Bees Wax on frames and boxes as attractant.

[BabcockFarms]

I keep reading that it helps to have bees wax on the frames and boxes to give new bees a sense of comfort and gets them drawing comb faster. However I have never had bees before so no bees wax to coat the wooden ware with. Would it be beneficial to purchase some unfiltered bees wax to coat the wooden ware with or does the introduction of this run an unjustifiable risk of introducing disease to the hive?

If coating the wooden ware is justifiable any recommendations on where to purchase some wax?

[BeeMaster2]

I keep reading that it helps to have bees wax on the frames and boxes to give new bees a sense of comfort and gets them drawing comb faster. However I have never had bees before so no bees wax to coat the wooden ware with. Would it be beneficial to purchase some unfiltered bees wax to coat the wooden ware with or does the introduction of this run an unjustifiable risk of introducing disease to the hive?

If coating the wooden ware is justifiable any recommendations on where to purchase some wax?

I would not use wax from unknown hives in yours. That is just asking for trouble. All it would take is for 1 piece of wax taken from a hive with AFB mixed in with the wax to cause serious problems. I would wait until you have your own.
Jim

[Vance G]

Your bees will like the home you provide just fine as long as it is not unbearably hot or has a huge draft thru it.  Hollow bee trees certainly do not start out pre scented for the bees.  It is the cavity and someone staying out of it that most aids in establishment.  Go in quickly after three days to make sure the queen is released.  If she is not, pull a couple outside frames and slide the center ones apart.  Put your hands well down in the box among the bees and tear off the wire and release her onto a frame.  That way she won't fly away.  Put carefully back together leaving any extra space at the outsides of the box.  In a full week, go back in long enough to find larvae or eggs. Then get out again for three weeks.  Provide food if there is not dandelions or a known honey source blooming.   It is as simple as that. 

[BabcockFarms]

Thanks, you confirmed my suspicion. I thought there.might have been some kind of process that would eliminate the problem!

[beyondthesidewalks]

From your post it's unclear if you are trying to trap a swarm of bees or hiving a package of bees.  If you are trying to trap a swarm, it's true old, dark comb is very attractive to bees.  It's also attractive to wax moths if they are around.  If you are starting foundationless frames it is helpful to put wax on the top bars of the frames, whether it would be starter strips of foundation or just paint wax on the top bars.  If you don't have good clean wax for this purpose I would not buy any.  There's no telling what's in the wax these days.  Some of the latest information on pesticides in foundation has shown that levels of pesticides used by beekeepers in their hives stay in the wax.  Some of these pesticides are blamed for poor queens and high mortaility of queens.

If you are just hiving a package of bees, you have bees that will be eager to draw wax and build their new home.  You have to start somewhere.  If you continue with beekeeping you will eventually have a stockpile of wax and drawn comb from your own hives.

[Michael Bush]

A few drops of Lemongrass Essential Oil will not only make a good swarm trap but will also help anchor the bees there.  By a few drops I mean between two and three.  I would definitely not go over four... I find it easiest to dip a q-tip in it and put that in to measure precisely.

[BabcockFarms]

I was talking about attracting a swarm to a trap. I am not too worried about the packages getting going. I have two packages ordered and would love to capture or trap a couple swarms to add to my bee yard. I am building enough boxes to setup 6 hives. I AM an optimist and a realist, that is why I purchased two packages and planned for more. :-D

Michael,

I read about packing a straw with cotton and stapling it to the inside of the trap so you could add a couple of drops and later add a couple more if needed. I was just wanting to give myself the best chance of capturing a swarm and increasing the number and diversity of my hives.

[Michael Bush]

>I read about packing a straw with cotton and stapling it to the inside of the trap so you could add a couple of drops and later add a couple more if needed.

I don't seen the purpose of the straw and cotton.

>I was just wanting to give myself the best chance of capturing a swarm and increasing the number and diversity of my hives.

Lemongrass essential oil is the main thing.

[hardwood]

A bit of old black comb helps too. I've been mixing lemon grass E.O. into melted beeswax and it seems to hold the scent (at least to me...maybe not so much for the bees) for a good while.

Scott

[Adam Foster Collins]

.. I've been mixing lemon grass E.O. into melted beeswax and it seems to hold the scent ...for a good while.
Scott

I found the same thing. I've been trying to find ways of making the lemongrass oil stay longer, and found that if I mixed it into melted was and then cooled the wax and rubbed it on the inside of the hives, it lasted a long time.

Adam

[beyondthesidewalks]

Cotton in the section of straw makes the LGO last longer.

[BabcockFarms]

That is why I was looking at the straw trick.

[Michael Bush]

Just because you can't smell it doesn't mean the bees can't...

[BabcockFarms]

I understand that. But I was thinking a small impervious container would lend itself well to slowly releasing the tantalizing aroma of LGO.

[Michael Bush]

A baggie would do if that is your goal.   I don't use them.  I just dip a q-tip in the lemongrass essential oil and the other end of the q-tip in queen juice (jar of old queens in alcohol) and drop it in.

[BabcockFarms]

How often do you refresh with a new a q-tip? Or is once enough for the season?

[Michael Bush]

>Or is once enough for the season?

I do it once a season.  If I wasn't so lazy, maybe I'd do it one more time in the middle of swarm season...