# I have a new idea on attracting honey bees?



## JMoore (May 30, 2013)

Welcome to the forum! The answer to your question depends on why we would want to attract them. Most people want to attract bee swarms (10s of thousands of bees) and one way to do this is to replicate queen bee pheromone. This is why lemon grass oil and a plethora of other chemicals on the market are used. Most people can attract bees by simply using sugar water. But this kind of attraction can be counterproductive if a beekeeper is trying to feed a hive. We don't want to attract unwanted attention to the feed. So, the real market for this is as a "swarm lure" that attracts a swarm (again, 10s of thousands not just 10s). I encourage you to get into beekeeping and experiment as much as you can. Maybe you've got the next fail proof swarm lure. I'd buy some.


----------



## aunt betty (May 4, 2015)

Send me a sample and I'll test it for you. (free)
Call BR549 
Junior Sample's Hunny Factory
Kornfield County


----------



## Slow Drone (Apr 19, 2014)

aunt betty said:


> Send me a sample and I'll test it for you. (free)
> Call BR549
> Junior Sample's Hunny Factory
> Kornfield County


:thumbsup:


----------



## Xyris (Sep 15, 2015)

Thanks for the quick replies, and I feel that I am too young to get that joke. I haven't test this mixture yet since I moved out of the city (New York City). I will try it out again where I am now when I get my hands on some sample, hopefully with better success. So the swarm lures that are available in markets now are able to attract 10s of thousands bee? In what time frame does this happen? Also, does the number of bees it attracts depend on the season? What would you consider a good swarm lure? Let's say if I test my "swarm lure" again and I attract around 200 bees in an hour, would you say that be a good swarm lure?


----------



## Mr.Beeman (May 19, 2012)

Oh you have a lot to learn. But... you are on the right track. Swarms typically happen in the spring when the hive gets too full. They cast of bees by the 10's of thousands sometimes. Scout bees will find a good spot for the rest of the bees to follow. Scout bees are what you want to attract. A good swarm lure will attract scouts, then followed by the masses.
Send me some and I will be a field tester for you next spring.


----------



## JRG13 (May 11, 2012)

Attracting foragers has no real value to anyone. Swarm lure's attract swarms or scouts that precede swarms, that's where any interest would be.


----------



## spieker (Jun 26, 2009)

I would love to have a swarm lure that works. I have tried all types of lures, used various sizes of hives with brood comb, placed different distances and different heights from my hives. I live in a wooded area next to a national forest. This area has thousands of hollow oak trees. My swarms usually cluster 80+ feet up in a tall oak. I have never been able to catch a swarm in any of my many swarm hives all over the place. If you develop something that works, I will buy it. I wish you well.


----------



## FlowerPlanter (Aug 3, 2011)

>Years ago I came across a mixture that attracted honey bees.

I am curious as to what your mixture is. And would be interested in how it compares to a plate with honey spread on it, or sugar and vinegar mixture. Both are very good at attracting bees. 

Just attracted honey bees is one thing, attracting a swarm is another. 

http://www.dave-cushman.net/bee/swarmlures.html

There's a product called fruit boost tm, I believe it's lemon grass oil-LGO, spearmint oil and sugar, sprayed on blooming fruit trees it suppose to increase bee pollination. Someone here was using it as a swarm lure with good results. And that's because the LGO.
http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.3896/IBRA.1.48.1.04

There are commercial pheromone available, they are expensive and LGO work just as well.


----------



## johnwratcliff (Feb 24, 2015)

I would interested in testing this mix.


----------



## Xyris (Sep 15, 2015)

As for now, I would like to keep my mixture a secret, but to give you an idea of what it is, it is a mixture of herbal medicine that when is boil it attracts honey bees (maybe it doesn't have to be boil once I make the solution and isolate the compound). Is just interesting that the compound does not smell sweet or have any of sugar in it and is not an oil extract and it attracts bee. As of now I am not sure how it works, maybe it mimics queen pheromone but that is unlikely because the pheromone is so chemically complex. Give me a few months, once I can get my hands on the stuff and work on it and if it works, I will be willing to send you guys free samples for use.


