A Place to Rest Your Wings

Our two new hives are doing well.  Friday's inspection went great and we have been watching the forager bees coming and going from the hive entrances ever since.

Today we heard from Beekeeper Jim that the third hive he made for us is queen right and will be joining our apiary later this week.  He also advised us that some of his hives are preparing to swarm and suggested that we might set out some spots for a swarm to land in case any of these swarms happen to come our way.

So today we set out a nuc box up on a ladder with four empty but drawn out frames in the spot where our swarms always liked to go.

We also made some small swarm lures.  They are a pill bottle with some holes drilled into it and a cotton ball soaked in lemongrass oil inside.  These are hung in a tree and are supposed to give swarms a safe place to temporarily gather.  The swarm can then be safely lowered into a hive body and relocated to the apiary.

Look carefully and you will see the bottle hanging in the tree.

We can now officially say that Gael Glen Farm and Apiary is a safe haven for honey bee swarms looking for a place to rest their wings.