# Swarm challenge



## odfrank

*Re: Why is the odfrank challenge closed?*

Bevy pulls ahead with two catches. A week of rain here.


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## Charlie B

*Re: Why is the odfrank challenge closed?*

Congrats Bevy! The rain here is horrible


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## Charlie B

*Re: Why is the odfrank challenge closed?*



Gypsi said:


> Problem was it started to RESEMBLE TV... Reality TV with lots of twists! :lookout:


Let's not lose focus of who has challenged us to this swarm catching contest:









Sir Jollie Ollie, he's the one to beat!


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## odfrank

*Re: Why is the odfrank challenge closed?*



Charlie B said:


> Let's not loose focus of who has challenged us to this swarm catching contest


What have you been smoking? I didn't challenge anybody. I am a completely non competitive entity. I don't care if you can run a longer marathon, swim a wider river, have a better looking wife...I don't care. You are so threatened by my twelve frame Jumbo hives against your wimpy eight frame mediums and the swarm traps that I set a mile away from you that that you started this challenge. Bring it on... I just made another wine box trap this afternoon. Anyways, I caught MORE than 50, so there.

Here is post #1 of the original thread started by Charlie himself:
*







Are you willing to take the odfrank swarm catching challenge? Are you ready to go up against the Jolly Ollie? The notorious swarm catcher that terrorizes beginner beekeepers by surrounding their hives with hundreds of swarm lures and then lurks in the shadows only to watch their hives swarm right into his traps? *

Can you beat odfranks 2011 record of capturing 50 swarms? 
Breakout the lemongrass oil and old comb and let's kick odfranks butt this year. Keep a count of how many you catch and "report in" to this thread.
WE CAN DO IT!!! :thumbsup:Vice President, San Francisco Beekeepers Associationwww.habitatforhoneybees.org
​


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## Charlie B

*Re: Why is the odfrank challenge closed?*

Ollie those are just little details that don't really matter. The point is just like in the old west, the fastest gun always get's challenged so let's just relax and try to be a little more positive.


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## Gypsi

*Re: Why is the odfrank challenge closed?*

:lpf:


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## Intheswamp

*Re: Why is the odfrank challenge closed?*

Wait a minute!!!!!!
*IT'S SWARMS OF RATS THAT WE'RE SUPPOSED TO BE CATCHIN'!!!!!!!!!!!!???????????*  and


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## odfrank

*Re: Why is the odfrank challenge closed?*

I made two more winebox baithives and have developed a new method: embedded LGO. I place a pile of propolis and wax on the inside above the entrance hole, drip a few drops of LGO on it, and then melt it down with a heatgun chasing it around the inside of the entrance, embedding the LGO in the wax/propolis/wood mix.


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## Charlie B

*Re: Why is the odfrank challenge closed?*

That sounds like a great idea. I wonder if you did that on foundationless frames, like on the starter strip if that would work. I don't see why not.


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## BayHighlandBees

*Re: Why is the odfrank challenge closed?*

I think the rest of the country is going to pass the california beekeeper in this challenge. We've got another pretty solid week of rain ahead of us here in northern california! inch:


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## Gypsi

*Re: Why is the odfrank challenge closed?*

I think all the bees in my part of Texas died of something again. Maybe another bad removal on the ferals - you know, take the bees, leave sevin dust behind in what appears to be a local Texas tradition. I've got no pollinators. Never mind bees checking my traps.


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## BayHighlandBees

*Re: Why is the odfrank challenge closed?*

I'm sure that whatever it was that got the ferals was Texas-sized! 

I'd hate to see the size of the mites down in Texas, but im sure that Texas-sized bees can normally handle them!



Gypsi said:


> I think all the bees in my part of Texas died of something again. Maybe another bad removal on the ferals - you know, take the bees, leave sevin dust behind in what appears to be a local Texas tradition. I've got no pollinators. Never mind bees checking my traps.


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## Gypsi

*Re: Why is the odfrank challenge closed?*

Probably about 6 foot 3 with a bag of sevin dust. .....inch:


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## Charlie B

*Re: Why is the odfrank challenge closed?*

Buy Texans books, send them to school...


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## Gypsi

*Re: Why is the odfrank challenge closed?*

Great idea - but these guys graduated years ago - the ability to read on the 4th grade level wasn't required until about 1985. (I did NOT attend school in Texas.)


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## BeeGhost

*Re: Why is the odfrank challenge closed?*



BayHighlandBees said:


> I'd hate to see the size of the mites down in Texas, but im sure that Texas-sized bees can normally handle them!


You ever seen a crab trap before? In Texas they call them Varroa traps!

The bees in Texas dont gather nectar/pollen..........they just gather the flowers/trees.
The drones in Texas need to contact the air traffic control towers before taking off from the hive.
The queens in Texas lay big eggs.............how do you think packing peanuts are made?
The commercial/sideliner guys dont build bee boxes in Texas...........they build tract homes.
The use Texas bred bees stingers as lances for jousting.


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## BayHighlandBees

*Re: Why is the odfrank challenge closed?*

:lpf:


BeeGhost said:


> You ever seen a crab trap before? In Texas they call them Varroa traps!
> 
> The bees in Texas dont gather nectar/pollen..........they just gather the flowers/trees.
> The drones in Texas need to contact the air traffic control towers before taking off from the hive.
> The queens in Texas lay big eggs.............how do you think packing peanuts are made?
> The commercial/sideliner guys dont build bee boxes in Texas...........they build tract homes.
> The use Texas bred bees stingers as lances for jousting.


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## Gypsi

*Re: Why is the odfrank challenge closed?*

:lpf: I'm so glad none of this is true. 

However I expect to lose the swarm catching challenge rather badly. Most of the feral colonies I knew where were have died out over the winter, according to friends who live near them. Or bugged out. With the dearth in the summer and fall, and a warm winter using up too many stores but no pollen or nectar, I think they are gone. Just pulled my Hogan swarm trap. That colony either got robbed out after I opened the 3/4 inch drilled opening to mount the trap, or they died or moved out. Not a bee in the house (good for the homeowner) but not a bee in my trap either. And that one wouldn't have counted in the challenge.


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## odfrank

*Re: Why is the odfrank challenge closed?*

:applause::applause::applause:
NOT TO BRAG...BUT... #2 today. Right next to # 1 which came on 3/8, might be an after swarm from the same hive, it is about 1/3 the size. First scouts came this morning, the weather was nothing special. And not from my hives 2 miles across the valley, checked them yesterday, 66% dead outs, the remaining ones still there nice. Two out of three of mine dead, four out of six of my buddy's dead. So we had the same percent loss, other than at the same site our hives are in no other way connected, except sharing the same extracting setup.


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## bevy's honeybees

*Re: Why is the odfrank challenge closed?*

So we have a tie at this point, nice going odfrank!

Tomorrow I'm returning the same bait box to my son's as he must be in some kind of hotspot. I got the swarm moved into his garage wall last year, then the one last week at the same wall spot, then on Sunday a swarm flew right over him in his driveway. I also put out 2 more at new locations, my friend's backyard, and in yard #2 of my apiary. 

The colony from last week--I moved to my apiary and into a deep this morning and they had drawn out all 4 frames, had brood, and were very gentle. I forgot my smoker and it was not a problem.


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## bevy's honeybees

*Re: Why is the odfrank challenge closed?*

Gypsi, if you were to put out honey on a pan would you get any foragers? What a bummer about the pesticides. 
I constantly get foragers looking for cappings and clean up items as I do this every extraction. But they don't like my bait hives


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## Charlie B

*Re: Why is the odfrank challenge closed?*



odfrank said:


> :applause::applause::applause:
> NOT TO BRAG...BUT...


We're used to it.


