Funnel Trap ??

[Ronnie Elliott]

I have set a funnel trap yesterday on a brick pocket, which is only six inches from the two foot roof overhang, and also is right next to a pear shaped brick chimney. The bait hive is about 2 feet to the side, and is 3-feet lower than the trap. I have been feeding the bait hive with HBH for a month. Will the trapped out bees find the bait hive, being that the bait hive is lower? Should I continue feeding with HBH? I have a Brushy Mtn. robber screen on the hive, and opened only one of the two bottom entrances.
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[Michael Bush]

It's doubtful that the returning bees will find the bait hive unless they have to get through it to get to the funnel.  They are not swarming, so they are not looking for another hive, they are looking for a way into their hive.  If you set it up so they have to exit through the bait hive and enter through the bait hive, they might cluster there and eventually settle in.

http://www.bushfarms.com/beesferal.htm#conemethod

[Brian D. Bray]

If you want to trap bees from a feral source without destroying the source the bees must be forced to travel to and from their old home through their new home.  Bees hate a void and will, sooner or later, start building combs in the hive they are transversing through.  They may even develop their own queen.  It should be possible to milk a feral hive for 2-3 splits a year this way.