Lucky number 7…I caught bees in this bait box last year, so it was a good choice to use.
Yesterday I caught a swarm from Bee Beard Log hive and put it into my back-up Warre.
I thought I had some time to finish my second log hive before another swarm would take place. Not so. On April 18 two more swarms came out. These are cast swarms…more than likely the queen has not been mated yet. What to do? I had already used my back-up Warre and there were some work responsibilities staring me in the face…deadlines that couldn’t be put off any longer because “people are depending on you, Pat!” Okay, I’ll get the deadlines done first and get the bees figured out in the morning…it rained all night. My wife suggested I adapt a bait box. Last year after reading McCartney Taylor’s book on swarm bait hives, I had built nine swarm bait boxes and placed them in different spots hoping to attract a swarm. I was successful in two of them. One I gave away and lucky number 7 went into my new log hive.
After some initial resistance, I realized she had a good idea. The box is already built. I just need to add some Warre length top bars…it’s also a good size of 40 liters as recommended by Tom Seeley in his book “Honeybee Democracy.”
First job is to wax up some top bars…
Painted melted wax on top bars
Three waxed top bars installed into former swarm bait box after scorching the inside.
The above picture shows only three top bars. I added a total of 12 because I wasn’t sure when I’d get another Warre and at the time I wanted to be able to add these bees to my next log hive if I ever get it done. I also tapped some panel nails in to keep the bars from sliding when I tilt hive with bees into the tree. The bars have a slot for the nails, so they will lift out easily.
I like the idea of a ‘quilt box,’ so I cut another bait hive down to make one.
Hardware cloth on the bottom keeps the burlap ‘quilt’ from getting glued to the bars. That way the sawdust won’t spill into the brood box.
I drilled several holes into the quilt box covering them with screen. That way the hive can breathe and keep the hive scent. I used myrtlewood sawdust for two reasons…feral bees live in myrtlewood trees and I had a lot of it left over from hollowing out my next log hive. Actually some of my bees came from a feral hive in a myrtlewood tree last year.
I’m beginning to think bamboo is the ideal swarm catcher…this is the fourth swarm to land in it.
After bending branches and snipping them, we managed to get the majority of bees into the box.
“Hey everyone, the queen is over here in the box.” (The bees are fanning the nasonov pheromone.)
Day 5, they’re bringing back pollen already…a sign of a laying queen.
A short video of swarm activity. The main video that shows us getting the swarm in the box has disappeared due to Pat’s incompetence.
Adventures in Natural Beekeeping 
Fascinating as ever, you should know by now that the missus is always right, no point in resisting…well ok, but not for too long 🙂
Well said. 🙂
sometimes you Americans are really lucky: bait hives are not allowed in Germany! So next spring there will be a lot of discussion with my “bee father” about this, because i do plan to “catch” a swarm in a prepared hive…
I was under the impression that bait hives were fine…much better to get bees that are acclimated to the area rather than ‘package bees’ that come from out of the area. Package bees bring in pests and problems. Sometimes the queens don’t even belong with the bees she is shipped with. That is, she wasn’t raised with them.
no “package bees” for us! our german beekeeping association says that bait hives pose health threats… to me that is bollocks. The problem is changing the thinking of the traditional beekeepers…