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Every beekeeper knows that in order to reproduce bee colonies, it is necessary to lure bees during swarming and catch the swarm. This way you can create a new family. To attract a swarm, you will need bait. Using Uniroy bait for bee swarms is considered an effective method. It is important to know how to properly use this method to attract swarms.
What methods exist for attracting and catching swarms?
Experienced beekeepers know several of the most popular methods of attracting swarms. The colony begins to swarm when several queens appear. According to the laws, one family must have one queen. Therefore, the newly emerged queens take away part of the swarm and look for a new home. At this moment, it is important to catch the swarm and identify it to the hive. Then the beekeeper will receive more honey and a larger number of hives on the site.
It is important to catch the moment of the very beginning of an important process, since the swarm stays close to its native hive for a very short time. Then he can leave the site, and the beekeeper will lose some of his insects.
Experienced beekeepers use the following methods to attract swarms:
- scions and pockets for catching;
- special drugs;
- traps.
What exactly gives the best result in attracting swarms, each beekeeper independently identifies for himself.
Scion for bees
The scion has been used for a long time. This method was invented by the first beekeepers in ancient times. To catch swarms, they used a pole to which a horse skull was attached.
Nowadays, cone-shaped wire products coated with propolis are used as a scion to attract swarms. Also suitable for attaching to poles and simple planks. It is important that the base can support a weight of 3 kg. This is how much the initial swarm can weigh.
If the grafting is not organized, the beekeeper will sometimes have to climb into very inconvenient and high places.
It is important to set the graft correctly to attract swarms. The ideal height is considered to be a distance of 4-6 m, but lower is possible. The search for a place for a hive is carried out by scouts who will not lead a bee family to an area close to damp earth or hot under the sun. Ordinary worker bees act as scouts. They first inspect the places where they previously looked for pollen and nectar. Therefore, the optimal place to install the scion is a clearing or trees in the garden, where there are always a lot of bees collecting nectar. Pastures, coniferous forests, arable lands cultivated by humans are bad places; grafts and bait will not work there.
If the scion has already been placed on the site in previous years, then you need to pay attention to its effectiveness. If you previously managed to catch a swarm here, then the place was chosen well and you should use it in the future.The effectiveness of attracting swarms will not decrease. Scouts do not collect pollen, so if bees appear collecting nectar, the swarm takes root.
Do-it-yourself scion for bees
It is not difficult to prepare a scion with your own hands. To make bait for swarms with your own hands, you will need a board 40 cm long and 20 cm wide and a 35 cm beam.
The beam is supposed to be covered with old canvas taken from the hive. Lubricate the bottom of the board with an alcohol solution of propolis. Over time, the alcohol will evaporate, but the smell of propolis will remain. This will attract swarming bees.
A holder is attached to the board on the reverse side, using which the entire structure is suspended from a pole or from a tree at a height of up to 3 m.
Traps
Any beekeeper can make a trap with his own hands. This is a simple box with one opening that closes. In this case, the bees will survive the move just fine. To make it more convenient to move bees into the hives, it is recommended to place honeycombs and frames with foundation inside the trap.
You can make a similar trap for attracting swarms from an old log, freeing it from the core.
If there are a lot of bees circling near the trap or scion, they fly out and fly into the hole - the swarm is caught. It is recommended to take the prey when all the bees return from the fields. This is before sunset.
For traps, you don’t need to use special baits. It is enough to put frames with honeycombs and an old canvas from a beehive. To attract swarms, the canvas must be soaked with propolis. The result will be a natural bait for swarming bee families.The smell of their native hive should attract them no less effectively than the bait. But experienced beekeepers still advise adding specialized baits so that the result is 100%.
Bee baits
Nowadays, to attract swarms, specific veterinary drugs are applied to the scions. Their action is based on the basic bee instincts.
Most often, such baits are based on pheromones. These are dissolved components of glands, for example, citral and geranil. In addition to the main substances, additional ones are used:
- geranic acid;
- neroliic acid;
- stabilizer hexane.
There are also improved solutions with the addition of 9 ODC acid.
The effectiveness of drugs largely depends on the rate of pheromone evaporation. The traps described above are suitable for using bait. It is important that the trap is waterproof and painted green. Frames with wax and drying material are installed inside the trap.
A beekeeper must be able to correctly place traps, and this knowledge only comes with experience. Only with a skillful combination of traps and baits is it possible to catch the maximum number of bee swarms.
Among the baits, there are those that have long gained popularity among beekeepers and are considered the most effective.
Apiroi
A veterinary drug intended for catching swarms during the swarming period of bees in the apiary. Externally it is a white gel. The composition contains synthetic analogues of bee pheromones. There are no contraindications or side effects.
Ingredients of Apiroy for bees:
- geranyl;
- citral;
- geranic acid;
- neroliic acid;
- 9-ODK;
- stabilizer Phenosan-43;
- methyl esters of phenylacetic acid;
- phenyl esters of phenylpropanoic acid.
Field tests have confirmed that the attractiveness of the drug in attracting swarms is 50% higher than that of many other analogues. The drug affects bees and attracts them to the scion.
The drug is used as follows: 1 g of gel is applied to the scion along the entire circumference. The layer should be updated daily.
When using Apiroya in traps, you need to place 2 teaspoons of gel there. Traps must be inspected once every two days.
Honey collected by processed bees can be used for food without restrictions. According to the instructions, you can open the jar of gel only immediately before application.
Store the drug in a dry, dark place at a temperature no higher than + 25 °C.
Uniroy
Another popular drug that is used to attract swarms and individual queens to bee colonies. The white gel contains synthetic attractants, as well as environmentally friendly natural aromatic substances.
When adding a queen to a bee colony, it is necessary to treat her abdomen with a drop of honey and the drug Unira. After treatment, the queen should be placed in the middle of the nesting frame.
If Uniroy is used to attract swarms, it should be applied around the circumference of the scion to a width of 8 mm. 1 g of the drug is enough. When using traps, an internal application of 10 g at a time is suitable.
Store the drug in a dry place away from light for two years from the date of its manufacture.
Apimil
This product for attracting swarms is prepared on the basis of pheromones of honey bees. Works great during swarming and helps to catch the swarm and place it in the apiary. Prevents the swarm from moving to another area.
At the very beginning of swarming, the drug in the amount of a third of a teaspoon is placed on the scion.It is necessary to renew the bait every day until the swarming process has passed.
In traps, bait is also applied to the inside roevni. For this, 10 g of the drug is enough.
When a swarm is attracted, the drug can be reused for 10 days. To prevent the swarm from flying off the hive, it is necessary to apply Apimil on the inside. 1 year is enough.
The bait is produced in plastic tubes. One package contains 35 g.
Sanroy
Sanroy is produced in the form of cardboard strips, which are impregnated with a specific substance. This substance is an attractant. Swarm attractor has a strong attractive effect on honey bees.
It is used during the swarming period of bees, from approximately the end of June until the end of the summer season.
Using simple buttons, just stick 2 strips of Sanroy onto the front walls of the traps. Once the swarm is caught, it must be kept in a cool, dark room for several hours. And before the evening it is necessary to transplant the bees into permanent hives with honeycomb frames.
One package contains 10 strips for attracting swarms.
Conclusion
Using Uniroy bait for bee swarms is a useful method not only for beginners, but also for experienced beekeepers. Making traps or grafting with your own hands is not difficult, but grafting bees is more difficult. To do this, it is important to choose the right place so that the scion is not located too low or high from the ground. Special preparations based on pheromones will help attract bees and catch a swarm.
