Lemon Balm to attract swarms?

[Beewildered61]

 I have Lemon Balm growing in my herb bed and thought about how lemony it smells and wondered if it would work as an attractant. Looked it up on the net, and saw where a lady from Greece said they grow it around their hives to help keep them at home. She was saying people in Greece have been using Lemon Balm for honey bees for centuries and the the scientific name for Lemon Balm is Melissa officinalis, which Melissa means honeybee.

I also found this:
In ancient Greece sprigs of lemon balm were placed into beehives to attract wandering honeybee swarms.
Lemon balm was also planted around the bee?s hives to keep them happy and more apt to stay at the hive and not swarm away.

I have lots of it, the will grow anywhere, the seeds fell in the grass and it grows in the yard. Some seeds fell in the cracks of the railroad ties around my herb bed, and now there are plants growing in the ties.

I am sure going to spread some of the seed around my hives when, they have seed this summer....

[Michael Bush]

Lemon balm works pretty well.  I don't know if lemongrass essential oil is better or not. 

The constituents of Nasonov:
1  geraniol (isomer of nerol)
2  nerolic acid (isomer of geranic acid)
3  (E)-citral (geranial)
4  (Z)-citral (neral)
5  geranic acid (isomer of nerolic acid)
6  Nerol (isomer of geraniol)
7  farnesol

The essential constituents of Nasonov for effects on bees:
"A 1:1:1 mixture of geraniol + nerolic acid + (E)- and (Z)-citrals was as effective as a mixture of all the seven components in equal proportions"
http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1365-3032.1981.tb00270.x/abstract

1  geraniol (isomer of nerol)
2  nerolic acid (isomer of geranic acid)
3  (E)-citral (geranial)
4  (Z)-citral (neral)


Lemongrass oil major components:
1  geraniol (isomer of nerol)
2  nerolic acid (isomer of geranic acid)
3  (E)-citral (geranial)
4  (Z)-citral (neral)
5  geranic acid (isomer of nerolic acid)
6  farnesol

http://www.iloveindia.com/indian-herbs/lemongrass.html

Consituents of Lemon balm that are in Nasonov:
1  geraniol (isomer of nerol)
2  (E)-citral (geranial)
3  (Z)-citral (neral)
4  Nerol (isomer of geraniol)
Others that are related isomers
5  citral A
6  citral B
7  geranyl acetate

[Beewildered61]

 thanks! That's cool, didn't really know what was in Nasonov...