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## Charlie B

*Re: Why is the odfrank challenge closed?*



Gypsi said:


> However I expect to lose the swarm catching challenge rather badly.


Gypsi, where's that Texas spirit that avenged the Alamo and gave us Walker, Texas Ranger? :s
C'mon girl, be a little more positive!


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## Gypsi

*Re: Why is the odfrank challenge closed?*

It's raining. my spirit went soggy. Congratulations OD


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## BayHighlandBees

*Re: Why is the odfrank challenge closed?*

talked to OD yesterday. Sounds like he's moved past #2.


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## odfrank

*Re: Why is the odfrank challenge closed?*

#3 was not baited, but a pineapple size swarm in a camellia bush referred by the local nursery. I got a new bait site and a honey sale out of it also. Best yet I pass it every day on my commute. More rain more melancholy.


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## Charlie B

*Re: Why is the odfrank challenge closed?*

I'm sure OD will win. He has been e-mailing me telling me how many traps he has set around my poor Mother-in Laws bee yard. I keep telling him my Mother-in Law is 81 years old and loves her bees. She new at beekeeping and she does her best to keep her broodnest open from her wheelchair but some days are better than others for her. What a shame.


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## odfrank

*Re: Why is the odfrank challenge closed?*

I didn't know that she is in a wheelchair. Being handicapped myself, I am going immediately and pick up any baits within 20 miles of her house. I feel terrible now and apologize for taking advantage of a handicapped old lady.


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## KQ6AR

*Re: Why is the odfrank challenge closed?*

Frank,
I think the neighborly thing to do would be to remove brood from all of her hives. Place them in nuc boxes & take them home with you. 
This way you could help her in swarm prevention.


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## bevy's honeybees

*Re: Why is the odfrank challenge closed?*

In the long run odfrank is going to win,,,BUT,,,today I got my third swarm. I sent pic via phone to my facebook, maybe I can figure out how to post here. It's the bait nuk in my back yard, on 5' ladder under tree where I've had swarms before. 

I saw scouts there this morning, I'd put out a cardboard nuk box, no frames but had honey in it as I brought orange blossom honey frames home yesterday. That drew them this morning, and at the same time I saw them going into hive. At about 12 when I was getting ready to leave, they were gone. When I got home a couple hrs later I noticed alot more bees around my house but I figured they were looking for more feed from my extracting. Not long after that I went outside to get something and low and behold, the front of the hive and some bearding down the front, which is still going on now. I have the entrance reduced to about an inch so it will take awhile. I will probably let them clean up these newly extracted frames. I pulled 13 frames in all. Now I will leave them alone for a few months--only wanted to get some straight (or almost) orange blossom honey. Last year something funky happened with orange blossoming and my bees, got very little. 

I got so excited about the swarm I called over my neighbor who I barely know to show him. Thank goodness he wasn't afraid of bees. He congratulated me.


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## Charlie B

*Re: Why is the odfrank challenge closed?*

Very nice Bevy!


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## Charlie B

*Re: Why is the odfrank challenge closed?*



KQ6AR said:


> Frank,
> I think the neighborly thing to do would be to remove brood from all of her hives.


Please do not give him any ideas. :no:


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## Gypsi

*Re: Why is the odfrank challenge closed?*

One in the bee tree, one in the nuc (I suspect one is from my cutout hive, but don't know.) Cutout hive is 3 medium boxes pretty full, I just gave them a deep to encourage them to move down and draw comb, cutout A robbed out cutout B today, or someone did, and there are a ton more bees in the 3 box cutout. Got bees guarding the nuc (with no food supplied) and others guarding the bee tree entrance. At least two swarms? I'm happy

Gypsi


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## Tomas

*Re: Why is the odfrank challenge closed?*

I may have an unfair advantage with all my swarmy africanized bees, but I'm now at 21 swarms since about the beginning of February. 

I checked one site at the edge of town on Saturday--three traps and three swarms. On Sunday I went to check another site north of town--again three traps and three swarms. I recently caught three swarms on the same weekend right in my back yard. One of the swarms moved into a trap hive I just happened to have sitting on the ground next to the back door.

Just about every box I'm hanging is getting filled. I only have six empty ones hanging at the moment. They should also get filled, expecially since I will have bees swarming until the middle of May. April is one of the better months. Unfortunatly, I'm running out of equipment. That might put a damper on things. But I also have a 12 day vacation coming up due to Easter so that will give me time to fix that problem.

The odd part is that I've only had one person tell me about a swarm in a tree. I usually get several of those every year. 

Just to show a bit of proof, here's a photo of five of them sitting in my backyard. Just about everything I have is in top bar hives so the design of my trap hives is the same. Everything looks brown in the photo because it's the dry season in my part of Honduras--and I mean really dry. I need to be extra carefull with using the smoker in the bee yards.

http://i155.photobucket.com/albums/s313/Tomas_fotos/014.jpg

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Tom


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## Charlie B

*Re: Why is the odfrank challenge closed?*

Wow Tomas,

That's incredible. How hot are your africanized bees? Judging by the number of stingers in your glove, I would say they're pretty hot. I'm going to be in Guatemala in July. I may need to pay a site visit!


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## Gypsi

*Re: Why is the odfrank challenge closed?*

I think Tomas is going to win the challenge!


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## Intheswamp

*Re: Why is the odfrank challenge closed?*



Gypsi said:


> One in the bee tree...


Hey Gypsi, how about this colony in an oak tree? I'm setting a trap close to it...


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## Cleo C. Hogan Jr

*Re: Why is the odfrank challenge closed?*

Intheswamp....I would set a trap on it, not near it, and get two to four colonies from the tree during this year, and more in years to come. Swarm traps nearby, are hit and miss. Trap set on the tree is guaranteed.

cchoganjr


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## odfrank

*Re: Why is the odfrank challenge closed?*

>I may have an unfair advantage with all my swarmy africanized bees, but I'm now at 21 swarms since about the beginning of February. 

OK, we better make some new rules...

28. No African bees allowed.
29. No foreigners allowed to participate in the challenge.


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## Intheswamp

*Re: Why is the odfrank challenge closed?*



Cleo C. Hogan Jr said:


> Intheswamp....I would set a trap on it, not near it, and get two to four colonies from the tree during this year, and more in years to come. Swarm traps nearby, are hit and miss. Trap set on the tree is guaranteed.
> 
> cchoganjr


Cleo, so you are you saying put a swarm trap directly on the tree? I thought they were swarming for crowding and trying to put space between them and the mother colony. :s What about 5' away?

I may have to enter this challenge after all... 

Ed


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## Cleo C. Hogan Jr

*Re: Why is the odfrank challenge closed?*

Intheswamp...e-mail me [email protected] and I will send you instructions to put a trap on the tree, you can build it yourself from a nuc or 8 or 10 frame deep. A good tree will get you 3 to 5 starts ( 3 to 5 pounds each), each year, and you don't kill the feral colony. You can trap year after year.

The purpose of the trap is to get you three to five pounds of bees for a start. After you remove them, let the tree build up for a couple weeks, then trap again. Normally after two starts you will need to wait about 30 days, unless the colony is a very large one.

A bait hive is at best, hit and miss. In fact you will miss, far more often than you will hit. Of course it is good to have bait hives out, but the trap will weaken the hive each time you remove a start and help prevent it from swarming. If it does swarm, they may go 20 feet or they may go 1/4 to 1/2 mile before they find something they like.

The trap is a sure thing. A bait hive is better than nothing, but no guarantee they will go into it, regardless of distance from feral source.

cchoganjr


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## Intheswamp

*Re: Why is the odfrank challenge closed?*

Hmmm, sounds like this would be actually trapping the bees out of the hive using your trap. I really don't want to interrupt this colony in any way as it appears to be a survivor and a good strong one. I would hate to think I did something to harm them by weakening them beyond their natural swarming. I really appreciate the offer of the info and would still like to see your method in case a situation arrives that would work for me....game?

