Beekeeping involves a lot of subtleties. One of them is catching bee swarms, with the help of which several goals are achieved at once. Traps are used for this process. It is important to correctly create, place and remove them. Catching bee swarms has certain advantages.
Why catch bee swarms?
The main purpose of catching bee swarms is to expand the apiary or replace old individuals on it. New bees are on sale, but the swarm capture allows to save on this. Catching wild bees is attractive in that they have high performance, resistance to wintering conditions and various diseases. Thanks to the capture of new insects, many bee families can be formed, each of which will be different from the others.
Another reason for catching bees is swarming in their own apiary. There are several methods to prevent it, but it is not always possible to translate all the plans. In this case, the swarm must be caught. Catching bee swarms allows you to save many insects. During swarming, they perish en masse, since they can not always find a new place for themselves, make stocks of honey on time.
Some bees are called wild conditionally. There is a possibility that the swarm caught is insects from another apiary, where the beekeeper did not prevent swarming or could not catch the layering in time.
Trap creation
To catch a bee swarm and a queen bee, you need to properly prepare a trap for this. It must meet the following requirements:
- volume 40-60 l;
- light weight - up to 5-6 kg, with a heavy device it is not easy to perform various manipulations;
- the presence of letka in 10-12 square meters. see - imitation of the entrance to the hollow, where wild bees prefer to dwell;
- water tightness;
- strength and durability - it is better to use one trap for a long time, as certain pheromones remain in it, which will attract other bees during the next fishing;
- the ability to install frames.
Traps for catching bees are made of wood - boards or plywood. The breed must be hardwood. The walls of the trap should not be smooth. Enough material thickness of 8-10 mm. Dimensions can be arbitrary, but it is recommended to prepare 2 parts 25x50 cm for the bottom and roof, 2 parts 27.5x50 cm and 2 parts 22.2x27.5 cm for the walls.
Collect the trap as follows:
- Connect all parts except the roof, fixing them to the carpentry glue. To strengthen use screws.
- To retreat 2-2.5 cm from the top of the box and attach (with glue or screws) thin rails - suspension for the frames.
- To the middle of the back wall, vertically attach a 7x60 cm strap, making a circular hole in its upper part - this way the trap will be mounted on a tree, in addition, you need to use a wire or rope.
- Make a letok (1.5x8 cm), fix a metal mesh on top - protection from unwanted guests (rodents, birds).
- To make an arrival board - just a ledge of 3 cm is enough.
- To fix the roof, use a screw with a washer so that it can be rotated.
- To paint the finished trap - the paint should be light, this serves as protection against overheating.
For bees, smells are of equal importance with dancing, so the trap must be well dried and ventilated. To attract insects, the new product is effectively treated with propolis - just rub the trap inside with a softened piece of bee glue. You can use a special bait with pheromones. To attract bees, it’s good to use old honeycombs that have already darkened. At least one such frame must be trapped. To reduce the risk of disease, you need to hold the old honeycomb in the freezer for two days.
When catching wild bees, it should be remembered that the trap can attract other insects. The smells that the bees perceive normally will help scare them away. This is needles, nettle, cherry, blackcurrant, raspberry leaf.
You can see 4 different ways (4 different traps) for catching bees with detailed instructions in the video below:
Trap placement rules
One of the important factors for successful bee swarm fishing is the proper placement of the trap. You must act according to the following rules:
- The correct height. Traps are recommended to be installed at a height of 4-6 m from the ground. Bees usually choose high places for the hive so that the damp land is farther away, and some honey lovers could not get to it.
- Shaded place. The trap should not be very hot during the day, otherwise the bees will simply ignore it. For the same reason, it is recommended to paint the device in light colors.
- The right place. The trap should be installed at least 30 m from the apiary, bees do not swarm closer. The tree needs to be selected noticeable. It can be distinguished by size or location. The location of the trap should be attractive to bees. Its scouts will be discovered, the purpose of which is to find the source of nectar and pollen. Honey bees attractive to bees should bloom nearby. The tree must be alive to accommodate the trap.
