Bee trap: dimensions and drawings, catching swarms, swarming, where and when to set, how to catch a swarm

A bee trap helps a beekeeper catch stray swarms. Thanks to a simple device, the beekeeper expands his farm with new bee colonies. It’s easy to make a trap; it’s more difficult to find a suitable place for it and perch it on a tree.

What are bee traps used for in beekeeping?

Any trap design is created with only one purpose - to catch a swarm of bees wandering through the forest. Swarming brings benefits and harm. It all depends on how quickly the beekeeper reacts. If time is lost, the bees and their queen will leave the hive in search of a new home. This is a loss for the beekeeper. Another beekeeper benefits. By setting traps, he can catch the swarm and place it in his hive.

Important! Thanks to swarming, the beekeeper is able to increase the number of bee colonies.

What does a bee trap look like?

The appearance of the trap resembles an ordinary container. It can be of any shape: square, oval, rectangular and others. The material for production is usually wood or plastic. You can adapt a factory container, for example, a plastic barrel, as a trap. An important element is the inlet and the presence of a damper. When a swarm of bees flies into a trap, it does not get out. Insects settle on the bait located inside the container. The beekeeper just has to close the shutter and transfer the swarm to his hive.

Application of swarmweed in beekeeping

In essence, a roevnya is an analogue of a trap, but has differences in design. In addition, the device is multifunctional. If a trap can only catch a wandering swarm, then the swarmers perform the following operations:

the swarm prevents the swarm from flying out of the hive during the beekeeper’s absence from the apiary;
swarmers remove a swarm from a tree that has accumulated in a ball;
The honeycomb serves as a temporary storage for bees in a cool room;
swarmers catch drones, separate the queen from the swarm, and detain the queen of the newly hatched family inside the hive.

Experienced beekeepers use swarmers for other operations that would require at least three beekeeping devices.

Important! The multifunctional swarm reduces the likelihood of injury to bees and the queen.

How to make a bee trap with your own hands

To create a trap you will need to find or make a container. When choosing a shape and model, it is optimal to give preference to a vertical type design. When the trap looks more like a hollow, the bees will master it faster.

Dimensions and drawings of a bee trap

You don’t need special drawings of a do-it-yourself bee trap. The device consists of a container with an inlet and a valve. A piece of fiberboard or plywood that is the size of the entrance is suitable as a valve. Beekeepers come up with different ways to fix the damper. It usually rotates on a pin or hinges. To apply pressure, install a spring and adjust the handle to a lever.

It is more important to calculate the size correctly. The optimal volume of a trap for catching a large swarm is 40 liters. A container with a smaller volume will be able to catch a small swarm of bees. It is unreasonable to increase the trap volume beyond 60 liters. The number of bees will not increase, and it is difficult to perch it on a tree. In addition, material consumption increases.

You can cut the trap from plywood or fiberboard. One of the lids is designed to open for placing bait.

Even an ordinary plastic bottle can act as a trap. Small containers will not work for catching swarms. Traps can only catch pests. To catch a large swarm, you will need a bottle of appropriate size, and you can take it from the water cooler.

Tools and materials

Depending on what type of trap for bees is intended to be made, tools and materials are selected.

To assemble a plywood trap you need:

plywood, slats with a cross-section of 20x20 mm, non-wetting material for the roof, sheet foam;
nails, hammer, pliers, jigsaw.

To assemble a plastic trap you need:

a large water cooler bottle;
wire, tape;
scissors, knife, awl.

For any trap you will definitely need paint to paint the body.

Build process

A plywood trap for a swarm of bees begins to be made by cutting the sheet. It is more convenient to cut out the fragments with a jigsaw.The assembly of plywood blanks into boxes is carried out by connecting them at the corners with slats and nails. All joints are made tight. For the inlet hole, a slot in the shape of a taphole measuring 100x10 mm is cut out on the front panel. A valve is adapted from the strip.

The top panel will act as a roof. It is larger in size than a box. Fixation is carried out with loops. Bait is loaded through the side-hinged roof. The inside walls of the trap are insulated with foam plastic. The outside of the boxes is painted and handles or a carrying strap are attached. The roof and bottom are impregnated with drying oil and lined with non-wetting material.

A primitive trap from a bottle is made in 10-15 minutes. First, cut off the neck with a small side part. The bait is placed inside the body. The cut element is turned over and the neck is inserted inside the main container. Holes are pierced at the joints with an awl and stitched with wire. The bottle is painted with water-based paint so that the plastic walls do not melt from the solvent. The finished trap is secured with tape to the tree.