Ed


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## KQ6AR

*Re: Why is the odfrank challenge closed?*

Another Wow! for Tomas.
I think we found someone that can give OD a run for his money.


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## Cleo C. Hogan Jr

*Re: Why is the odfrank challenge closed?*

intheswamp..... you are not going to hurt the feral colony unless you over trap and weaken it. This time of year that is difficult to do. You will be able to tell how strong the feral hive is, by, how many days it takes to get 3 to 5 pounds of bees in your trap. A good strong hive will put three to five pounds of bees in your trap within 24 to 48 hours of introduction of the unsealed brood. If it takes longer, let them come and go through the trap and let the colony build back up. The trap is an integral part of their colony, and it doesn't bother them. 

If you get the queen, you will have a good survivor queen, and the colony will make itself a new queen this time of year, since there is normally lots of unsealed brood available for the feral colony to make themselves a new queen. As you get futher into the year it becomes more problematic that they can make a new queen. 

If you allow them to naturally swarm, they will find a new home, may or may not be in one of your bait hives. I trap the same trees year after year.

send me an e-mail and I will send the info along with photos of two of my traps in progress. The photos show the process of trapping from start to ready to relocate.

cchoganjr


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## Gypsi

*Re: Why is the odfrank challenge closed?*

Cleo - I am excited. From one cutout, I have the main feral colony, plus my bee tree (minus roots) in my garden, and a nuc, that appear to have bees and queen. Flow is on and about to pick up speed massively around here. I intend to let the bees in the hollow tree get themselves established, then just mount a swarm trap on it and harvest multiple colonies this spring. After I get the woodware to keep up with the bee-flow built.


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## Cleo C. Hogan Jr

*Re: Why is the odfrank challenge closed?*

Gypsi..... Sounds like a plan to me. Good Luck. Wonder if oddfrank would let you put a trap on one of his hives. HA!!! He is way ahead in this contest.

In Kentucky, our swarm season has just started. Only caught 2 tree hangers so far. We don't have a lot of feral colonies. Mites in the late 90's and a highly agriculture area with lots of pesticides, and feral bees are scarce.

cchoganjr


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## Gypsi

*Re: Why is the odfrank challenge closed?*

Cleo - most of our ferals died in the last month. Drought and dearth last year, warm winter with few stores this year. The cutout I just did had red honey, which means they lived on hummingbird food that people put out. 

These are a lively bunch of bees, but pretty docile. Might be all the mites draining their energy, but they just seem to be sweet bees, if prolific. They did rob out the contents of hive B and steal all their honey. I think they let the bees join the club though, seems like the bee count doubled in size and the hive entrances were 3 inches apart. 

Inthe swamp, that is one purty bee tree - would wear a trap proudly.

and Tomas is definitely winning the swarm catching contest. OD doesn't stand a chance. None of us do.


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## Cleo C. Hogan Jr

*Re: Why is the odfrank challenge closed?*

Don't give up without a fight. oddfrank won't.

cchoganjr


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## Charlie B

*Re: Why is the odfrank challenge closed?*



KQ6AR said:


> Another Wow! for Tomas.
> I think we found someone that can give OD a run for his money.


I don't think we should exclude anyone because they're not from the U.S. After all, we're letting people from Texas compete! 

Look out Ollie, :lookout: Tomas is out to get you!


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## Intheswamp

*Re: Why is the odfrank challenge closed?*



Cleo C. Hogan Jr said:


> Don't give up without a fight. *oddfrank* won't.
> 
> cchoganjr


:lpf:


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## odfrank

*Re: Why is the odfrank challenge closed?*



Cleo C. Hogan Jr said:


> Don't give up without a fight. oddfrank won't./QUOTE]
> 
> Charlie started the original thread, not me, he is the macho competitive guy, not me. I just don't think swarm crazy African bees are fair competition.


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## Tomas

*Re: Why is the odfrank challenge closed?*

Like I said, I may have an unfair advantage with africanized bees. Maybe we need to level the playing field a bit--two of mine for every one of yours up north?  I'm not taking this challenge overly serious though--just good fun. 

I do take my swarm trapping seriously, however. It would be really nice to have a fourth yard with 20 or 30 hives in production next year. I just got the location of it confirmed yesterday. Getting the apiary set up with hive stands is on the agenda for next week. I've got too many bait boxes with bees that need a home. There are seven sitting in my back yard that I need to move out. Another three are still hanging in a tree.

Just so everyone knows, I am from the States, Wisconsin to be exact--I just happen to have lived down here in Honduras for the last 20 years. I came down here with Peace Corps and sort of fell in love with the place (or I should say with my wife). Africanized bees can be ornery but that challenge makes beekeeping here that much more interesting.

Good luck to every one else on catching swarms.

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Tom


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## KQ6AR

*Re: Why is the odfrank challenge closed?*

Since the texans, SOCal beeks & floridians are allowed in the challenge, african bees must be OK.
Where or how would one draw the line. DNA testing?


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## Gypsi

*Re: Why is the odfrank challenge closed?*



KQ6AR said:


> Since the texans, SOCal beeks & floridians are allowed in the challenge, african bees must be OK.
> Where or how would one draw the line. DNA testing?


good point!


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## odfrank

*Re: Why is the odfrank challenge closed?*

I think since the thread is named after me, I should be able to change the rules as I see fit. 
TWO more today and the weather wasn't even good. And I doubt that they are AHB.


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## bevy's honeybees

*Re: Why is the odfrank challenge closed?*

I know I'm in AHB country but so far all my feral colonies behave no different than my store bought. 

Anyway, I got my 4th swarm in the same box and place as #2, at my son's house. I moved first catch into a deep because all 5 frames were drawn and I wanted to try with that box again, and it only took a couple days for this next swarm to move in. I took it out to my apiary and went through it. There's a queen and 2 drawn frames (beside the existing drawn frame) and a decent amount of bees. The only box of the 4 I have not gone into yet is the one in my back yard.

I am done now, unless I decide to order more deeps. I only have enough for these colonies. I have 12 hives now which was my goal...but it sure would be fun to keep trying. 
(I am not an addict, I am not an addict,)


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## Charlie B

*Re: Why is the odfrank challenge closed?*

Ok, everyone check in and tell us your swarm count. Remember, each individual swarm had to have chosen your trap and moved in on their own. I have not had one swarm move in to any of my traps yet.


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## Cleo C. Hogan Jr

*Re: Why is the odfrank challenge closed?*

Charlie B... Oddfrank.. Just checked my swarm hives this morning, (About 12 miles and 25+ traps) Found two occupied since last week. One very small, only covering one brood frame, but saw the queen. Only two I have caught so far. Here in Kentucky we don't have a lot of feral bees, and I am one of the few beekeepers with lots of hives. None close to me. Valleyman may be the closest, 25 miles.

At one of my swarm boxes I saw about 30-40 bees coming and going on the landing board and i thought I had a third one, but nothing inside. Might have been scouts looking for a home. I caught two there last year, but, they were late in the year. I put two good dark brood combs in and will check it in a couple of days. I am out of lemongrass oil. Need to order some today.

Oddfrank is in no danger of me beating him.

cchoganjr


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## Solomon Parker

*Re: Why is the odfrank challenge closed?*

Ten traps out, no bites yet.


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## Charlie B

*Re: Why is the odfrank challenge closed?*

Odfrank is the Darth Vader of swarm catchers world wide. He is a challenging adversary but I know we can do it!


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## KQ6AR

*Re: Why is the odfrank challenge closed?*

4 traps Zero residents.
Last year zero, even though I caught 12 swarms in the vicinity of the traps.


