Queen trap

[eivindm]

Hi!

I just read this on the BeeGadets mailing list:

I had thought about that before. Making a queen trap using a queen pheromone
and maybe a small queen excluder on the exit so the worker bees that are also
attracted are able to get out of the trap. Instead of looking for the queen in
a hive you put the trap in for a few hours and come back.

What do you think?  Anyone heard about something like this before? I know there are alternatives such as forcing the bees through a queen excluder with smoke which leaves the qeen behind, but this sounded as a easy way of catching her.

eivindm

[Robo]

Are queens attracted to queen pheromone?

If that is the case, I think the bigger gain would be to use this method to lure queens out of swarms that have taken up residence in walls of buildings.

Seems too good to be true.

[eivindm]

Are queens attracted to queen pheromone?

If that is the case, I think the bigger gain would be to use this method to lure queens out of swarms that have taken up residence in walls of buildings.

Seems too good to be true.

I think they are attracted, as another queen would be an rival.  Ed Weiss used to crush queen cells, and move the finger with the crushed bee over the frames, and when the queen was below whe would pipe.  Have no idea though if such a trap would work though.

eivindm