Catching swarms is all about helping the wild bee populations and getting free bees. By definition, a swarm caught in early spring has survived the winter months and are adapted well to surviving the local environment. Wild bees typically display desirable traits such as mite resistance and cold tolerance. However sometimes this comes at the potential cost of low honey productivity or more aggressive behavior. Regardless of their behavior, giving wild bees a safe home is great for the local bee population and over time could improve your bee yard genetics.
A swarm catcher is simply a small box that can be hoisted up into a tree and lowered down when the bees move in. Positioning of the swarm trap is critical as well as baiting the box. Timing is also critical. In Denver, swarms usually begin when the nectar flow begins. This changes from year to year, but is usually the first nice week of May.
I will typically look for wild bee colonies in the area before choosing a location for my swarm box. If you find a local wild colony then typically it is a good idea to place your swarm trap up in a tree roughly 100 yards away. Even better if the tree faces an open field and water is nearby.
The swarm trap itself is simply two horticultural paper pulp pots wired together. Make sure to close up the drain holes and provide only one hole as the entrance.
I have had great success with this style of trap. There are tons of different swarm trap designs that you can use.
You will also want to bait the inside of the swarm trap with both a scent and some old honey comb. Any old honey comb will do just fine. The best comb for swarm traps is dirty smelly and old. Then I usually use about three drops of lemon grass oil. Make sure to reapply the lemon grass oil each week or so. If you can smell the lemon grass oil the bees can most certainly smell it.
If you are lucky a swarm will find your trap and make it their temporary home. You need to make sure and move the swarm to a permanent hive immediately. Otherwise the swarm could decide to leave or the hive could begin to build comb.
Installing the hive is as simple as opening the swarm catcher and dumping the colony into a hive body.