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## odfrank

*Re: Why is the odfrank challenge closed?*

Four baited in, two swarms caught, one was my own. When this rain is over keep your veil on. Three of the four baits were seven framers and so was yesterdays swarm from my own hive. I padgened this swarm, installed it on the location of the original hive and moved the original off to the side. This inhibits the original hive from casting an after swarm because all the foragers join the swarm colony making it a powerhouse.


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## enchplant

*Re: Why is the odfrank challenge closed?*

11 traps set. Nothing more than scout bees so far.


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## Gypsi

*Re: Why is the odfrank challenge closed?*

7 traps, 2 swarms, one in a nuc, one in the beetree trunk I 
Put in my garden.
Gypsi


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## Cleo C. Hogan Jr

*Re: Why is the odfrank challenge closed?*

Charlie B.. Odfrank... Caught one more today, (total of four) but, I can't in good faith, count this one. It came to a box that I had placed out at the end of a barn, with some old lumber to be thrown away. No frames and no lemongrass oil. 

I started a new thread with photo. It was sitting almost on the ground. The photo doesn't show that the rear of the box is broken, that is why I was throwing it away.

cchoganjr


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## Charlie B

*Re: Why is the odfrank challenge closed?*

I think that should count Cleo. Same thing happened to Odfrank but his box was is worse condition than yours. The only difference was he's so cheap, he wasn't intending on throwing his away!


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## Cleo C. Hogan Jr

*Re: Why is the odfrank challenge closed?*

The photo doesn't show, but, the whole back is busted. Got hit by a front tractor tire.

I can't compete with odfrank, not enough feral bees in my area, and I have been making up nucs, so, my brood stock is too small to swarm.

cchoganjr


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## odfrank

*Re: Why is the odfrank challenge closed?*



Charlie B said:


> he's so cheap, he wasn't intending on throwing his away!


Just to prove Charlie wrong, I have been making some new jumbo depth boxes from some nice 1X10 redwood fence lumber I found.


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## Fuzzy

*Re: Why is the odfrank challenge closed?*

No swarms in bait hives yet.... However, 4 swarms retrieved from various surfaces and branches. NONE from my hives !


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## Charlie B

*Re: Why is the odfrank challenge closed?*

Ollie, I'm coming by to take a look at those. You owe me lunch anyway.


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## odfrank

*Re: Why is the odfrank challenge closed?*



Fuzzy said:


> NONE from my hives !


 That's what Charlie claims also. Right.


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## Charlie B

*Re: Why is the odfrank challenge closed?*

Right, NONE from my hives either!


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## odfrank

*Re: Why is the odfrank challenge closed?*



Charlie B said:


> Right, NONE from my hives either!


Lets hear that same claim again in June. I caught a fish this <------------------> big.


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## KQ6AR

*Re: Why is the odfrank challenge closed?*

Hey Cleo,

You'll need all the help you can get in this competition. You better count that one.


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## Charlie B

*Re: Why is the odfrank challenge closed?*



odfrank said:


> Lets hear that same claim again in June. I caught a fish this <------------------> big.


You should be proud Ollie. It was because I did what you said in your class on swarm prevention my hives haven't swarmed. I can't help it if the student surpasses the master! :lpf:


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## odfrank

*Re: Why is the odfrank challenge closed?*

We are not even half way through the swarming season and we haven't even got out of winter yet. Your hives haven't swarmed YET. Both you and your master will be running their butts off in May chasing those gigantic swarms from hives that have left behind two medium supers of crop stored earlier and clogging up the brood chambers. Grasshopper, how many times do I have to tell you to quit taking beekeeping advice from those left coasters?


----------



## KQ6AR

*Re: Why is the odfrank challenge closed?*

I agree, it hasn't even started yet.
Some of the early swarms I've seen so far might have come out of small cavities in trees or houses.
Just built 20 more boxes in preparation for next month.


----------



## Charlie B

*Re: Why is the odfrank challenge closed?*

I think there's more traps out now in the Bay Area than there are swarms.


----------



## Gypsi

*Re: Why is the odfrank challenge closed?*



Charlie B said:


> I think there's more traps out now in the Bay Area than there are swarms.


Ain't that the idea? Keep those swarms out of attics and soffits!


----------



## odfrank

*Re: Why is the odfrank challenge closed?*

I know that there are thousands of swarms more than traps set and I am doing my best to change those statistics. The cutout calls will start flooding in any time now. The local bee club has just again imported a hundred or more packages and hived them in their tiny topbar hives or 8 frame doubles with no honey supers.....looking gleefully forward to next year or even later this season. Like Charlie I should become club president so that I too have the mailing list addresses. Smart guy Trapper Charlie.


----------



## Fuzzy

*Re: Why is the odfrank challenge closed?*

The Santa Clara Valley club and the Gilroy Club brought in an additional 160+ packages last week.

And because I am one of the Club officers, I do have the addresses


----------



## Charlie B

*Re: Why is the odfrank challenge closed?*



Fuzzy said:


> And because I am one of the Club officers, I do have the addresses


We have about 60 newbees in our club getting packages which will be here next week. So with Fuzzy's list added with mine that should be over 200 VSH New World Carniolan swarms with marked queens.

FIELD TRIP! :wiener:


----------



## KQ6AR

*Re: Why is the odfrank challenge closed?*

Caught another swarm by hand today.
Our club is getting a couple hundred packages in a couple weeks.


----------



## Charlie B

*Re: Why is the odfrank challenge closed?*

I'm going to start calling you Ollie Junior Dan! Where are you guys getting your packages?


----------



## odfrank

*Re: Why is the odfrank challenge closed?*

I am ecstatic, breathless, in euphoria, my ship came in, my stars have crossed. A contractor friend, who has had my bait hives at his residence for years, called me demanding bait hives at his new construction site because* "it has so much bee activity"*. Google maps indicate that it is only .*7 MILES AWAY FROM CHARLIES SITE AT HIS MOTHER INLAW'S HOUSE*. Does life get any better than this? How many hives do you have there? Saratoga here I come.


----------



## Charlie B

*Re: Why is the odfrank challenge closed?*

I don't have to worry because I attended Jollie Ollie's school of swarm prevention and I'm pretty sure they're not going to swarm. Unless you want a load of rock salt in your "you know what" I wouldn't get to close! My Mother-In-Law is a good shot!


----------



## KQ6AR

*Re: Why is the odfrank challenge closed?*

Our Italian packages are coming from a private deal out of Willows.
We are also getting some NWC out of Vacaville, don't think they sell to the general public either.


----------



## Fuzzy

*Re: Why is the odfrank challenge closed?*

One swarm in a 10 frame bait hive yesterday.
One swarm in a newly placed 5 frame bait hive today ( less than 3hrs )
4 hand retrievals so far

and lots of interest in another 10 frame bait hive set up today.

Again, none of these from my hives, but I'm gonna have to get more supers soon. Saturday and Sunday should be killer swarm days.


----------



## odfrank

*Re: Why is the odfrank challenge closed?*

>One swarm in a newly placed 5 frame bait hive today ( less than 3hrs )

That's about my record also. Placed it after lunch. Host called in an hour that it was awash with scouts. A while later he called screaming a swarm was coming down the street and turning into the driveway. In a cardboard nuc box on a table,I was nearby and returned after it was mostly in. Here are the pics.


----------



## bevy's honeybees

*Re: Why is the odfrank challenge closed?*



odfrank said:


> >One swarm in a newly placed 5 frame bait hive today ( less than 3hrs )
> 
> A while later he called screaming a swarm was coming down the street and turning into the driveway. In a cardboard nuc box on a table,I was nearby and returned after it was mostly in. Here are the pics.
> 
> 
> I want video of the swarm coming down the street and turning into driveway
> (is this another fish story?)