----------



## Westhill (Jul 26, 2012)

Like others have said, what would be useful to attract would be a swarm, but as a non-beekeper you might not know what that means. Regular people think a swarm is just a whole bunch of bees, but what beekeepers mean when they say swarm, is a large group of bees, with a Queen, that is looking for a new home. The beekeeper gives a swarm a home (hive) and everyone's happy. If you're just attracting random bees that are out flying around looking for nectar and pollen, no one would pay for that, because without a Queen to keep laying eggs and continually making more bees, you don't have a viable organism. But if you can attract a real swarm with Queen, then you will get a lot of interest! Add me to your list of testers, please. And welcome to the world of bee people.


----------



## Xyris (Sep 15, 2015)

> Like others have said, what would be useful to attract would be a swarm, but as a non-beekeper you might not know what that means.


I do have questions about bee keeping and attracting a swarm. My understanding is that a swarm is when a colony of bee decide to move with a queen bee which is seasonal. What should I prepare for this swarm if I do indeed attract them? A bee box? I am not too interested to keep a colony of bees outside my small apartment, my roommates would not be happy. Also, I know that there is the queen bee, the drone, and the workers which looks different. Which of these are the scouts that may be indication of a swarm? How should I setup my experiment to tell whether or not my lure is working, because I could be attracting a swarm or just foraging bees and I won't know the difference.


----------



## Harley Craig (Sep 18, 2012)

aunt betty said:


> Send me a sample and I'll test it for you. (free)
> Call BR549
> Junior Sample's Hunny Factory
> Kornfield County


You sir just told your age LOL the only reason I even understand is I once had to use an old hand drawn utility map to locate a line and it had a similar number to call for locates lol


----------



## aunt betty (May 4, 2015)

Lavender perfume attracts bees like crazy but I don't think it has any value other than teenage girls like to use it to attract teenage boys.


----------



## aunt betty (May 4, 2015)

Harley Craig said:


> You sir just told your age LOL the only reason I even understand is I once had to use an old hand drawn utility map to locate a line and it had a similar number to call for locates lol


That's from Hee Haw. Junior Sample's was uhh "special" and America loved him. I'm not that old.

Here's the man himself.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9xhTomqDTzE


----------



## aunt betty (May 4, 2015)

Xyris said:


> I do have questions about bee keeping and attracting a swarm. My understanding is that a swarm is when a colony of bee decide to move with a queen bee which is seasonal. What should I prepare for this swarm if I do indeed attract them? A bee box? I am not too interested to keep a colony of bees outside my small apartment, my roommates would not be happy. Also, I know that there is the queen bee, the drone, and the workers which looks different. Which of these are the scouts that may be indication of a swarm? How should I setup my experiment to tell whether or not my lure is working, because I could be attracting a swarm or just foraging bees and I won't know the difference.


The best way to attract a swarm:
First thing is location. You might use your stuff to attract some bees, catch them, mark them, time their trips, and with that data you can calculate how far. If you watch them closely you can determine the direction too. 
Once you have that figured out, distance and direction, go look for a good place to put traps. Bait your traps with lemongrass oil, queen pheromone, swarm, lure, or your stuff and then wait, check, wait, check.
Then you'll catch some bees. 

Traps. Use old bee boxes. Deeps or mediums work well for me. Put a frame of honey in if you can afford it and have that. Maybe an empty comb as well.

In Florida it's probably swarm season year round.


----------



## tech.35058 (Jul 29, 2013)

Xyris said:


> I do have questions about bee keeping and attracting a swarm..


The world is full of folks who would like to tell you what you need to do, some trying to help , others with other motives.
I THINK ... you need to buddy up with a local beekeeper. I do not know whether to advise a new idealistic beekeeper who wants to learn, & has as much to learn as you, or an old grouch who already knows all there is t too know, & is p.o. 'd that you are incredibly inexperienced, & do knot know what to believe. ( there are multiple ways to do everything, each the right way for a particular situation, but wrong for another.)
I wish you lived nearby. Good Luck with your product ... CE


----------



## bdouglas (Dec 18, 2014)

Xyris said:


> I am not too interested to keep a colony of bees outside my small apartment


You will not know whether thy are foragers or scouts until you have a several thousand bees around your sample that you will need to take care of. There is a monthly beekeeper meeting in Tallahassee. You might want to attend a meeting.


----------

