Swarm trap in Spring
Last week we wandered down to the river to ensure our swarm trap (bait hive) was ready for swarm-season. We found that the hole had been chewed to about twice it's size, so opened it up slowly in case whatever creatures did this were still in there.
We found an abandoned nest from something (mice, squirrels?) and a pile of dead bees and broken comb. We are thinking maybe this trap caught a late-season swarm which didn't survive the arrival of furry critters looking to build a winter nest (we stopped checking by about mid-August). Hopefully this bodes well for us catching another swarm this spring!
We've cleaned it out and put it back up in it's tree near the Grand River ready to catch a swarm (or two) this season.
We've cleaned it out and put it back up in it's tree near the Grand River ready to catch a swarm (or two) this season.