If you’ve been here long enough, you may remember when we made swarm traps to try and catch some wild bees last spring. After many curious bee visits, that experiment was ultimately a bust – but we’re going to try again this year!

Last year, our swarm traps had empty frames inside, with just a bit of wax painted on the tops. Our theory for the many bee visits was they were actually stealing our wax. When we opened the swarm traps, we did discover some wax missing, but surprisingly not as much as expected.

This year, instead of repeating the same experiment, we’re adjusting. We have extra frames with empty wax comb in them, and we’re using those in the traps. The idea being if there is less work to do, the bees will be more inclined to move into the new abode.

We’re also testing out a new bait lure that has received rave reviews from beekeeping YouTubers. I’m cautiously optimistic, since we had quite a bit of curious bee activity within hours of “setting the traps.” Even at the box we put randomly in the middle of the woods!

It’ll be a bit before we know whether bees have moved into any of our swarm traps – we have 4 set out so far, and may set out a few more if a good opportunity presents itself. Hopefully we’ll be able to catch a swarm or few, and build up our bee empire. Stay tuned for updates!