Spring Swarms

[bwallace23350]

I am going to try to catch spring swarms do I need nucs of 10 frame mediums?

[MikeCinWV]

If you are talking about trapping them I have had the most successful with 10 frame deeps as traps.

[paus]

2016 was my first time ever to try to catch swarms I had about 50 percent success I learned a lot and made a handful of mistakes I used all 5 frame quickey to build boxes.  If you don't have frames buy them.  Start something for the bees to draw comb on practically any thing will work. Use a LITTLE lemon grass oil and some old clean comb if available. Place close to open areas near water.  There is lots of info on the internet.. All of the info is correct and none of it is correct for all situations.  Paus

[CapnChkn]

I've caught them in everything from a 5 frame medium to empty hives.  What you will need to trap swarms is Brood Comb.  They like the smell of the comb, like home, and it gives the queen something to lay in immediately.  Another lure is the swarm stuff you get, but I've never had luck with it.  What I have luck with is Lemon Grass Oil which emulates the same pheromone the bees produce in their Nasonov's gland.  It tells other bees that something is "here."

They paint this on flowers, by holes in cavities, and when there's a disturbance, they stand at the entrance of the hive and send the smell in the air around the hive to guide the confused bees home.  In spring, when colonies are going through reproductive swarming, the smell attracts scouts to the empty bait hive and increases chances of a swarm setting up camp there.

[divemaster1963]

I like using three deep nucs. works and they build it out fast.

john

[stanisr]

I have used everything from traps I purchased, 5 frame nucs, 8 frame mediums, to 10 frame deeps. The best trap is the one that has the largest capacity for the place you put it up to a 10 frame deep. If you are limited to a nuc, then use a nuc. But if you can use a regular deep use it.  Well, that my 2 cents worth. Hope it helps

[BeeMaster2]

I have 5 & 6 frame nucs that I catch a lot of swarms with. This past year, I caught 2 large swarms in a stack of medium supers that were right next to my workshop. I saw that they may make a good trap so I added a top entrance, some frames with a waxed wood strip and I added some lemon grass oil.
I opened both up at the 2 week mark and they both had 20 frames of comb drawn and
both swarms were large enough to start producing honey within a month.
Jim

[bwallace23350]

I can see some building in my future over the winter then.

[johng]

Double 5frame nucs work quite well too. If you run deep hives using deep nucs makes a lot of sense. If your using mediums double mediums should work well too. The secret to catching swarms is using old boxes or adding a frame of old comb. Brand new boxes with new foundation does not work near as well.

[bwallace23350]

What about scents?

[BeeMaster2]

I add a q-tip with Lemon Grass Oil on one end and I dip the other end into a jar of alcohol that has dead queens in it, into a sealed plastic bag.
I like to wipe 2 ends of the q-tip around the entrance before seal the bag and place it inthe trap.
Jim
I

[Cedar Hill]

http://s196.photobucket.com/albums/aa190/Drew454/Nuc%20plans/    This is what I have used but the larger the area they occupy is better.   OMTCW