----------



## Charlie B

*Re: Why is the odfrank challenge closed?*

Sounds fishy to me!


----------



## odfrank

*Re: Why is the odfrank challenge closed?*

For Charlie and Bevy who don't trust me and just called me a big liar here are some more statistics to also doubt while you squirm with jealousy in your pathetic little world:
To date 2012 with swarm season just started:
Six bait hives all caught on their stands at ground level
Three swarms caught


----------



## Cleo C. Hogan Jr

*Re: Why is the odfrank challenge closed?*

I am with you odfrank. I rarely put swarm traps higher than i can reach. Most are sitting on plastic barrels, mice can't climb the plastic. The only time I put them higher than I can reach is if i put them on a deer stand out in the woods. I use old worn out ten frame deeps.

Three caught so far.

cchoganjr


----------



## LetMBee

*Re: Why is the odfrank challenge closed?*

I agree with you both. After last years 2 near death experiences on a 10 foot stepladder with swarm traps so heavy I could hardly lift them off of the nail, I am an ON THE GROUND kind of guy. I have used ladder deer stands, but it is just so much safer on the ground. I know there is a body of evidence suggesting that success rates are higher when traps are approximately 15 feet (Bee Culture April 2012), but I have caught a lot of swarms at 4-6 feet. 

I have seen a lot of bee trees where the entrance is at ground level or less than a foot. Stay on the ground and stay safe.


----------



## odfrank

*Re: Why is the odfrank challenge closed?*



LetMBee said:


> last years 2 near death experiences on a 10 foot stepladder.


I had a host help me catch a swarm yesterday and the hardest part was convincing him to not risk life and limb up a rickety ladder for a few silly insects. We pole prune cut their branch and let them fall 15 feet onto a nuc box and they marched right in. No broken necks or life in a wheelchair.


----------



## Tomas

*Re: Why is the odfrank challenge closed?*

I´m also in agreement about hanging the bait boxes lower. I keep them high enough so that if I stretch I can reach the entrance to stuff in the sponge when taking them down. 

Mine are literally hanging. The rope is thrown over a branch above the trap and I just hoist it up or gently lower it down. I try to rest it against another branch or the trunk so it doesn´t move in the wind. I just need to stuff the entrance, untie the rope and lower it down. No worries about falling out of the tree (I´ve got enough the way it is about tripping over rocks or tree roots at night).

http://i155.photobucket.com/albums/s313/Tomas_fotos/traphive.jpg

I´ve also had some nightmare removals involving heavy traps that I had to get out of the tree. A friend of mine set up the trap hive from this next picture (I don´t want to take the blame for this one).

http://i155.photobucket.com/albums/s313/Tomas_fotos/Traphivefullofbees.jpg 

It was several weeks before we could get to it and the bees had filled the box. Instead of hanging the box, he set in the crotch of the tree. It was nice and stable but really hard to lift it out of there. The weight had jammed it in there even more. Added to that was only having one hand available while the other was hanging onto the tree to keep from falling. The bark of this tree made for slippery footing, making the removal that much more difficult. And it was night.

On a side note, swarms have stopped (momentarily I hope) here. We´ve been having some fairly good rains just before evening which might be affecting this. Rains are unusual this time of year. There should still be swarms flying here until at least the middle of May. I´m still at 21 swarms, having filled 75% of the bait boxes I've set out.


----------
Tom


----------



## odfrank

*Re: Why is the odfrank challenge closed?*

Does size matter?

I caught, #10 maybe fist size, it will take 6 months to fill the five frame trap.


----------



## Keth Comollo

*Re: Why is the odfrank challenge closed?*



odfrank said:


> Does size matter?
> 
> I caught, #10 maybe fist size, it will take 6 months to fill the five frame trap.


Your buddy in Saratoga throws some weak swarms apparently.


----------



## odfrank

*Re: Why is the odfrank challenge closed?*



Keth Comollo said:


> Your buddy in Saratoga throws some weak swarms apparently.


No, I am sure that Charlie's swarms will be immense, when I catch them. This swarm was caught near two other beekeepers homes. In the past they have been good size. I am going to count it to keep up with Tomas and Bevy. I shouldn't have admitted that it was a wimp, I take it back.


----------



## Charlie B

*Re: Why is the odfrank challenge closed?*



odfrank said:


> No, I am sure that Charlie's swarms will be immense, when I catch them.


I'm doing splits next week in Saratoga as soon as my queens are ready. I just have to keep them calm until then!


----------



## KQ6AR

*Re: Why is the odfrank challenge closed?*

If I remember correctly, you make the rules!



odfrank said:


> Does size matter?
> 
> I caught, #10 maybe fist size, it will take 6 months to fill the five frame trap.


----------



## Fuzzy

*Re: Why is the odfrank challenge closed?*

2 in bait hives
6 in retrievals

And we have a warmer weekend coming !


----------



## Keth Comollo

*Re: Why is the odfrank challenge closed?*

You guys with your warm weather have an unfair advantage! It was snowing here last night! Have ten traps out and I may have to shovel their front doors and you guys are out drinking pina coladas and laughing under palm trees! Argggghhhh...


----------



## odfrank

*Re: Why is the odfrank challenge closed?*



Keth Comollo said:


> You guys with your warm weather have an unfair advantage!.


Not quite, it was in the 40's and 50's all day with a biting wind. Warm enough however to move a caught swarm into a full hive.


----------



## Keth Comollo

*Re: Why is the odfrank challenge closed?*

It was 26 degrees here last night! I still have three weeks till swarm season begins!! Is this challenge rated on a curve?? :lookout:


----------



## Gypsi

*Re: Why is the odfrank challenge closed?*

It ought to be, but since the prize is bragging rights, and OD needs humored (although Tomas is still going to beat him).....:lookout:


----------



## Charlie B

*Re: Why is the odfrank challenge closed?*

I was forced to wear my Ultra Breeze today, I was sweaty.


----------



## Fuzzy

*Re: Why is the odfrank challenge closed?*

"I was forced to wear my Ultra Breeze today, I was sweaty. "

You lying sack of Monkey Poo !!!!!! The high for the day was only 50.


----------



## odfrank

*Re: Why is the odfrank challenge closed?*

I have been wearing my Ultrabreeze because I am tired of getting stinged in the face.


----------



## KQ6AR

*Re: Why is the odfrank challenge closed?*

It was a beautiful 64F degrees, on my side of the bay.


----------



## odfrank

*Re: Why is the odfrank challenge closed?*



odfrank said:


> Does size matter?I caught, #10 maybe fist size, it will take 6 months to fill the five frame trap.


I take this back. The host called worried about all the dead bees and fighting going on. I think what I saw was huge a scouting party rumble on a cool day. Maybe the swarm has not arrived yet.


----------



## odfrank

*Re: Why is the odfrank challenge closed?*

Do I have to post here every time I catch one, or can I just wait until I hit 50 and report then? A host in Palo Alto just called, the latest catch there is flying heavy this morning. Do we know of any BeeSource members in Palo Alto whose swarm I might have stolen?


----------



## Charlie B

*Re: Why is the odfrank challenge closed?*

Keep count of your catches and report in whenever you like but we should have an official count once a month until the season is over to see how the tally is going. I'll remind everyone May 1st.


----------



## odfrank

*Re: Why is the odfrank challenge closed?*

Insulted by a plum tree: I have a hive site and bait hive site where a plum tree hive swarms a few times a year. Both the plum hive and my hive died this winter. My hive caught the first bait swarm, but today the plum tree caught the second swarm rather than my second bait hive. Beat by a plum tree, I'll never live this one down.


----------



## Keth Comollo

*Re: Why is the odfrank challenge closed?*

Sometimes you beat the tree and sometimes the tree beats you! I have a feeling in your case that you beat the trees more often.

