Trap for stray swarms
The article “Trap for stray swarms” was published. I received a lot of letters asking them to talk about their device and how to determine the timing of the possible release of the swarm. I follow the request of readers.
Traps are made from plywood with a volume of 47.5 X 30 X 35 cm for six – eight standard frames. First I nail the slats along the perimeter of the future side walls. When the box is pinned, these slats remain inside. For the bottom and roof on the top and bottom edges of the front and rear walls I use the same racks, but they remain outside. In the center of the front wall there are two gauges with a diameter of 2 cm.
One of them is located below the other at a distance of 1 cm from the wall, and the other one is 1 cm lower. Traps are painted in green (for disguise). The roof is slightly larger than the bottom. Its protuberance forms a visor. From the top I cover the roof with roofing felt, tin, linoleum or polyethylene film.
The trap is complete with old honeycombs, free of bees’ feces. If their stock is limited, I place one or two frames in the center of the nest. Traps can also be equipped with shop frames. All the framework by the shoulders I nail to the wall of the trap with small nails. I put a polished canvas on top (for a smell). I did not have to use other odorous substances.
Traps periodically check. It happens that the beetle includes separate bees, which then immediately fly away. These are bee pickers choosing the remnants of honey from honeycombs. Hence, there is a hope that soon the bee-scout will arrive here.
If ten or more bees crawl on the front wall of the trap, which do not fly away anywhere, but start spinning nearby, it means that somewhere the family prepares for the swarming and the intelligence bees begin to protect their possible housing. Sometimes you have to witness the fight of this guard with the scouts of another family. A small number of bee-scouts before the pilot says that the swarm will not be released soon. As the timing of its coming closer, their number will increase.
If, however, a watch trap can be seen with watchdogs, and many other bees are spinning around – the family has settled in the trap. By the summer of insects and the general buzz you can determine its strength.
The situations described above can also be observed in the daytime. If the summer turns out to be a busy bee after sunset, it means that a family has settled inside the trap, because the scouts fly to their homes for the night.
The most accurate way to determine if there is a swarm in the trap or not is listening, but knowing the behavior of the intelligence bees at the tap and its correct interpretation greatly facilitates the work: you do not have to climb the tree once more.
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