bees working swarm traps

[capt44]

I haven't seen a swarm or had any swarm calls yet but here is a couple of pictures of a swarm trap I put on the end of my wood shop.
The bees were really working it today.
Fact is the 4 traps I put out on my beeyard had a few bees checking them out.

[Kathyp]

have you looked inside?  that looks like more than scout bees. did you leave honey in there that they might have wanted to rob?  if not, check it.  you may have a surprise in there  :-D

[buzzbee]

Give it a little tap after dark and listen for the hum.

[Moots]

I have a similar situation and have been fooled twice by the same trap this year.  :(

Lots of activity, similar to Capt's pic, for multiple days...I'd say up to a week.  The only thing in the Nuc is a piece of old comb and some lemon grass oil.  On both occasions I would have swore bees had moved in, yet I seal it up at night, take it down, and it's empty.  :laugh:

Both times when I took it down after dark I was suspicious because I saw no bees at the entrance, however, It's a double stacked 6 frame Nuc and I "assumed" they were just clustered up top....They WON'T fool me again! 

[bud1]

cap44 I usually keep a lite in my truck; as Kathy says looks like you got a present but a lite wil let you know rite quick when you go pick it up 

[capt44]

It was empty except for the old comb and lemongrass bait.
I cut a large diameter soda straw in 2 inch lengths and filled it half full of cotton then put 4 or 5 drops of lemon grass oil on the cotton and finished filling the straw with cotton.
I cut a notch on one end and used a thumb tack to fasten it to the inside of the trap.
There have been no swarms around this part of the state recently.
All the calls I've received were in the southern part of the state.
This weather has everything about 5 weeks behind what it was the last couple of years.
I split 15 hives last Friday and only 7 of them had queen cells.
They had lots of drones walking around and capped drone cells.
I marked all the queens I found.
I look when they do start swarming to do it all at once.
I'll have out 50 swarm traps, the flower pot type.