I looked at one of my swarm traps that I put scent in and noticed some honey bees flying around and in it. Does this mean a swarm might be coming my way?
Well, scout bees are the first sign. First a single scout bee, then his buddies come and check out the box. Let?s hope.
Lets hope. It would be first caught swarm
Bw, here in my part of N.C. we're still in a dearth. I put a pint jar of sugar water near my swarm boxes to attract bee's , it worked the first time 2yrs. ago with 1 swarm box. This yr. I have 3 so we'll see what happens.
I just got back from hanging traps and while I was strapping one trap to a tree I had a visitor. Hope that is a good omen.
Mikey we are already past the first blush of spring here. I am watching blueberries develop and my blackberries are in full bloom. Oddly enough the bees seem to like that better than clover.
10-4 y'all are way ahead of us.
Quote from: MikeyN.C. on April 02, 2019, 05:34:08 PM
Bw, here in my part of N.C. we're still in a dearth. I put a pint jar of sugar water near my swarm boxes to attract bee's , it worked the first time 2yrs. ago with 1 swarm box. This yr. I have 3 so we'll see what happens.
Bees don't swarm in a dearth, they shrink in numbers. Less mouths to feed. They might abscond in a dearth. Feeding in a bait trap had disadvantages. Attracts pests like ants roaches probably hive beetles. The best bait is an used box a frame of old comb on one wall a little lemon grass oil and the remaining frames starter strip only. They will find it and draw their own comb.
ed/La., I use 5 frame nuc for swarm traps, 1 old dark drawn comb frame, others are starter strips or empty old frames. I use McDonald's straw cut in 3" long with pieces of cotton ball stuffed in each end with lemon grass ess. oil 2 drops each end. I understand no swarm in dearth. My thought is , in a dearth I'm inviting all bee's to check out maybe a new house, while they're foraging. So I'm thinking the bee's already know we're to go when they swarm.
BTW, I used to live in Carencro La. How far south are you?
I have better luck with 8 frame deeps then nuc. Tried both. I am in Lacombe near Slidell.