Ah, yes need to take pictures. It's not a skep. Literally a wine cask conversion. cut the top off to give a roof, cut an opening in the bottom as their entrance.
The idea is to catch a swarm and have plenty of room for them, also, not harvest honey but just let them #bee 🐝🐝 ☺
I built it last year but there wheren't many bees️. This year looks more promising but I may have to move the cask to a better place. Need to learn heaps, but starting w something is better than to keep dreaming 😉
oh fantastic, looks the perfect size! like a sun hive but easier and quicker to make. my bee teacher used old comb to attract them, can you get hold of any?
nostr:nprofile1qyxhwumn8ghj7mn0wvhxcmmvqyw8wumn8ghj7mn0wd68ytnzd96xxmmfdejhytnnda3kjctvqqsg8vu4lh5gtdmwhe6qvk9lx98fzs2df4htd7uj8y5h25477vduwmq03smf2 got tips on luring a swarm?
We keep an empty hive out for just this purpose! If you are lucky the bees will find it on their own and begin to use it, but sometimes it only take a bit of coaxing. If you can locate the queen and put her in the hive, the rest of the swarm will follow on their own.
Nice! There is ni sign from a queen. The Almond trees are flowering and beekeepers bring hives for tree pollination. But I believe there are swarms living in the forest too, it's these I want to invite and welcome.
The caske has a bit of old wine smell on the inside but not pungeant and the location of the cask under the tree looks moist and cold and dark now in winter but I anticipate it being a blessing during the blistering summer.
Keeping my fingers crossed. Yesterday I saw a bee coming for a drink on those wet woodchips next to the cask, yay!
I want to buy this book but did not get around to it :
Song of Increase by Jacqueline Freeman
#beekeeping #bee #hive #swarm #farmstr #homesteading #permaculture
yes, ai heard of adding a comb. I did put some bees wax in the cask last year, and now put a bit of cotton with lemon grass essentisl oil.
But I will definitely go look for a comb, ask the bee keepers here, if I can find m 😃
Thanks for your support
I am trying to catch a bee swarm using an old wine cask. The goal: give the swarm a home and let them bee.
Do you think bees mind the smell of leftover dried up wine bits?
Do you have any tips?
Farmers put out small hives to pollinate fruit trees, which is now. I have plenty bees in the area now, what can I do to welcome them?
Any info helps!
OK, some tips for you… First, I recommend reading the book Honeybee democracy by Thomas Seeley. It has tons of info on what honeybee swarms look for in a new home. Very well researched, and it gives all of the ideal criteria. There are six or seven things that bees specifically look for in a new home.
I’m not sure what size wine cask you have. The ideal volume of a storm trap is between 10 to 15 gallons.
Other things that can make it more attractive are: 10 to 15 feet off the ground, rub some propolis inside to make it smell more like home, use lemongrass essential oil which mimics a queen‘s pheromones. Also, the ideal entrance size should be around 15 cm² karma, and also adding at least one frame with old honeycomb will be helpful.
I don’t know if the wine smell would bother them, but I suspect that they would not be thrilled… Good luck and let me know if you catch anything please.
Hey thanks a lot, great info!! nostr:nprofile1qqs9nhudnz78de7u4gmugdr6xad9spazvrpfqp7xlahva7jqtqech7spp4mhxue69uhkummn9ekx7mqprpmhxue69uhhwetvvdhk6efwdehhxarj9emkjmn9qy28wumn8ghj7un9d3shjtnyv9kh2uewd9hsftgthk this might interest you as well!
I will get that book, thanks.
It's quite a large cask ~5ft tall approx 20gallons. Putting it higher of the ground was my initial idea, but the winds we get here would enjoy toppling it over i'm sure :) That and cleaning it would be the first 2 big improvements.
This makes me want to do all this as my next ASAP-project. first get my hands on that book though...
#bees #homesteading #hive #gardening #nature #farmste #permaculture #permies
