Swarm Lures
Swarmit is a commercially prepared swarm attractant that
mimics nasanov pheramone. It is a compound that is sealed in a small
plastic tube and the vapour permeates the plastic at a very slow rate
allowing a slow release of active swarm lure chemical over a four to
six week period (depending on temperature). The swarm lure has an
attractive action that is the equivelent of 5,000 worker bees fanning
and scenting. During storage inside its foil sachet a saturated
vapour equilibrium is set up between the air in the sachet and the
air in the lure, thus the swarm attractant stays fresh in storage. I
have used this product to entice swarms into skeps and boxes and have
stored the plastic phial in a small glass jar with a metal screw cap
between uses.
Swarm lure made from unwanted queens... This method came
from Dee Lusby and was developed from an idea of Butler.
Dee's method... is to take unwanted queens, not old ones
that are about to expire, but viable young or virgin specimens and
steep them in a jar of alcohol. Dee comments "The alcohol really
takes on a good color if left for years with queens submerged within.
Also, we get more scouting bees with virgin queen lure and more
drones in swarms that are eventually hived."
To use this "ticture of virgin queen" as a lure, it is
dabbed on woodwork of bait hives... Three or four drops from an eye
dropper when the bait hive is made up and a few more drops after six
weeks.
Written... 19 December 2001
Revised...
