Hi,
I read somewhere that the optimum cavity volume of the swarm trap for the American bees is between 30-40 litres and the Africanized bees are 12 litres. If the optimum volume of the cavity differs by the species, could it be different to Indian Bees (Apis Cerana Indica)?
With reference to this paper (http://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:9W8Q03QAYmMJ:asianhoneybee.net.au/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2013/03/AHB-behaviour-lit-review-FINAL2013.pdf) (page 18), in which the author says, with reference to earlier studies, that the nesting cavity volume for A. Cerana vastly ranges from 2.75 litres to 110 litres, and it is supposed to be 10-15 litres in general.
Dimensions of the hives I have:
Frame length:
Top: 26cms
Bottom: 23 cms
Height: 16.5 cms
Inner dimensions of the brood box: 10.08 litres
24 cms (L) x 24 cms (B) x 17.5 cms (H)
So, my point is, should I make the swarm traps smaller with proportion to the cavity volume of the brood box?
Bump.