Three migratory bee yards just setup their camp within 3km of my home(the largest one is within 700 m approx). I went and had a chit chat and they said that they are here to feed the bees and get swarms out of them for selling.(most beekeepers here are illiterate and don't know about splitting). I was wondering, if i setup swarm traps, may be i get 1,2 out of 300 to 500 swarms they'll produce. can i put swarm traps near my own bee yard, if not, how far they should be.
My conversion puts 3km at 1.86 miles. Since bees travel up to 2-3 miles from the hive I would say definitely. Although it would be nice to get the traps within a few hundred yards of the site if possible! We will see what others have to say.
On a side note, I see you are from Pakistan. Most of us think, or at least I do , of Pakistan as primarily desert type climate. What are the bees working and how many honey flows do you have?
My area is Low Himalayas, Pakistan has plains and deserts too. Migratory beekeepers get 2 honey flows, winter flow from plains and spring flow from lower Himalayas. i think they have fall flow too, but not sure about it. While i'll get two flows, spring and fall.
That's great! I live in North Carolina, United States of America. We always get a big Spring Honey Flow and we have a hit or miss Summer Flow from the Sourwood Trees. I have never had a fall flow. Primarily just lots of pollen in the Fall.
one more thing, if i setup swarm traps with lemongrass essential oil as bait, will my own bees cluster there or not???
You don't have anything to worry about with your own bees using LGO.
As for swarm distances, studies have shown that bees travel an average of about 900m. They do not usually fly 2 or three thousand meters to a find adequate housing. Testing involved placing the same housing every 100m and bees overwhelmingly went more than 300m but less than 1200m.
Since there is just over 1600m to the mile, they generally choose a new cavity or home far less than they fly.
Hello Muradulislam! I'm by no means expert at trapping swarms, however I have managed, this year, to catch one. I had set up one trap in a place where I would see any investigators coming to scout for a new hive home very close to my existing colonies. They seemed to want to play in that hive. After weeks of watching them go in and out of it, I took the box down. Sure that I had a swarm in there I found 3 bees.
I've had them come to investigate the traps I have baited with Lemon Grass Oil, and ignore the traps I placed the commercial Nasanov Pheromone in. Michael Bush swears by it. My observations support his.
My suggestion is to use a plastic bag you can reseal, like a "ziploc" sandwich bag, the oil will make its scent through the pores in the plastic. Take a cotton ball and put 5 to 6 drops on it and seal it in the plastic bag. You will need to refresh the oil every few weeks. Place the bag close to the entrance of your trap, and place in a tree 8-15 ft (2.5 to 4.5 m) high. You will want the trap to be at least 100 m, and possibly 400 m from the source colony.
You will need to use these in the swarming season. They'll ignore them any other time, unless Bjorn can embellish, I can't think of any reason they wouldn't.
Quote from: CapnChkn on June 10, 2011, 03:51:44 PM
You will need to use these in the swarming season. They'll ignore them any other time, unless Bjorn can embellish, I can't think of any reason they wouldn't.
I agree.
They may check out the trap or even the smell. But since lures and traps do not promote, increase or cause swarming, they are only effective if swarming is actually being issued in the area.
Here is some advice on swarm traps.....
10 things to consider for swarm trap success
Honey Bees.....
* prefer a swarm trap (colony location) about 8 to 15 feet off the ground.
* will disregard a trap with light coming in from above.
* prefer a trap equivalent to a cavity size slightly larger than a deep brood
box.
* will select sites in the afternoon shade. They may abandon a site within a
few days if in full sun and heat is an issue.
* prefer bait hives with entrances facing south.
* prefer a entrance towards the bottom of the cavity.
* prefer a unobstructed flight path from the entrance.
* will not take up residence in a bait hive that has other insects in them.
Keep them free of wasps, yellow jackets, etc.
* prefer a bait hive that is dry.
* prefer a previously used site that has a honey bee smell of old comb, or
one that has baited with bee scent.
"Prefer" means if the bees have multiple sites to choose from. They do go through a "grading" system of sorts with scouts passing along multiple sites and only when the come to an agreement, will the bees take up residence.
We hope you have success.
Just brought my first ever swarm catch home last night. I had the double five frame medium nuc in a tree about 12 ft. high. I had five top bars with popsicle sticks in the top box only. I used lemongrass oil on burr comb and in a pill bottle with a little hole in the top as an attractant, been in there two months. I looked in the box a little while ago and they were building comb on the top bars and on the floor on the burr comb. BTW there was an ant colony on the top bars. I have no idea what I'm doing but luck goes a long way I guess.
You might want to place the traps in and around your own yard,
Best not to encroach too near the other peoples hives, the laws of your country should be checked.
Also the migrants may not like you attempting to " collect " their swarms.
Bee-Bop
I guess, i'll put swarm traps near my yard then. Suppose my own bee yard issues (let's say 6 swarms) and i have baits all around my bee yard within 400m range, how much i'll catch.
Thank you VERY much for this thread. Though I've already built some swarm traps and had one good catch, I really appreciate the details on location and positioning the traps.
In my experience they seem to prefer 1/4 (400 meters) mile to 3/4 mile (1200 meters) from the original hive over other distances although they sometimes move next door and sometimes go several miles. That would be my target range.