Recent Posts

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GENERAL BEEKEEPING - MAIN POSTING FORUM. / Re: Swarm Catching

« Last post by The15thMember on Today at 07:15:50 pm »

Hoo boy, that looks real!

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GENERAL BEEKEEPING - MAIN POSTING FORUM. / Re: Swarm Catching

« Last post by Terri Yaki on Today at 06:56:20 pm »

I believe the mystery has been solved. I got 20 non-stop minutes of this.

And some of this.

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GENERAL BEEKEEPING - MAIN POSTING FORUM. / Re: Community Feeding

« Last post by The15thMember on Today at 06:19:29 pm »

The theory is that any bees that would look for robbing opportunities would rather drink from a community trough than fight a bunch of guard bees to get in a hive.

All creatures behave better if they have what they need.

I agree with this theory, but only while the feeder is in place.  It's when you remove the feeder that you can have robbing problems, because the bees who were visiting the feeder will look for a source of food close by when they can't find the feeder anymore. 

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GENERAL BEEKEEPING - MAIN POSTING FORUM. / Re: Swarm Catching

« Last post by gww on Today at 03:44:47 pm »

It could be that there was a swarm and it left somewhere while bees were scouting and those are lost bees coming to a place that got marked earlier.  In this case, they probably eventually drift back to the hive they came from.   There is no real way to know.  I had a large bunch come to a trap and do the figure eight moves around the tree the trap was on only to fly back off to never be seen.  I thought this is it but it was not.  I have brought traps home as I was pretty sure only to find that they had really moved into a different trap which is a caution against wasting resources of several traps in one area as spreading them thinner and a mile apart would increase the odds in my opinion.  My best guess when I see bees just coming and going in and not really measuring is they are taking something from the trap, I always thought minerals from the wood or such but mostly bees don't care about traps or lemon grass oil unless they are looking or maybe during a real derth at which times they will check me out also when just sitting on the back porch.

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GENERAL BEEKEEPING - MAIN POSTING FORUM. / Re: Community Feeding

« Last post by FatherMichael on Today at 03:04:33 pm »

The theory is that any bees that would look for robbing opportunities would rather drink from a community trough than fight a bunch of guard bees to get in a hive.

All creatures behave better if they have what they need.

The point about corrupting a honey flow is determinative.  I'll take up my feeder, since it is not being visited anyway.

If a dearth occurs then I've got the system in place.

Thanks for the helpful comments!

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GENERAL BEEKEEPING - MAIN POSTING FORUM. / Re: Swarm Catching

« Last post by Ben Framed on Today at 02:49:47 pm »

Not to be disagree with Beesnweeds post but I like a trap around my hives for a couple of reasons.  I have one in my back yard and I do not see bees looking for resource very often but when I do see a bee around it, the first thing I do is walk down to my hives and look in the trees.  I have hived at least three of my own before they even picked a home using this.

Been there, done that.  At least 5 of mine were caught that way this year.  The only difference is I have a stack of empty boxes that are getting ready to be put on hives instead of a swarm trap. 

Trapping swarms is like fishing, the more hooks in the water the more chances to catch one.  But there are days that the fish aren't biting no matter what you do.

Well said Cao  ....

Since Terri reported of having 'no' queen cells, I highly doubt his own bees are 'swarm scouting' for a new home at this time. That does not mean other bees from another source, or other sources are not. Who knows it could be scout bees from far away from all we know... Fishing; I like that analysis Cao, it fits!
lol

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GENERAL BEEKEEPING - MAIN POSTING FORUM. / Re: Swarm Catching

« Last post by The15thMember on Today at 01:42:11 pm »

The bees are not investigating the trap, they are drifting to it.  I dont know if it would deter a swarm, maybe?  But in its current location its confusing a new beekeeper and a new hive.  I know it's an unpopular observation on this thread but by the video and Terris posts Im fairly certain it's just his bees drifting.

I don?t feel like your thoughts are unpopular just unique among us and I do consider the possibility.

Agreed.  I think your opinion is raising some interesting questions, beesnweeds.  We are all just trying to figure out what's going on here, and everyone's expertise is valuable.  I don't have any experience with swarm traps really, so I'm learning a lot through the whole conversation. 

80 ft. just seems far to drift to me, and I think Terri's comment about how most of his bees are bringing in pollen but these bees aren't is a interesting observation.  I also feel like the amount of bees exhibiting this odd behavior is very small.  How many scout bees do those of you
who put of swarm traps regularly typically see before a swarm moves in? 

Im not sure what's going on in your hive but that would be a separate issue from workers drifting to the trap.  Honestly, bees dont practice anything.  They dont live long enough.

This is contrary to what I've heard more than once but I am open to learning just what is going on.

I think it depends on your definition of "practice".  I think of queens cups more as preparation.  The bees sometimes build them in case they needed them, and sometimes they end up using them and sometimes they don't.  Orientation fights could also be considered "flying practice", but the purpose is really so the bees can memorize the area around the hive, not to practice flying in the sense that a baby bird does.   

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HUMOR IS A FUNNY THING / Re: Run o' the Mill Jokes

« Last post by Salvo on Today at 11:16:58 am »

One year, I decided to buy my mother-in-law a cemetery plot as a Christmas gift...
The next year, I didn't buy her a gift.

When she asked me why, I replied, "Well, you still haven't used the gift I bought you last year!"

And that's when the fight started...

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GENERAL BEEKEEPING - MAIN POSTING FORUM. / Re: Swarm Catching

« Last post by beesnweeds on Today at 11:11:56 am »

Whatever is going on there is mysterious and interesting.

Certainly is, maybe it's a slow swarm and they will add bees little by little and then bring a queen over.

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GENERAL BEEKEEPING - MAIN POSTING FORUM. / Re: Swarm Catching

« Last post by Ben Framed on Today at 11:06:04 am »

Scout Bees don?t just drift in an empty resource-less hive without reason. Nor do scout bees bring in resources to a colony-less  dwelling .  They can be baited to the hive as you have done in hopes of swarm catching.

Scout bees from our own hives will check out abandoned hives. They are looking to take not give: or looking for a potential new home.