re: Honey Bees

I do about midsummer and let them work on filling it. Very confusing. They're some still around. See them in the flowers and watering already. Put out three swarm boxes with no luck though.

I currently have 8 hives. I trap them in the spring. I have caught 3 so far this year. It has gone from a hobby to a decent side gig of selling honey. I love it.

I live less than 30 minutes from Hampton. Here is a picture of my traps last week. I am 3 for 3 this year.

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What do you look for when setting swarm traps?

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Man, it’s hard to know. Two of those are up high, one on the side of an old building and the other on the fire escape at work. The other is on the side of a tree about 6 foot up. I have really good luck. I have old comb along with frames with foundation strips And fishing line. Then of course swarm commander lure. I wonder if part of the success is that I’ve been using these traps for years and they just smell of bees. I feel like catching bees is about the only thing I’ve been exceptional at. lol

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For four springs now, I have bought bees. For four years now, they leave the hive some time around Oct. I live in Tuscaloosa county, hive gets plenty of sun, facing the south, plenty of water around, box is always full of capped honey by then. Any thoughts?

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Are all the bees in the hive absconding or is it just a swarm?

Only about half should leave in a swarm, and that only happens when a new queen is raised. The old queen leaves with most of the mature bees.

Are you adding honey supers or is the hive chock full? No room for more laying space is a sure fire way to get a swarm.

When we notice ours getting super full, we make sure there is always some empty comb for laying space by checkering in a couple empty raised comb frames in the brood area so the queen does not feel crowded. At that point you should have 2 deep supers and be adding honey supers above that. If you only have a single deep super that is likey the reason things are getting crowded. In the middle of summer/fall when bee population is max, one is not enough.

EDIT: This assumes a mature hive. A first year hive with low bee population and not much raised comb might not need 2 yet. In that case there is just not enough laying space for the queen to lay eggs to support the larger bee population (still building comb).

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My traps are new, so they smell like plywood. They need weathering and a swarm definitely puts the smell in the trap.

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One thing I did when I first built mine was to take a torch and scorch the inside of the trap. The reasoning is that bees often build in burnt out trees.

Appreciate you taking time to educate me. I think I’m doing both, too much room, and other times not enough. Gonna take a break from it this year and start fresh next year. May reach back out to you for advice. Really like having the bees around. Super good for my gardens.

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This is true. I try to mess with mine as little as possible. I don’t even treat for mites which is a fairly controversial subject.

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Testing and treating for varroa is not something that we skimp on. We use a foam treatment on a card mounted just below the top hole in the hive so the bees have to walk through it when they enter from the top. We treat broodless hives with oxalic acid when that happens (raising a new queen). We also use a fumigation treatment in the late fall after harvest.

We use russian bees, which are suited for our northern nebraska winter climate and somewhat varroa resistant.

We only lose 2-3 percent of our hives each year over the winter.