Do-it-yourself swarm for bees

There are many varieties of swarms. Beekeepers make devices in the form of a cone, pyramid, or rectangle. For mechanization, hinged lids with a long cable are used. By installing such a swarm on a pole, it is convenient to photograph a swarm of bees hanging high on a tree.

For novice beekeepers, it is optimal to choose a rectangular structure. The presented drawings of a swarm for bees with your own hands will help you make a device.

The scale consists of the following parts:

Gate valve made of fine mesh. For the damper, plexiglass, thin plywood or fiberboard are suitable.
Side front posts for moving the valve.
Front cross member. The element provides top fixation of the valve.
Plywood walls, bottom and ceiling. Two side walls can be made of mesh.
Handles for carrying and fixing the swivel. A latch is installed on the outside of the bottom to hold the valve open or closed.
A boss measuring 20x35x100 mm is installed on the ceiling from the inside of the beam, and only the bracket extends out. The boss helps the swarm gain a foothold.
Roof of the Roevny.
Upper bars.
Back slats.
Bottom bars.
Front slats.

The frame of the frame is assembled with your own hands from the upper, lower, rear and front planks. The optimal design size is 235x280x400 mm. The overall dimensions of the scaffold will increase slightly due to the thickness of the plywood sheathing and additional elements.

The connection is made with nails. For reliability, the joints are coated with PVA glue or sealant. The mesh is fixed to the frame with strips. A limiting self-tapping screw is screwed into the upper jumper to help secure the valve in the closed state. The finished swarm is stained and weighed. It is necessary to know the mass to determine the weight of the caught bees.

Pole for catching swarms of bees

When the swarm leaves the hive, the bees circle the apiary for some time. If you don't miss the moment, you can catch them. A beekeeper makes a simple device. He attaches an old frame to a long pole and lifts it, trying to point it into the thick of the swarm. Bees settle on a frame with a pole. The beekeeper just needs to carefully lower the device and shake off the swarm into the swarm.

Attention! A device with a pole is used only to catch its emerging swarm.

How to catch a swarm of bees

To catch bees in a trap or swarm, you need to know when and where it is better to place them, what to put in for bait and many other nuances.

What frames to put in bee traps

The best bait for traps is honeycomb.Old, dark-colored foundation is optimal. The smell of wax attracts bees. If the size of the trap allows, a whole frame is placed inside. Honeycombs are taken only from a healthy bee colony. To disinfect, they are placed in the freezer for 2 days.

When to set traps and swarms for bees

The swarming period of bees lasts from the last month of spring until mid-July. No later than May 25, swarms and traps must be prepared. The swarming process usually ends on July 10th. There is a late swarming in September. Usually the period is short. Bees fly in small swarms weighing up to 1.5 kg.

You can learn more about catching bees from the video:

Where is the best place to place traps and swarms for bees?

In order for bee colonies to end up in traps, you need to know where best to place them. Experienced beekeepers have a number of proven rules:

The optimal height from ground level is 4-6 m. A tall tree is ideal. Bees choose a place away from wet soil and honey thieves.
The trap must be visible to bees. If it is difficult for a beekeeper to notice it from 30 m, then insects will not see it either.
Place the trap in the shade. Bees will not fly inside a house hot under the sun.
Trees are chosen that are noticeable and not in the thickets of the forest. Optimally, plantings growing in a large clearing or on the outskirts of a road.
The minimum distance from the apiary is 30-50 m. To catch wild bees, the trap is brought as close as possible to their habitat.
The chances of catching a swarm of bees in the area of abundantly flowering honey plants increase. There is little food in pastures and coniferous forests; swarms do not appear here.
Bees cannot live without water. You can catch a family at a distance of 100-200 m from a river, pond, or artificial reservoir.

The light color of the trap helps to attract the swarm. It is believed that the entrance hole should be located to the south.However, experienced beekeepers assure that the direction of the entrance is not as important as following proven rules.

Advice! Bees are often attracted to the same place. If a swarm was caught on a tree, then an empty trap or swarm is again placed in this place.

How to catch bees in an empty hive

You can catch a swarm not only with a trap or a swarm. An empty hive will do the job optimally. Only a single-hull house is suitable. To lure bees into an empty hive, 6 frames are installed inside. A larger number will take up a lot of space and the swarm will not fit. If there are not enough frames, they will not attract bees.

Catching stray swarms is very simple. The beekeeper secures the hive and does not touch it. There is a possibility of scaring away the bees if the scouts have already visited the house. Once the family has settled, the hive should similarly not be touched. The bees must get used to the new home, only then can it be transferred to the apiary.

