard, transfer the frames and set them up in a normal, Langstroth configuration. Then I wouldnâ€™t have to be so harried and hurried to rush to the swarm scene. I might actually enjoy a leisurely drive knowing my swarm traps are up and working 24/7. And I could place my traps around the county and catch swarms that no one ever sees!
Country USA
Manufacturer Grant F. C. Gillard
Binding Kindle Edition
ReleaseDate 2013-03-20
Format Kindle eBook

Country	USA
Manufacturer	Grant F. C. Gillard
Binding	Kindle Edition
ReleaseDate	2013-03-20
Format	Kindle eBook

Beekeeping and Swarm Trapping

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