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A week after the flurry of swarms abated and the summer solstice passed, I decided swarm season was over. As in other years, the swarms happened all at once—a storm of swarms—and now all was quiet. Although it was late in the day and beginning to get dark, my husband suggested we walk to [...] The next morning everything was the same, that is, one swarm in the alder, one in the cypress, and one in each of the two swarm traps. I had other things to do, so I didn’t look again until noon when—you guessed it—more surprises. The cypress swarm was still in place, but very active. [...] The noise got louder as I walked up the hill. It was coming from the vicinity of the middle hive stand, which is on a steep incline. At first I thought the swarm was down the hill from where I stood, so for a few moments I thrashed through the underbrush looking for it. [...] Here is a handy little hive stand I like to use for my mating nuc. My husband built it from just one eight-foot 2 x 4 board for the uprights (in this case Douglas-fir) and two eight-foot 1 x 4 boards for the horizontal pieces (in this case cedar.) Although it would not be [...] I’ve been using two of the commercially available flower-pot shaped swarm traps for years. Each year I hang them up at the recommended height (8-12 feet) and facing the recommended direction (south or southeast). Each year I purchase fresh pheromone lures (the three-component USDA-endorsed type) and each year I check the traps every day [...] |
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