Saw our first dandelion of the year today. We are just a couple of weeks away from my traps seeing activity!!


----------



## KQ6AR

*Re: Why is the odfrank challenge closed?*

A chimney hive in my neighborhood set of 4 afterswarms friday. They clustered withing a foot of each other on a very small olive tree. 
I finally got 3 of them to stay in boxes, talk about some confused bees. They didn't know what box to go in.

Funny thing the home owner likes the bees living in his chimney, He doesn't use the fireplace, & likes the bees.


----------



## taydeko

*Re: Why is the odfrank challenge closed?*

I caught my second swarm today. It was a large swarm in a pine tree. It was also a great learning experience. The bees are now hived.

Ted


----------



## odfrank

*Re: Why is the odfrank challenge closed?*

My hosts are calling worried about the high bee mortality due to both the scouts fighting and the swarm arriving. Evidentially the life of a swarming bee isn't that easy.


----------



## Charlie B

*Re: Why is the odfrank challenge closed?*



odfrank said:


> Beat by a plum tree, I'll never live this one down.


Oh boy, here we go. :v:


----------



## Charlie B

*Re: Why is the odfrank challenge closed?*

Ollie's secret is out. Hidden cameras in his apiary reveal his swarm catching technique.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iTLgSqu4r3E

Nice belly button Ollie!


----------



## odfrank

*Re: Why is the odfrank challenge closed?*

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iTLgSqu4r3E

I think I am in love.


----------



## odfrank

*Re: Why is the odfrank challenge closed?*

I placed a eight frame Jumbo trap yesterday at 11:00 am and it caught an hour long entry this afternoon. The host is very competitive when it comes to swarm trapping and has added the Saratoga site this year. He sent this cell phone video. Click on it, play it full screen and listen carefully, he says "the queen has arrived." Driveways between houses always seem successful, the bees fly down them and pass the traps. I am up to 15 with this one, but at least one seems queenless and several are dinks.


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## KQ6AR

*Re: Why is the odfrank challenge closed?*

Caught 8 swarms by hand so far.
Zero for my bait hives.


----------



## kentuckyjeff

*Re: Why is the odfrank challenge closed?*

question for swarm catcher exstrordinare OddFrank. caught 1st swarm today from 4x4 sign post , brushed them into 10 frame deep took home about 15 miles, have them trapped inside for nite, entrance has screen till morning, 2 frames of drawn brood comb the rest plastic frames with fresh wax. what else can i do to ensure the dont leave when i open the entrance in the am. dont have queen excluder? thanks for all comments


----------



## Charlie B

*Re: Why is the odfrank challenge closed?*



KQ6AR said:


> Caught 8 swarms by hand so far.
> Zero for my bait hives.


I'm on two separate swarm lists so I've captured a bunch all ready but nothing in my traps yet either.


----------



## odfrank

*Re: Why is the odfrank challenge closed?*

>but nothing in my traps yet either

Loosers, I am up to fifteen and just returned home with a truckload of three from the Palo Alto area.


----------



## odfrank

*Re: Why is the odfrank challenge closed?*



kentuckyjeff said:


> question for swarm catcher exstrordinare OddFrank. what else can i do to ensure the dont leave when i open the entrance in the am. dont have queen excluder? thanks for all comments


Pray...and don't use plastic foundation next time.


----------



## D Semple

*Re: Why is the odfrank challenge closed?*

1st week of swarm season here in KC and I'm up to 7. 

2 were from my own hives though, do those count?


----------



## odfrank

*Re: Why is the odfrank challenge closed?*



D Semple said:


> 2 were from my own hives though, do those count?


If you baited them into a box they count, if you baited in a buddy's bees that counts triple. If you catch Charlie's bees that's triple too. If you bait in mine you are DISqualified from the competition.


----------



## Charlie B

*Re: Why is the odfrank challenge closed?*



odfrank said:


> Pray...and don't use plastic foundation next time.


I'm surprised OD said that because plastic is cheaper.


----------



## kentuckyjeff

*Re: Why is the odfrank challenge closed?*

thanks guys, everything seems to be happening in fast forward. in three wks I hived nuc from local beekp, hived pkgbees from kellybees, built hogan trap-out install first part then yesterday guy called for a swarm on a post. thats a lot for newbee. i like sharp learning curve. thanks again this site has taught me tons. will try foundationless with drawn comb next time.


----------



## odfrank

*Re: Why is the odfrank challenge closed?*



Charlie B said:


> I'm surprised OD said that because plastic is cheaper.


I might be cheaper but with wax I can do a wax exchange and therefore not have to pry any cash out of my money grubbing clenched fists. Is plastic really cheaper??? Now that I know that I might have to try it.


----------



## KQ6AR

*Re: Why is the odfrank challenge closed?*

I dump all my swarms on plastic frames. Adding a frame of brood really locks them in. With one frame of brood, & 4 frames of plastic foundation they have all stayed in the hive. When I use 4 plastic foundation with one drawn frame about two out of 10 leave within 2 days.



kentuckyjeff said:


> question for swarm catcher exstrordinare OddFrank. caught 1st swarm today from 4x4 sign post , brushed them into 10 frame deep took home about 15 miles, have them trapped inside for nite, entrance has screen till morning, 2 frames of drawn brood comb the rest plastic frames with fresh wax. what else can i do to ensure the dont leave when i open the entrance in the am. dont have queen excluder? thanks for all comments


----------



## KQ6AR

*Re: Why is the odfrank challenge closed?*

Anybody notice the title to the thread changed. Now it says swarm challenge, instead of Why is the odfrank challenge closed?


----------



## odfrank

*Re: Why is the odfrank challenge closed?*



KQ6AR said:


> Anybody notice the title to the thread changed. Now it says swarm challenge, instead of Why is the odfrank challenge closed?


I am not Barry's favorite member.


----------



## Charlie B

*Re: Why is the odfrank challenge closed?*

I pulled an OD and went really cheap. I used a drone brood frame instead of worker brood on the last two swarms. It seems to have the same effect. They're staying put.


----------



## D Semple

*Re: Why is the odfrank challenge closed?*

Caught 2 more yesterday, up to 9 in 9 days, since swarms started here.

I'm snagging mine, not putting out traps, still count?

Not to worry, can't win, I only made enough equipment for 50 new hives over the winter.


Don


----------



## Charlie B

*Re: Why is the odfrank challenge closed?*



D Semple said:


> Caught 2 more yesterday, up to 9 in 9 days, since swarms started here.
> I'm snagging mine, not putting out traps, still count?


You Kansas flatlanders are always welcome but the rules are you have to lure your swarm into a trap that you made and set out. The swarm has to move in willingly on it's own. The size of the swarm doesn't matter otherwise Ollie would have been eliminated long ago. :lpf:


----------



## Fuzzy

*Re: Why is the odfrank challenge closed?*

Update:

3 in bait hives (another one in less than 24hrs)
8 in retrievals ( not counting the ones that I have referred to CharlieB )

Fuzzy


----------



## Charlie B

*Re: Why is the odfrank challenge closed?*

I want to thank Fuzzy for giving me a 6 pound swarm today plus another two pounder as an extra bonus. You'd think others (OD) would be that generous.


----------



## odfrank

*Re: Why is the odfrank challenge closed?*



Charlie B;783494You'd think others (OD) would be that generous. :rolleyes:[/QUOTE said:


> What about my referral to the nice after swarm with a virgin in Marin County an hours drive away during commute hour? No one else on BeeSource would be so ungrateful for a scenic drive across the Golden Gate Bridge on a nice sunny day. That swarm could have developed into your best hive if you weren't so snooty, and you could have taken your wife out for dinner in Sausalito on the way home.


----------



## odfrank

*Re: Why is the odfrank challenge closed?*

Good bait hive hosts watch them carefully and send pics and videos of the arrivals. 
Today 94063.


