Bee lining box

[mattoleriver]

A recent discussion on the Trading Post forum has me wondering: is a bee box necessary for bee lining?  The few boxes that I have seen have all been homemade and of relatively simple design.  Does this reflect a superiority of design or just a lack of suitable alternatives?  Is there something that can be done with a bee box that can not be done with a peanutbutter jar?  If I had to build something from scratch I would certainly choose to build a box rather than a jar, but, given the availability of jars, is there a functional reason to expend the time and energy to build a bee box?
George

[Robo]

Depends on how you want to go about it.  It can be done with just a coffee can if you want.  The idea of the box with compartments is to capture a bunch of bees at one time and release them one at a time and progress down a path to locate the colony.  With the simple model, you have to keep waiting for return trips to progess.

[Phoenix]

From my understanding a "Beelining Box" is compartmentalized so that you can catch bees one at a time.  Starting with the first chamber, closing the entrance behind the bee, opening the door between chamber 1 and 2, letting it move to the next chamber and closing the door behind it and catching another bee in chamber 1, etc., etc.  The more compartments you have the more bees you can accumulate in order to get you closer to their hive.  I'm not sure how you would do this with a jar or can, but I'm sure that multiple jars would work to serve the same purpose.

[Robo]

Take a coffee can and put a sponge with sugar water and a few drops of anise.  Once a bee finds it,  while she is feeding, mark her with some paint.  She will go back to the hive and tell others.  Time her round trip to figure how far away the colony is.  Once the sponge becomes a hot spot for bees,  put the cover on it and let them sit a few minutes to make sure they fill themselves up.  As best as you can, release one bee at a time and watch them as long as you can.  They will initially circle to get their bearings and then go straight towards the colony.  Move the the last place you spotted the bee and release another bee and watch it.  

Another alternative, is if there is a lot of bees working the area,  go around and catch them and put them in the can.  Once you have enough, start releasing them one at a time.

[Mark Allen]

I have pictures and dimensions of my grandfathers 3 lining boxes he used a simpler method more exact at locating colony than walk and release method

[BigRog]

Mark
I would like to see those pics

[Mark Allen]

email me bigrog at wind817888@msn.com and I will send photos