- Safety. There should be no anthills, wild animals, or power lines near the trap.
- Water. The trap should be installed in places from which the water source is no further than 100-200 m. The bees need water, so they will not live far from it.
- Verified place. If earlier the trap was already installed, and the swarm was successfully caught in it, then success can be repeated in the same area.
- The direction of the taphole. It is recommended to choose the southern directions.
The trap must be stable. It must be carefully fixed on a tree, but so that you can quickly remove it later - working at height is inconvenient and dangerous. The branch for installing the trap should be sufficiently thick and strong.
If it was not possible to prevent swarming in your apiary, it is important to identify this process in a timely manner. The organization of duty may be required so that the bees do not have time to fly far. The layer leaves the apiary not immediately. First, it will be located next to the apiary - on a tree, a fence. Scouts will search for a new place. It is at this point that insects are easier to catch. To prevent them from scattering, spray them with water. If the swarm is located on a branch, then you can hit it with a stick to shake insects into a trap.
You can see the detailed instructions for making a simple trap that can be built from improvised materials in the video below:
Trap Rules
It is necessary to catch a bee swarm during swarming. This period begins from the end of spring and continues depending on the region until the beginning to mid-July. Experienced beekeepers recommend focusing on the flowering of viburnum - in its beginning there is a mass flight of bees. According to statistics, more than 80% of bees swarm until mid-June. Bees also swarm in September, but only small swarms can be caught during this period - usually no more than 1.5 kg. They can be used to settle in other bee colonies or left in a trap - the bees will harvest their honey until frost, and after that they can be placed in a regular hive.
The trap should be checked regularly. Enough weekly monitoring. The success of the enterprise can be judged by a large number of insects. You can make sure that the swarm is caught by tapping the wall of the trap and putting your ear to it. Success is evidenced by a loud buzz. If only a few insects emit it, then these are scouts - the trap must be removed later, when the whole hive gathers in it. Usually the process takes 1-2 days.
The presence of several tens or hundreds of bees in the letka does not mean that the trap worked successfully. This is still a scout. Their presence at the trap does not guarantee success - the place may not be pleasant to insects.
You can verify the success of the capture of the bee swarm on the following grounds:
- collecting pollen - scouts do not do this;
- fast and jerky movements of bees, confident movement into the trap and vice versa - if the individuals just arrived, then they cannot immediately find the entrance;
- the walls of the trap and the trunk of the tree are massively covered with bees - the swarm has already arrived, but has not yet accommodated, the process will take several hours.
To catch a bee swarm, you can use not only specially made traps, but also empty hives. They set 6-8 frames. To attract your own swarm or other domesticated bees, you need to use a fresh framework.
Trap removal
The trap should be removed in the evening - when the sun sets, the bees will return to the beehive trap. When working in the dark it is good to use a lamp with a red filter - insects do not see such light. It is necessary to act according to the following algorithm:
- Close the door. For this purpose, a fine-mesh mesh is well suited; it is convenient to mount it with a stapler.
- Lower the trap to the ground. It is inconvenient to do this in the hands, so it is better to use a rope. This will facilitate the process and protect it - the trap can be dropped.
- If the apiary is not far from the trap, you should move the caught bees in a different direction. The letok will need to be opened and the trap left for several days - this technique is necessary so that the insects do not return to the place of their capture.
- If the swarm was captured on rainy days, the bee did not manage to make stockpiles. Be sure to give them a framework with honey.
For better adaptation of the caught bees to the apiary, they should be brood - frames should be taken from other hives. Insects will be busy with work, so they will not be up to swarming.
Catching a bee swarm allows you to catch your own insects during swarming or replenish apiaries at the expense of stray individuals without spending extra money. The success of capturing a swarm depends on the proper organization: it is necessary to make a suitable trap, place it correctly and, if the process is carried out correctly, obtain the expected result.