----------



## odfrank

*Re: Why is the odfrank challenge closed?*

Even better is two bait hive hosts who send videos. This is the second bait on this stand since Sunday. Click to view.


----------



## Charlie B

*Re: Why is the odfrank challenge closed?*

Are you blackmailing these people or what?


----------



## odfrank

*Re: Why is the odfrank challenge closed?*

Today's blackmail:


----------



## Cleo C. Hogan Jr

*Re: Why is the odfrank challenge closed?*

odfrank, charlie.. Got another one today. (total 7, which is good for Kentucky, this time of year., I normally get about 12 - 15, but that is through July, and it isn't even May yet.).

Thought I had another, drove up to it, bees coming and going, I grabbed frames ready to put inside, opened the top and found about 50 bees. Hopefully they are the scouts, and in a day or two I will have another.

So far this year I have caught the scouts looking at two hives. In one, the swarm moved in 3 days later, in the other, the swarm came 6 days later. All feral because I don't have any hives large enough to swarm. No other beekeepers anywhere near me. I have already made 85 splits and all I have left are single chamber, small hives. They will have to grow some for me to make my last 50 splits.

cchoganjr


----------



## Charlie B

*Re: Why is the odfrank challenge closed?*



Cleo C. Hogan Jr said:


> I have already made 85 splits and all I have left are single chamber, small hives. They will have to grow some for me to make my last 50 splits.cchoganjr


85 splits? I just split 10 hives and I'm tired!


----------



## Cleo C. Hogan Jr

*Re: Why is the odfrank challenge closed?*

Charlie...I sell bees. Have now for a few years. Honey is a by-product. I am approaching 70 and I split and sell 100 or just a few over each year. Then I quit for the year. Old Valley Man, from Munfordville, came and picked up 6 hives today. Dowell Bee Co got 14 on Tuesday. Another 15 or so will go out tomorrow.

Monday I will run my trap line and see if I can gain on odfrank. HA! One looks promising. I think I saw the scouts checking it out a couple days ago.

By the way, The dozen or so Cottonwood boxes I made back in the winter are all in use now, and we will see how they do. They look really nice. I made three square hives like odfrank, and I am going to fill them this next week.

cchoganjr


----------



## LetMBee

*Re: Why is the odfrank challenge closed?*

Odfrank: do you have those traps in a no wind zone? They look like nuke boxes. Did you make them and weight them or something? Do they ever blow off of your barrels, or big black pots?


----------



## Charlie B

*Re: Why is the odfrank challenge closed?*

Cleo,

When you do splits are they just with queen cells or do you do queen rearing also?


----------



## odfrank

*Re: Why is the odfrank challenge closed?*



LetMBee said:


> Odfrank: do you have those traps in a no wind zone? They look like nuke boxes. Did you make them and weight them or something? Do they ever blow off of your barrels, or big black pots?


Most are in sheltered areas. They are nuc boxes. I made most of them. A gardener knocked one over but otherwise no problems.


----------



## Cleo C. Hogan Jr

*Re: Why is the odfrank challenge closed?*

I buy my queens from Kelly Bee Co in Clarkson Ky, and more recently I got 35 from John Spoo, and getting 25 more next Friday. . They came from Louisiana and are Minnesota Hygenic. 

I am too old to get into queen raising.

As I am splitting, I keep 5 frame nucs available, and if I see queen cells, or a super queen, (six or more frames solid with brood, take a couple with unsealed brood ) I take those and let them make their own queens. I have about 15 now in process making queens. If I take unsealed brood and don't see a queen cell in 5 to 7 days, I put a queen with that split. The down side to making their own queens is the time factor, normally a minimum of 30 days. Upside is, that queen is free. My favorite price. 

I spend more time helping others than in my own little world. It is an oversized hobby for me. I am not a commercial beekeeper by any means.

cchoganjr


----------



## Charlie B

*Re: Why is the odfrank challenge closed?*

I want to start selling nucs but here in SF, queens don't mate very well due to high winds and fog so I have to buy queens. I just split 10 huge hives and the hardest part was finding all the queens before doing the splits. What a pain but I managed to do it following the egg trail. 

While waiting for my queens to be ready this spring, the hives went from two boxes to 6 and 7 from February till now. Big Eucalyptus flow here every fall and winter.


----------



## Charlie B

*Re: Why is the odfrank challenge closed?*



Cleo C. Hogan Jr said:


> I am too old to get into queen raising.


Here that Ollie, maybe we are too.


----------



## Cleo C. Hogan Jr

*Re: Why is the odfrank challenge closed?*

There is a big demand for nucs, lots more are getting into beekeeping than in the past.

I don't spend a lot of time looking for the queen. If I don't find her right off, I make the split. ( I am fortunate to have three yards that I keep bees, and I almost always move the split three + miles.) If I haven't found her, I go back through the brood hive and the split and see if I find her after making the split. If still no luck, I close the split (and along with the others for the day, move them. I mark the two hives and just don't put a queen with that split until I go through it the following day. The next day the split has settled down, and you are only looking at five frames. My brood stock is all, single and two deep chamber hives, so finding the queen is easier than in two deeps and 5 supers that you are talking about. I am also lucky in that I can normally find the queen. 

I know you already know this, but, others may not, I will explain how I do it. Use very little, to no smoke, when looking for the queen. Smoke will send her scurring to the darkest corners of the hive. Look at the frames carefully, but don't spend a lot of time on any one frame. As you split, leave a gap between the frames you leave in the hive, and leave a gap between the frames in the split hive. That way the queen can't move from one frame to another while you are looking. After you find her, push the frames together, and move. You don't have to move 3 miles, but it does help, if you can. Always take more bees with the split than you think you really need, it will help them to build up faster. Also remember that the parent hive has lots of bees in the field that you are not seeing.

cchoganjr


----------



## enchplant

*Re: Why is the odfrank challenge closed?*

I have placed 11 traps around the East Bay and so far have captured swarms in 4 of them. 
I also have caught 2 swarms from Phone calls and one trap out , but no queen . One cut out with no queen either. 
I got to remember next year to put more empty frames in the traps. I just had the one frame of drawn comb. I don't need to be doing cut outs if I don't get to them for a few days.


----------



## Charlie B

Thanks Cleo. I just checked all the splits yesterday and all the queens are released doing fine. I'll try your technique of splitting anyway then searching the nuc box the next day when I do more splits. It's got to be less time consuming that what I'm doing.


----------



## Cleo C. Hogan Jr

enchplant...The technique that works for me is....whether it is a cut out, swarm catcher box, or a caught swarm, I always put two drawn combs, and two frames foundation, starter wax. Even if you don't get back to it for several days, the two brood combs will suffice for the queen to start laying, and to start storing nectar and pollen. The two frames of foundation gives them something to start drawing on, and rarely do they drop comb beyond the two foundation frames. I often put new foundation because it has that new wax smell. After a while, on an inspection trip, replace that foundation frame and use it elsewhere.

I also place the brood combs against one side of the box, not in the center. and the foundation going toward the center.

cchoganjr


----------



## odfrank

Charlie B said:


> Here that Ollie, maybe we are too.


Either that or because our faces have too many feminine features.


----------



## Charlie B

odfrank said:


> Either that or because our faces have too many feminine features.


Um....you're not my type


----------



## enchplant

Thanks Cleo, I was being cheap before , using just one frame of used comb, thinking the traps will never work. Now I know better and it seems like a good way to get foundation drawn! Drawn comb is like gold!


----------



## enchplant

Here is a video of a nice swarm that I saw land on one of my traps ..
Warm afternoon last Saturday.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C4_qqRGrMRg


----------



## taydeko

Caught my fifth swarm today. This time in Southwest Albuquerque. It was about 10 lbs, I think. They were pretty hot as I was brushing them off the stucco.


