I'm trapping some bees out of a wall in a house. The bees had been in the wall a week to 10 days.
I set the trap (10 days ago), put in a queen on day 2. Queen has been released for about 5 days.
On day 5 I didn't see any bees leaving the trap. Some bees were clustering on the wall. I removed the trap a a few bees went back in. Since then I've still noticed a few bees leaving the trap. Bees seem to have stopped clustering outside the old wall.
Questions:
How long should the trap be left in place? Consensus on the forum is to wait until you don't see any leave the trap for a day. I'm just looking for a more quantifiable answer if possible.
How long will the new hive continue to accept bees from the old hive?
Thanks.
When the bees stop coming out, that does not mean you are done. That is a good time to remove the nuc and place another. It will bee a few days before the queen and most of the remaining bees abscond. When they come out it will look like a swarm.
Jim
I remove the cone and watch the bees going in the structure. No pollen going in, you are done. Pollen on one bee going in, and the cone goes back on.
Thank for the information.
A few hours after posting this topic, I noticed a lot of activity (swarming) around the hive. Observing the trap, many bees were inside. Most were exiting. A few possibly seemed to be getting back in.
The next day, there was no activity in the trap. I removed it from the wall, rattled a pencil inside the entrance. No bees came out, only 2 or 3 (with no pollen) went in. I still have the trap in place.
How long will bees trapped out continue to accept bees from the old hive?
Quote from: StarrGin on June 27, 2014, 09:26:27 PM
Thank for the information.
A few hours after posting this topic, I noticed a lot of activity (swarming) around the hive. Observing the trap, many bees were inside. Most were exiting. A few possibly seemed to be getting back in.
The next day, there was no activity in the trap. I removed it from the wall, rattled a pencil inside the entrance. No bees came out, only 2 or 3 (with no pollen) went in. I still have the trap in place.
How long will bees trapped out continue to accept bees from the old hive?
The swarm is what you were waiting for. The queen was probably with them.
Most of the bees that were left in the hive were nurse bees.
Nurse bees can go in any hive. The real question is which queen survived. I always hope the feral queen survived.
Jim