How to get bees out of a hollow

You can catch wild bees with a swarm or plywood hive by removing the nest from the hollow. It is better to carry out the procedure in the morning in clear weather. At this time, worker bees fly away for nectar.

To open the hollow and relocate the family, you will need the following tools and materials:

axe;
wood saw;
smoker;
buckets;
roevnya or light plywood hive with frames;
wooden splinters;
scoop;
threads, rope, gauze;
small plywood sheet.

It is optimal to cut down an old tree with a hollow. The log is placed on the ground opposite the swarm or hive mounted on a stand. The entrance is turned towards the hollow. At the level below the tap hole, two slits are made near the hollow, 30 cm apart. The wood is split with an ax. To be neat, make more cuts and split again to expand the hollow to the maximum.

When access to the honeycombs is available, the bees are treated with a smoker. Work is carried out wearing protective masks. A sheet of plywood is laid on a log, and a structure of splinters and an empty frame is built on top. Honeycombs are cut out inside the hollow, placed in an empty frame, more splinters are placed on top and connected to the lower splinters located under the frame. The honeycombs are securely clamped.

For the relocation procedure, it is still better to use a hive instead of a hive. The honeycombs are immediately placed in the house. The smoked bees in the hollow are picked out with a scoop and poured into the hive. When the queen is inside the house, the remnants of the scattered swarm will fly to her on their own. The worker bees will carry the remaining honey from the hollow to the hive. Now you just need to wait for the process to finish. In the evening, the hive with the captured new family is tied with gauze and transferred to the apiary.

How to Trap a Swarm of Wild Bees

A swarm of wild bees is of particular value. Insects are hardworking and winter better. Families are characterized by good productivity.

To catch wild bees, use the same traps or swarms. First, their habitats are found. The device is tied with a rope to a tree. Place it in the shade. It is optimal to find a fruit tree. A long rope is tied to the flap. When the wild swarm is inside, the valve is closed from the ground by pulling the rope. The principle of catching is the same as for ordinary bees.

How not to miss a swarm from the hive

A swarm that flies away from the hive brings a loss to the beekeeper. Sometimes beekeepers solve the problem by trimming one wing of the queen. The queen will not be able to fly out of the hive, and with her the whole family. However, the emerging queen falls to the ground, where she can get lost or die.

To prevent the swarm from leaving the hive, it is easier to detain the queen herself and prevent her from leaving the house.A mother trap is installed on the entrance. In Fig. 1 device is made in the form of conical caps with holes. The emerging queen will fall into the queen trap and will not be able to fly away.

In Fig. Figure 2 shows an example of installing a factory-made dividing grid. It is optimal to use a metal mesh, since the uterus often crawls through the cells of the plastic device.

How to transplant a swarm of bees from a trap or swarm to a hive

The caught swarm in a swarm or trap is left in a cool place. A hive is prepared for a new family:

the house is opened for ventilation and warming up under the sun;
The inner walls of the hive and the canvas are rubbed with freshly picked mint;
foundation is installed in the hive at the rate of 3 frames per 1 kg of bees;
additionally place frames with open lower brood, half filled with honey up to about 1.5 kg;
As an additional food, install a feeder with syrup.

They put dry land in the nest. A central place is determined for it, and the sides are allocated under the foundation. If there are no brood frames, they are replaced with combs soaked in mint syrup.

The swarm is transplanted into the hive in the evening in two ways:

The captured family from the swarm is simply poured into the hive through the open lid. The bees clinging to the walls are shaken off with light blows to the body of the swarmer.
A gangplank is made from a sheet of plywood. They are installed between the hive entrance and the swarm turned over on one side. The optimal dimensions of the arrival gangways for shaking off swarms are 100x70 cm. The second indicator can be reduced to 50 cm.

Transferring through the gangplank is considered the best. It is easier for the beekeeper to verify the presence of the queen and find her.

Preservation of late-caught bee swarms

From the end of August there is a possibility of catching a late swarm. It's usually small.The captured family is placed in a hive with five frames, where it overwinters. After a successful wintering in 2 years, up to 5 families will form from the late swarm. However, beekeepers note the viciousness of the insects as a disadvantage of such capture. Bees sting, not allowing them to approach the apiary within a radius of more than 100 m.

Conclusion

A bee trap will be useful if you know how to use the device. Not a single professional beekeeper can do without swarms. The equipment is made based on their experience and tips from avid beekeepers.