{"id":4929,"date":"2023-12-17T11:50:12","date_gmt":"2023-12-17T16:50:12","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.beekeepingfornewbies.com\/?p=4929"},"modified":"2023-12-28T10:40:57","modified_gmt":"2023-12-28T15:40:57","slug":"what-is-a-swarm-trap","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.beekeepingfornewbies.com\/what-is-a-swarm-trap\/","title":{"rendered":"What Is A Swarm Trap? (How To Get \u201dFREE\u201d Bees!)"},"content":{"rendered":"

Updated on December 28th, 2023<\/p>\n

Each year, a significant number of a colony’s bees may swarm, taking the reigning queen with them, searching for a new home.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Swarming is a natural occurrence by which bees form a new colony and expand their population. The queen leaves a hive with about half the bees (including some drones). Before swarming, the colony begins the process of raising a replacement queen for the bees that remain.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A swarm trap (or “bait hive”) is a container designed and situated to attract bee swarms. Swarm traps should be water-tight with an opening of about 2 square inches and a cavity volume of about 40 liters. Traps can be \u201cbaited\u201d with comb, foundation, or pheromone-like lures (such as lemongrass oil).<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Some beekeepers use smaller boxes (as little as 15-liter cavities) for bait hives. Research indicates that 40 liters is the preferred size. As a frame of reference, a 10-frame, deep Langstroth hive box has a cavity volume of 42.75 liters, and a 5-frame deep nuc box is a bit over 22 liters.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A bee package can cost between $135 and $200, depending on shipping costs and other factors. Swarm traps are a way to start a beehive without buying bees.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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See our latest survey on the cost of bees in this article<\/a>. <\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

Trapped swarms are not really “free.” <\/strong>You will incur costs to build or buy a bait hive and mount it. You will also invest time and effort. However, compared to purchasing bees, trapped swarms seem like “free” bees. In addition, a well-built trap will last for years.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Swarming presents challenges and opportunities for beekeepers. Having half a colony leave one of YOUR hives is obviously detrimental to that colony\u2019s population growth and honey production. (How to prevent swarming is a topic for another article.)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

On the other hand, while you may lose swarming bees from your apiary, swarm trapping is a very cost-efficient way to acquire more bees.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In this article, we\u2019ll discuss everything you need to know to start trapping swarms.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Swarming is not the same as absconding. In swarming, about half the colony leaves the hive while others remain to carry on. Absconding is when the entire colony goes. See our article Why Do Bees Leave A Hive? (Absconding)<\/a><\/strong> for more information. <\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

Why Do Honey Bees Swarm?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Honey bees swarm to expand their population and propagate the species. Swarming is triggered primarily by overcrowding in the hive or a decline in the queen’s health due to age or other factors.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Overcrowding In The Hive<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Whether it is the hollow of a tree or a hive in your apiary, the amount of functional space available to a colony is limited. As the queen increases egg laying in the spring and the foragers expand the pollen and nectar stores, the hive may become crowded.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In a crowded hive, the queen may slow, or even cease, egg-laying due to lack of space. This lack of space is often called being “honey bound.” The queen\u2019s pheromone production declines, signaling to the colony that changes are in order.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

An Aging Or Ailing Queen<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

The queen\u2019s productive egg-laying capacity diminishes over time, as does her pheromone output. If the queen\u2019s production drops off due to age or other reasons, it has the same impact as if she were reacting to overcrowding in the hive. The colony will prepare to swarm.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

How Do Bees Swarm?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

When the queen signals that change is coming, workers prepare to leave the hive with her.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Workers cease foraging and gorge on food stores to prepare for their trip. The food provides energy for the flight and resources needed for the production of wax comb in the new location.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Queen cells are constructed and begin to house potential successors to the soon-to-be-gone queen.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

After about a week of preparation, the queen exits with around half the workers and some drones. As the swarm settles somewhere nearby, like a tree, scout bees go off searching for a new home.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Scouts look for desirable qualities: dry, adequate access, adequate size, and good orientation. Scouts report back to the swarm, which gradually forms a consensus on the best location. Once in agreement, the swarm heads off to their new home.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I have seen this process take from 2 hours to a whole day.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Thus, one colony becomes two, and the species spreads over a larger area.<\/p>\n\n\n