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Offline SlickMick

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My favourite swarm trap
« on: January 10, 2010, 07:19:35 am »
I know that I have mentioned this previously but my mandarine and Macadamia nut trees are my favourite swarm traps. You might say that they are a combined tree as they were planted years ago more than likely too close together. But as a combined piece of flora they do a wonderful job of catching swarms.

I have not made a record of the number of swarms they have collected over the past year but it is heaps. I think at least 3 or 4 each.. another one in the Macadamia on Thursday

Last Thursday my wife looked out the kitchen window and said I think your bees are swarming. Sure enough they were but I was on my wayout and they had to wait until I had time the next day to collect them. It didn't look a big swarm until I got up there with a ladder and cut away the folliage. I saw then that they were quite large and covered 7 frames of a deep. I stuck them in a box with a baggie of granulated honey and put a shallow and cover on top and left them to their normal activities. Well, today being Sunday I thought I would take the top off and see how they were going. First thing they had built a heap of comb on the lid above the shallow that they had partially filled with nectar/honey so I had to take the comb off the lid and place it into shallow frames. It filled two.. not bad for a few days.

I thought I would simply have to lift the lid check things and then leave them so all I did was put on a veil and opened the lid. I had to cut off the comb off the lid and band it into frames and dump all the girls back into the box. No smoke and only 1 sting when I rolled a bee so I was quite amazed that they were so docile considering the damage I was doing to their hive.

Quite big bees too. Bigger than most of my other hives but obviously very productive. There is quite a bit of blossom out at the moment (Buckinghamia mainly but also Pride of India and some Leopard tree) so it is obviously that that is forcing things along.

So I wonder if others on the forum have such a wonderful swarm trap.

Slicko

Offline philinacoma

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Re: My favourite swarm trap
« Reply #1 on: January 12, 2010, 08:40:41 am »
Wow Slicko, mate. It sounds like no one else ever lets their bees swarm...

I'll have to let you know next season about where my bees decide to roost. Funny thing about where I have my feral girls. They're right next to our mandarine and macadamia trees...what do you reckon? Perfect trap? :-D

Phil

Offline SlickMick

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Re: My favourite swarm trap
« Reply #2 on: January 13, 2010, 06:21:32 am »
Wow Slicko, mate. It sounds like no one else ever lets their bees swarm...

I'll have to let you know next season about where my bees decide to roost. Funny thing about where I have my feral girls. They're right next to our mandarine and macadamia trees...what do you reckon? Perfect trap? :-D

Phil

Absoluetly Phil

Slicko

Offline westmar

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Re: My favourite swarm trap
« Reply #3 on: January 23, 2010, 03:44:36 am »
hi slick mick
                  you could say you got a money tree there.

Offline SlickMick

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Re: My favourite swarm trap
« Reply #4 on: January 23, 2010, 06:32:02 am »
G'day Westmar, are you back home? Hope that things went well for your treatment.

Well the last swarm (last Thursday) deserted the mandarin and the macadamia and instead landed in the longan tree.. that's 2 swarms in the last week and I've run out of wooden ware. At the moment I feel that I have bees coming out of my... well everywhere.

I started last year with no hives having lost my only 2 to SHB. I bought a nuc in February and caught a few swarms. Now I have 10 hives and I have to combine the last 2 swarms to get out of trouble.. all the deeps are chockers and 3 hives have the girls sleeping rough. I feel like I'm running around like a blue arsed fly with supers to extract and no time to do the job. I've got about 50 litres of honey and cant even find the time to bottle it. Talk about production!! the girls are going crazy.

Well there you have it. The  season in the city has been going gangbusters

Slicko

Offline Meadlover

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Re: My favourite swarm trap
« Reply #5 on: January 24, 2010, 05:16:35 pm »
Of all the beekeeping problems you could have, I reckon that's the best one Slick  :-D
I can only hope that this year that is my biggest problem too!

ML

Offline westmar

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Re: My favourite swarm trap
« Reply #6 on: January 24, 2010, 10:59:32 pm »
hi slick mick
                yea I'm back home got the battery recharged.got a good report don't have go back for three month's.by the sound of it your having a rippar of a season.noticed coming down through blackbutt,a few blood wood flowering.on the creek fl ates towards cooyar rough bark apple in flower.

Offline Meadlover

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Re: My favourite swarm trap
« Reply #7 on: January 25, 2010, 07:03:04 am »
Slicko,

I have an extractor if you ever want to borrow it?
Just give me a day or 2 warning and I can drop it in on my way home from work if you like.

ML

Offline westmar

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Re: My favourite swarm trap
« Reply #8 on: February 16, 2010, 01:12:49 am »
hi
   slicko how are the bees going down that way.have they settled down.have you taken much honey off this season.

Offline SlickMick

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Re: My favourite swarm trap
« Reply #9 on: February 16, 2010, 04:58:34 am »
hi
   slicko how are the bees going down that way.have they settled down.have you taken much honey off this season.

The bees are going great guns Westie, I split 3 hives last week and gave them to Meadlover (No swarm cells and half height supers full of uncapped honey). So far I have taken off around 100 litres+_ a little and I have maybe 3 hives that I have to extract over the next week or so. This year has been honey flow after honey flow (and swarm after swarm). I have also made 25 litres of mead that I am working through a case of shiraz to get the bottles so that I can put it to bed.

How are yours going mate?

Slicko

Offline westmar

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Re: My favourite swarm trap
« Reply #10 on: February 17, 2010, 03:37:40 am »
hi
    bees on pollen Patty's hoping to get autumn flow, been a very ordinary summer had good rain but washed the nectar of then buds felloff,been no swarms so far and i don't think their will be.noticed my older bees doing better then hives twelve months younger.the mallee box is budding up good normally breaks in February.got to watch for dwindle .keep the Patty's up to them as it a nectar tree.go over do some mowing in case the red steer comes through.

 

anything