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| Bait hive in tree about 8 ft off ground. Ideally, it would be higher in the tree but I do this alone and have to be able to get it down, full of bees ! |
Friday, July 12, 2013
Bait hive
This is a "bait hive" that I have up in a tree across the pasture from the swarm mentioned in the previous post. I had noticed that swarm up in a tree on Wednesday. On Thursday, I noticed about a dozen "scout" bees inspecting my bait hive. I waited out there for 4 hours hoping to catch a picture of the swarm moving into my bait hive. No luck ! This is Friday morning and the swarm is still up in the tree. Maybe they will move in today ! If so, I can them relocate them to a more appropriate long term home.
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Well, they have stayed in the tree for 3 days. They may NOT move.
ReplyDeleteWhy has the swarm stayed in the tree instead of moving into the bait hive they have been inspecting ? I don't know. Possibly there is another site that are scouting also and can not make up their mind. Possibly it is the rainy weather that we are having every day and they are "hunkered" down and afraid to move. The swarm leaves the hive with about 3 days worth of provisions stored in their honey stomachs. If they don't arrive at their new home by then, some of the bees will begin to forage. The problem is when they stay at the temp location too long and begin to draw comb. If the queen lays eggs, they are very reluctant to leave. An open air colony in our area is doomed and only 25- 50% of swarms that escape to the wild make it through the first year. For these reasons, I would love to help this swarm but alas.. I cant fly !
ReplyDeleteUpon seeing the swarm gone from the tree and activity around the bait hive, I hoped the swarm had moved in.
ReplyDeleteRATS... and several other things I shouldn't say. They are gone. Because I had only seen a little activity at the bait hive this afternoon (not as much as I would have expected for that size swarm) , I wanted to go back out there in a few hours..hoping to see pollen being brought in. I go out there about 6 PM and only see a couple of bees buzzing around. I went worked out a way to get up to the back of the hive and thump on the box (like we do in winter) no buzz ! So I open it up and so sad to see no bees. Oh well...it wasn't meant to be (pun intended) sorry couldn't help myself. I made a few adjustments to the bait hive and hopefully have it ready for the next opportunity. If you cant take disappointment, you cant be a beekeeper..it comes with the territory.
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