Category Archives: Methods

Swarm Traps – baiting and staging

Posted on April 7, 2017 by Jason

All but 6 traps have been baited and staged, out of the way. You might be wondering, “why so early?” Bees won’t be swarming yet in Indiana.  To that I’d say, you are right, but there are TWO good reasons to … Continue reading →

Posted in Methods, Scouting, Swarm Trapping, Uncategorized, What's going on.. | Tagged , , , | 10 Comments

Robbing 3 –> Obtain ferals and LetMBee

Posted on October 28, 2016 by Jason

If you’re reading this and you haven’t read Robbing can teach us about honeybees or Robbing – 2: What do you do? you might want to start there.  Just to summarize, last time I came home from work to a robbing episode.  Two colonies were being … Continue reading →

Posted in animal husbandry, Feral Bees, Methods, Observation, Posts | Tagged , , , , , , , | 3 Comments

Holes – in perfectly good woodenware

Posted on August 19, 2016 by Jason

I have had many questions about the 1 inch holes pictured in my deep hive bodies. When I began keeping bees I bought a bunch of used equipment from a keeper who was retiring. He had holes in some of his equipment, … Continue reading →

Posted in Experiments, HowTo, Methods, Observation, Posts | Tagged , , , , | 3 Comments

Non-Targeted Species – ants in Trap01

Posted on July 22, 2016 by Jason

Over the years I have had several e-mails about a number of non-targeted species taking up residence in swarm traps. I have been really lucky, as I don’t generally have problems with this. That being said, I had something happen this year … Continue reading →

Posted in Methods, Observation, Pests, Swarm Trapping | Tagged , , , , , | Leave a comment

Because of honeybees

Posted on May 8, 2016 by Jason

Trapping bees has given me an opportunity to witness some interesting things over the years. It’s easy to get preoccupied with the beekeeping and forget to mention some of the other things I have seen just because I was OUTSIDE MORE due … Continue reading →

Posted in Methods, Observation, Posts | Tagged , , | 2 Comments

Letting things happen

Posted on May 7, 2016 by Jason

I normally don’t post on Saturday’s, but I figured I’d switch it up this week since I had a post every other day. I won’t be talking Swarm Trapping today. What I want to go over has more to do with beekeeping … Continue reading →

Posted in Methods, Posts | Tagged , , , | Leave a comment

Getting it done

Posted on May 6, 2016 by Jason

If you want to be successful in beekeeping you’re going to have to put some work in. Reading or looking around on the Internet is only scratching the surface. The real work starts once you have bees and are dealing with … Continue reading →

Posted in Feral Bees, Genetics, HowTo, Methods, Posts, Swarm Trapping, What's going on.. | Tagged , , , , , , | Leave a comment

1602, 1603, and 1604

Posted on May 5, 2016 by Jason

Last Sunday, 5/1/2016 was the first hiving of trapped swarms for the season. I hadn’t planned on doing it, but the weather conditions turned out perfect and I had opportunity. The transfers went as follows Trap02 to 1602, Trap30 to 1603, … Continue reading →

Posted in animal husbandry, Genetics, Hive Reports, HowTo, Methods, Posts, Swarm Trapping | Tagged , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Trapping on the Ground

Posted on May 4, 2016 by Jason

Last weekend I discussed Swarm Trapping on the Treatment-Free Beekeeping Podcast.  Solomon and I brushed the surface, but hopefully it will get more people interested in giving this a try.  There’s getting to be more and more information available on feral … Continue reading →

Posted in Feral Bees, Genetics, HowTo, Methods, Observation, Posts, Swarm Trapping | Tagged , , , , | 6 Comments

Catch Boxes

Posted on May 3, 2016 by Jason

One of my typical 80 year old friends introduced me to catch boxes on a swarm call in 2015.  For years I had strapped hive bodies to bottom-boards for swarm retrievals.  It was always a pain.  New equipment was slick, things wouldn’t stay lined up, the … Continue reading →

Posted in HowTo, Methods, Shaken Swarms, Swarm Trapping | 7 Comments