Tom

Making a bait hive / swarm trap. Made 5 deep frames first from some reclaimed cheap furniture wood.

Have tried to attract something to my top bar hive the last couple of years it's been empty but no bees have moved in even though there were lots of bees around it last spring I think. It can be a battle with the spiders and webs at the entrance. Last bees in the top bar got killed off by cold winter and too much moisture. It goes from hot days with flowers to cold and nothing quick here. #bees

Apr 28, 2023 at 4:36amWeb
Show threadTomApr 28, 2023
Going to have a langstroth hive which I why I'm making langstroth frames. Almost always a swarm around here every year, used to have bees in a tree but they haven't survived winters for some years now. The first swarm I caught in 2019 was huge. Cut off the limb and let it drop in a big cardboard box. Nomex hood, goggles, pants, long shirt, gloves, some tape I think, didn't get stung too much but that carboard box was heavy. Dumped as many as I could in the top bar hive and closed it up!
Show threadTomApr 28, 2023
10 days later they were indeed busy bees! #topbarhive #beekeeping #2019