# Swarm Trap Size



## Kcnc1 (Mar 31, 2017)

Any size can work. But research by Tom Seeley at Cornell found that the best size is equal to the volume of a deep. The best height for placement was 15 feet. With that said, all sizes seem to work , and there is a thread here about a swarm moving into an o,d suitcase on the ground. But if your a percentage player, make them the size of a deep and place them 15 ft up.


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## Eikel (Mar 12, 2014)

Can you successfully trap a swarm in a nuc, absolutely; but big swarms don't stay in little boxes. Here's some of Dr Thomas Seeley's research on the "preferred volume."

https://ecommons.cornell.edu/bitstream/handle/1813/2653/Bait%20Hives%20for%20Honey%20Bees.pdf?sequence=2&isAllowed=y


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## Jethro21 (Nov 21, 2017)

I’ve caught 2 now, one in an old nuc box and one in a box just slightly bigger than a nuc which was 6 frames. The swarm from the 6 frame box was pretty big and probably wouldn’t have stayed long.


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## Fishmaster50 (Apr 30, 2015)

I’ve caught them in anywhere from a 5 frame to 11 frame box. I came across some even bigger boxes over the winter that will hold 13 frames that I’m going to try. These boxes are already made just minor modes and I’m good.caught lots last year. I never take a ladder with me to put out swarm boxes! They will come! Good luck!!


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## FlowerPlanter (Aug 3, 2011)

Kcnc1 said:


> Any size can work. But research by Tom Seeley at Cornell found that the best size is equal to the volume of a deep. The best height for placement was 15 feet. With that said, all sizes seem to work , and there is a thread here about a swarm moving into an o,d suitcase on the ground. But if your a percentage player, make them the size of a deep and place them 15 ft up.


Yes you are correct, But T Seeley never tried a five frame deep size, in his book and studies he only compares a ten frame deep size to a two and a half frames deep size. What he found was the bee prefer a ten frame swarm traps over a two frame swarm traps. He also found the size of the swarm had nothing to do with the size of the trap they picked. So a larger trap is not going to catch larger swarms. See figure 2. in T Seeley's book link above in Eikel's post.

I have found little to no difference between the percent caught in a ten frame box and a five frame box. "Oldfrank" did a little test he placed a five frame box on top of a ten frame box. The bees choose the five frame over the ten frame, it might show the bees prefer both a higher location and a the size of the box. 

For me it's easier to hang a five frames high in a tree with out a ladder where I catch more swarms than at five feet high. I throw a roll of trout line over a branch and hoist the trap up. With 50 traps I don't have time to play around need to get it hung and move to the next location.

It's also easier to transport and you can make more from the same supply of wood. The bees I was catching were almost all ferial survivors so I did not need to worry about oversized overfed Italian swarms from new beekeepers. In a few years I caught so many swarms I stopped trapping, now I only trap in my apiaries. 

All things equal you will catch more swarms (in order of preference); brood comb, LGO or SC, in full/partial shade, around 15 feet high, an entrance approximately 2". In either a five or ten frame box.


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## odfrank (May 13, 2002)

FlowerPlanter said:


> "Oldfrank" did a little test he placed a five frame box on top of a ten frame box. The bees choose the five frame over the ten frame, it might show the bees prefer both a higher location and a the size of the box.


CORRECTION!

I am not Oldfrank", I am a youthful 67 years young next week.
I am not "OddFrank", yes maybe a bit strange but not "odd".
I am odfrank, as in Oliver Danial Frank. 

And yes, bait swarms have entered almost all size boxes I have used. I am having a slow season this year because I medicated all hives with Apivar after harvest and because of that had few deadouts. Few dead outs, few black combs for bait. I have great success filling my traps with all black combs. This year I am placing mostly two black combs and filling in with waxed plastic foundation. This seems to not be working as well as all black combs. This catch from yesterday was five frames big on five black combs and five foundations. Any new bait boxes I make are 8 or 10 frames because as famous young "Oldfrank" quoted, "You can catch a small swarm in a large bait box but you can't catch a large swarm in a small bait box".


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