Bjorn Apiaries
Additional Swarm lures and other products can be found on the products page, or by visiting the Beekeepers Outpost.

Your Page Title

Using Bjorn Apiary Swarm Lures

 

Use one Bjorn Apiary swarm lure per trap. Remove the cap and place a small ball of cotton (from a Q-tip) into the tube. Make sure the cotton is soaked by the swarm lure. Hand the swarm lure inside your trap using a small nail or lush pin. Make sure the tube can remain upright so the liquid does not spill out.

 

Advice:

Lures do not "create" or promote swarming. They do not "collect" field bees into a swarm or ball of bees useful to the beekeeper. They enhance the trap desirability to the bees, and make more scout bees from swarm look at the trap. This increases the chances that a swarm will take up residence in your baited trap.

 

Storage of extra lures:

Keep unused swarm lures in the freezer. Lures can be used the following season if properly stored. Do not allow lures to sit in sunlight.

10 things to consider for swarm trap success

 

Honey Bees…..


* prefer a swarm trap (colony location) about 8 to 15 feet off the ground.


* will disregard a trap with light coming in from above.


* prefer a trap equivalent to a cavity size slightly larger than a deep brood

box.


* will select sites in the afternoon shade. They may abandon a site within a few days if in full sun and heat is an issue.


* prefer bait hives with entrances facing south.


* prefer a entrance towards the bottom of the cavity.


* prefer a unobstructed flight path from the entrance.


* will not take up residence in a bait hive that has other insects in them.

Keep them free of wasps, yellow jackets, etc.


* prefer a bait hive that is dry.


* prefer a previously used site that has a honey bee smell of old comb, or one that has baited with bee scent.

WHAT'S IN THE LURE?


We get many requests and questions asking what is in our swarm lures. The lures have a lemongrass base, then several

additives are mixed to give the best swarm lure possible. Depending upon the recipe being used, there are three or four key ingredients needed to produce a good swarm lure. Items such as Geraniol, Citral, nerolic acid, are ingredients simulating (or are present already in) the nasonov pheromones that bees produce.

 

If we were to only use those key ingredients listed above, swarm lures would be so expensive, most beekeepers could not buy them. So we use a base product and then add the additional ingredients, making one of the best swarm lures on the market.

The exact recipe we use, is not open for discussion. We realize most asking, just want to produce a great product themselves. Thank you for understanding. 

Commonsense Advice:

Once a swarm leaves the parent colony, it is too late to worry about swarm traps. Many beekeepers, like myself, have run around placing traps after finding a swarm. The good thing is that placing swarms hoping to lure the swarm into a box, while being unsuccessful, means many times you are around long enough to see the swarm take flight up and over the tree line. This gives you the chance to say your final goodbyes! The lesson learned is this...Honey bees many times scout out locations for days prior to issuing the swarm. The best advice is to place your traps at the beginning of swarm season and NOT wait till you already see a swarm.

The Result of

Heathy Hives....

 

Finding swarm cells, or having a swarm issue from a hive, does not make you a bad beekeeper, contrary to what some beekeepers say. It does mean your bees are healthy, your queen is doing her job, and you no doubt have some kind of nectar flow going on. While congestion, older queens, and other factors can impact a hive swarming, most swarms are directly aligned with the flows.

In Pennsylvania, we have a major swarm season in April, May, and June. We also have a secondary swarm season in the fall with a secondary flow of aster and goldenrod. 80% of swarms issue with the primary season, and up to 20% of annual swarms can be seen in the fall.