Beemaster's International Beekeeping Forum
BEEKEEPING LEARNING CENTER => TOP BAR HIVES - WARRE HIVES - LONG HIVES => Topic started by: Johnny on April 10, 2016, 10:32:49 am
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Last year I had 4 top bar bait hives (16inches long) with a reduced entrance of 3/8x3/4 in.
I did not get a single swarm in any of them.
This year I built a top bar hive 2 feet long with a 1-3/8 in. round hole in it for an entrance
and 4 days after I put it out I had a swarm in it already none of the old hives with 3/8x3/4
entrances have any bees yet.
Any ideas of what is the difference bigger box or round hole instead of retangle hole?
thanks
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What appears to matter with cavity selection is the box volume - around 45 litres - although there's a fair spread to either side of that figure.
From Tom Seeley's 'Nest of the Honeybee':
(http://i68.tinypic.com/8vta3l.png)
Smell is also important - old comb makes good 'bait', as does Lemongrass Oil etc.
You might also find Seeley's 'Bait Hives for Honey Bees' an interesting read:
https://ecommons.cornell.edu/bitstream/handle/1813/2653/Bait%20Hives%20for%20Honey%20Bees.pdf
LJ
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I use 1 1/4 holes and have had no problems.
I am in Central Arkansas.
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I took a swarm trap with a 3/8 by 3/4 in opening and closed it and drilled a 1-1/4 in. round hole in trap box above
the old opening didn't do anything else except add lemongrass oil again. Trap has been in this location for a year
and nothing. Since changed hole to round hole in 2 weeks I now have a swarm in it. All traps with 3/8 by 3/4
opening still no swarms.
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Johnny
I had 12 traps out last year and got nothing. I had 16 out this year and got two. One of the two was in a trap that was right by my garage door and it had a round hole. It hung there since last year when it didn't get anything. The other swarm was in a medium with a 3 inch shim and a regular bottom board with the opening blocked to about 2 inches, so 2 inches by 3/8th inch. It did have a flaw in the shim that allowed about 3 bee size holes where the shim had seperated a bit. When the swarm arrived they used all openings to get inside.
I can't say that I believe a round hole works better but I don't really know. I say what matters most is how many bees swarm in your area and how many other choices they have for homes. I got all excited getting two swarms in two places 8 miles apart but when I checked the other traps, nothing was happening. The one that moved into the box by my garage had another box exactly like it including how high and entrance direction. I hung them on two trees expecting to move them to good places but never got around to moving them :grin:.
I do know the bees were checking out my hives I have set up for when I get bees. You could definatly tell which one they were liking best though.
Cheers
gww
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round holes 2
rectangle holes 0
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I've been using multiple 22mm circular holes (wine cork size) in all of my hives thus far, but I'm conscious that wide narrow-height slots do appear to reduce traffic-jams of the pedestrian variety which can result when flying insects become crawling insects as they enter the hive.
LJ
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I have read it is best to put swarm traps 20 - 30 feet off of the ground in a tree, near water. Any thoughts?
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Resurrecting an old thread here.
My bees were beginning to beard a lot in my long lang, and I also worried about moisture in the hive during our humid Georgia winters, so I closed up the bottom entrance. I raised one of the 4 migratory tops laying in a row on top of the hive with two shims to create an end entrance, and after a few days, they really took to it. The brood area is at the entrance, and the bees are building backwards towards the other end, where they are capping honey. It's also easier to work the hive with the entrance at the end. A piece of thick vinyl covers the whole hive. I just pull the vinyl back and then remove one of the 4 tops where I need to inspect.
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You probably need to remove the plastic sheet on top of your hive. Probably doesn't let much moisture escape the hive. They need that fresh dry air to control temperature and to dry out their honey/nectar.
Hope this helps.
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Welcome Biggworm
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I don't think it's round vs. rectangle. I think it's an area issue. A 1 3/8 circular opening has area of 1.48 square inches, a 1 1/4 circular opening is 1.22 sq inches. A 3/8 by 3/4 opening is only an area of 0.28, and 3/8 ?2 is 0.75.. For a slotted entrance to be equivalent to the 1 1/4 opening it would have to be 3.25 inches wide. Seeley recommends an opening of 1.5 to 2 square inches.