Wild bee hunting??

Anybody still hunting or finding "wild" honeybees??

I have heard of several folks that do this for a living.

It is called catching a swarm.

Do you make a living doing this?

I hunt established wild colonies. Learned it from my grandfathers in early 1960s. Great outdoor activity for young and old. It is part of my heritage. When we find a hive friends that keep bees will help hive and keep them. No $ involved, just trade. I have found wild hives in some surprising places. BT

The most productive find was 2 hives in walls of old 2&1/2 story house. Old 1880s era. It was in an overgrown farm homestead full of old fashioned and 1960s abandoned logging equipment. The entries were on opposite sides of house. North entry was about 6' above ground level through a wide split siding board. South hive entry was old shotgun blast through sideing.about 12' above ground and 1' above 2nd story floor. I had stoped there for hydration break. Saw lots bees watering in long tire furrow puddle. Some bees going north of house, some south. Easy to follow in sunlight. One hive gray the other black with thin yellow stripe. Eventually got good bees easy, good honey production and a lot of wax out. Gave the owner $50 and buddy got great place for couple hive stands. Found them in early September in 2004. More later. BT

I swarm trap. Got 2 this summer. Not a lot around here but a friend a couple hours drive away got over 20 swarms this year. Depends on location.

Tom, this old guy long time fur, food andan varmint nuisance trapper. Thinking of trying swarm trapping season 2027. Can you share some insights on your methods, equipment, locations and timing? Having been experienced I think that adequate equipment important but location, location location reigns supreme, depending on what you want to accomplish. Numbers and quality should go together, or not, lol. BT

R Trower wrote:Tom, this old guy long time fur, food andan varmint nuisance trapper. Thinking of trying swarm trapping season 2027. Can you share some insights on your methods, equipment, locations and timing? Having been experienced I think that adequate equipment important but location, location location reigns supreme, depending on what you want to accomplish. Numbers and quality should go together, or not, lol. BT

Best is used beehives with old comb, for the scent of home. I use lemon grass oil as a swarm attractant. It imitates bee alert pheromone. A convenient product is 'Swarm Commander' which is fairly pricey but it seems to work. One drop of lemon grass oil or one spray of Swarm Commander in the entrance is all that's needed.

As far as location, hard to say. There are claims that south-facing, on the edge of woods is best. My 2 swarms this year, one was out in full sun and south facing, the other was in deep shade, east facing. My last prior swarm was on my front porch behind a hedge. I think the best place is near where you know beehives are!

I don't have much experience, but I'm planning to set some swarm traps next spring. I never had any desire to keep bees, but a friend gave me a hive last summer, and then another friend gave me a bunch of equipment. Over the last year, the bees sucked me in with their fascinating lives and then left while I was away this summer. I came home to  a hive full of maggots. Now I feel sad whenever I pass the old hive spot. I hope I can catch some new bees — they're too expensive to buy.

Those "maggots" were probably wax moth larva. Wax moths are considered the undertakers of bee colonies. My guess is the bees had a major decline in population while you were away.

Mike Barkley wrote:Those "maggots" were probably wax moth larva. Wax moths are considered the undertakers of bee colonies. My guess is the bees had a major decline in population while you were away.

Or small hive beetle larvae.

Thom Bri wrote:

Mike Barkley wrote:Those "maggots" were probably wax moth larva. Wax moths are considered the undertakers of bee colonies. My guess is the bees had a major decline in population while you were away.

Or small hive beetle larvae.

I figured it was probably a mix of beetles and moths. Fortunately, I discovered the situation before all was lost. I was able to recover several frames of brood comb that I can use as swarm bait next season.

I'm not sure why the hive population would suddenly decline. It was mid-way through our dearth, but they had a good store of honey (I was planning to harvest as soon as I got home). I'm not sure about their pollen stores though. I did find some supersedure cells in the brood comb, so I suspect either the queen died or they swarmed and then failed to re-queen.

Jake, supersedure cells plus a sudden drop with honey still in the box fits a failed requeening well: if the new queen didn't come back from her mating flight, the colony slowly dwindles and the beetles and moths take over the weak hive. One more thing worth checking next season is mites. In much of the US late summer is when varroa numbers peak, and a colony can collapse fast then even with good stores. A mite count in July and August (alcohol wash or sugar roll) tells you early.

For the brood comb you saved: freezing the frames for two or three days before storing kills wax moth and beetle eggs, and keeps them good for swarm bait.

Yekta Sevim wrote:Jake, supersedure cells plus a sudden drop with honey still in the box fits a failed requeening well: if the new queen didn't come back from her mating flight, the colony slowly dwindles and the beetles and moths take over the weak hive.

This is exactly what happened to 2 of my hives this year. For some reason, I had very poor queen production.

Yekta Sevim wrote:Jake, supersedure cells plus a sudden drop with honey still in the box fits a failed requeening well: if the new queen didn't come back from her mating flight, the colony slowly dwindles and the beetles and moths take over the weak hive. One more thing worth checking next season is mites. In much of the US late summer is when varroa numbers peak, and a colony can collapse fast then even with good stores. A mite count in July and August (alcohol wash or sugar roll) tells you early.

For the brood comb you saved: freezing the frames for two or three days before storing kills wax moth and beetle eggs, and keeps them good for swarm bait.

I put the old brood comb in a refrigerator. It's been there for several months now. Will that kill eggs? I might need to cycle the frames through the little freezer space I have.

Thom, a fridge only slows them down: wax moth eggs and larvae survive the cold and carry on once the comb warms up. Freezing is what kills them. In a home freezer (about 0°F / -18°C) a day is enough, two if the frames are packed tight, so cycling a few frames at a time through your small freezer works. Afterwards keep them sealed in a bag or tote so no moth can lay on them again.