Club Meeting

Professor David Evans (a.k.a The Apiarist), will give a talk on 'Bait Hives for Pleasure and for Profit'

Synopsis: The presentation covers theoretical and  practical aspects of swarms and bait hives. Starting with a brief  overview of honey bee colony reproduction I then cover the role of scout  bees in identifying a new nest site, the process of swarming,  bivouacking and then relocation to the chosen location. After a brief  digression into capturing swarms I then discuss setting up bait hives,  the choice of box, its location and contents. This covers both  scientific studies and how these findings can best be applied to  practical beekeeping. Discussion of the contents of bait hive  necessitates another digression into building and using foundationless  frames, which offer particular benefits for bait hives. The talk closes  with a discussion of what you can expect to observe when scout bees find  and favour your bait hive, and the things you need to do having  attracted a swarm – these include moving it somewhere else and managing  the Varroa that also arrive with the swarm.