----------



## Barry

I guess I can take part in this challenge, but I have no intention of winning. Picked up number 1 this morning. I called honeyman, as it was halfway between him and I, but he didn't have time for it, so I went after it. It started to sprinkle just as we got there and started to rain good right after we completed the capture. Wish they were all this easy!


----------



## D Semple

That's a dandy Barry, who ever heard of a swarm in Chicago in April.



Here is our biggest to date, up to 10 this year so far, with another 4 caught that don't count coming from our own hives.











Don


----------



## KQ6AR

Hi Barry,
Sorry to disappoint you, but only swarms moving into swarm traps on their own count for the challenge.
Beautiful swarm though.


----------



## Barry

They did move there all on their own. I was on my way to placing a trap in that exact spot but they got there first. I had a farther distance to travel!


----------



## odfrank

Charlie, you better re-check your swarm control. My host reports the bait hive a mile from your rooftop has a lot of activity.


----------



## KQ6AR

Oliver & Charley are the referee's but that almost sounds believable to me.


----------



## BayHighlandBees

OD,
do you really have 1500+ swarm boxes in operation? how many of these surround Charlie's house? 



odfrank said:


> Charlie, you better re-check your swarm control. My host reports the bait hive a mile from your rooftop has a lot of activity.


----------



## odfrank

BayHighlandBees said:


> OD,
> do you really have 1500+ swarm boxes in operation? how many of these surround Charlie's house?


San Francisco is too far to drive to pick up all 1500 swarms, I have moved 750 of them around our neighborhood. Did you take my advice to hook up a five gallon feeder with a hose to each hive and buy 25 lbs. of pollen patty for each one also? That is the best way to keep bees and help them thrive.


----------



## BayHighlandBees

I've had zero traffic on my remaining swarm trap. Now I know why!


----------



## odfrank

Andrew, I could use some help this weekend moving swarm traps to Concord and Orinda. I hear the beekeepers out there are real sloppy about swarm control.


----------



## odfrank

BayHighlandBees said:


> I've had zero traffic on my remaining swarm trap. Now I know why!


Wait till this weather passes, the swarm season is early yet. I see swarms dates here in the Highlands into late May.


----------



## Charlie B

Ok everyone. It finally happened. A swarm moved in to one of my boxes in SF. About time. I was beginning to think Ollie was running around spraying my traps with Beegone.


----------



## Charlie B

odfrank said:


> Charlie, you better re-check your swarm control. My host reports the bait hive a mile from your rooftop has a lot of activity.


My girls wouldn't even think about moving into something like that. Green and pink? Aren't you trying to attract bees? :scratch:


----------



## enchplant

odfrank said:


> Andrew, I could use some help this weekend moving swarm traps to Concord and Orinda. I hear the beekeepers out there are real sloppy about swarm control.


Wait till those City and peninsula bees see the sort of pastures we can offer out here in the 'burbs and there will be a huge cloud of bees crossing the bay!


----------



## KQ6AR

Give a month or so, our clubs new beekeepers just installed over 200 packages. Keeping the feeders full, ? adding more boxes in time.
You should be able to catch a marked queen that way.



odfrank said:


> Andrew, I could use some help this weekend moving swarm traps to Concord and Orinda. I hear the beekeepers out there are real sloppy about swarm control.


----------



## odfrank

Here is today's catch outside my bedroom, I don't think it will fit. And my solution from what I had in the back of my truck. It came out more as I did my adaption.


----------



## Tomas

I made the rounds this weekend checking my trap hives--I've caught five new swarms within the last week or so. I actually thought the swarms were done for the season. For just about four weeks I didn't have anything new. We started to get a bit of rain and the weather turned a bit cooler than normal which I think threw everything off. It should still be bone dry at this time of the year but now the whole valley has turned green. 

This is unusual. The real rains and the real beginning of the rainy season shouldn't be until the end of May. But things are sort of back to normal now and some colonies have begun to swarm again. 

One of the swarms actually landed in the trap hive I have in a mango tree about fifteen feet from the back door. No one even heard them arrive. I happened to look up at it the other morning and "hey, there's bees up there." So that's when I went around checking the rest of the boxes. Another of them is the fourth I caught this year in the same tree with a box in exactly the same spot.

So that makes 27 total for me, with hopes that I might catch a few more in the next two or three weeks. I've now filled just about 80 percent of the bait boxes that I've set out. I also had to set up a new yard to accomodate all of them. With these new swarms I should have 17 hives there for next year.

It makes me wonder how many more swarms I could have caught if I had more bait boxes available. Making at least 20 new ones is on my "to do" list for next year.

The honey season is just about over also. In the next two weeks I need to make the rounds to harvest the last of the honey.

----------
Tom


----------



## Charlie B

Nice Tomas! Well, I got 4 so far, 2 in SF and 2 in Saratoga. Everyone weigh in with your counts. Ollie?


----------



## odfrank

Charlie B;789661 Everyone weigh in with your counts. Ollie?[/QUOTE said:


> I am up to 26 baited in, one of which is Qless. Three are dinks, but those can come around later. I also have caught four swarms, and had at least three fly away or more.The season is early yet, I see last year I had one as late as 9/7, so I might still beat Tomas. I have good scout activity on several for days now, we need a heat wave to come in.


----------



## Tomas

Odfrank,

You probably will beat me. Like I mentioned, I am limited by available equipment. I really need to make some more bait boxes for next year. The ponential is there to catch a lot of swarms here--and save a lot of money from not having to buy nucs.

Now the question is what percentage of the boxes that you put out catch swarms? Do you have any statistics on that? I'm up to just about 80 percent filled.

----------
Tom


----------



## Charlie B

Tomas,

Ollie is very resourceful (cheap). He'll make a swarm trap out of anything. Wine boxes, left over house siding or even his empty "Depends" boxes. If he beats you it will be because of his frugalness.


----------



## Charlie B

How's everyone else doing?


----------



## enchplant

I have 12 traps up and have gotten 4 swarms in those. I have caught 5 other swarms, one of which was mine. I have done one trap out but didn't get the queen and took home a bird house full of bees.


----------



## Charlie B

enchplant said:


> I have 12 traps up and have gotten 4 swarms in those. I have caught 5 other swarms, one of which was mine.


ench,

You get bonus points for that swarm that had a marked queen!


----------



## odfrank

Charlie B said:


> ench,
> 
> You get bonus points for that swarm that had a marked queen!


I think he should get at least ten points for that and an Honorable Mention at the Awards Banquet.
I am admitting too two catches that look sick with European Foulbrood. Is it in my combs or are they bringing it? All in the same neighborhood where I had lots of EFB problems already last year.


----------



## LetMBee

Odfrank: 
They are showing signs of disease already? Man I hope that doesn't happen here. Sorry to hear it.


----------



## Charlie B

odfrank said:


> I am admitting too two catches that look sick with European Foulbrood. Is it in my combs or are they bringing it? All in the same neighborhood where I had lots of EFB problems already last year.


Which neighborhood? A buddy of mine did a cutout last fall in Palo Alto that had EFB.


----------



## odfrank

Charlie B said:


> Which neighborhood? A buddy of mine did a cutout last fall in Palo Alto that had EFB.


Whipple in Redwood City, Atherton Ave in Atherton.


----------



## odfrank

Today's catch in San Jose, this site produced 13 last year and ten in 2010. That is a bait box hiding behind the swarm.


----------



## Fuzzy

*Re: Why is the odfrank challenge closed?*

Update:

3 in bait hives 
10 in retrievals ( not counting the ones that I have referred to CharlieB )

But, I don't need any more bees. Am giving them all away now.

Fuzzy


----------



## Charlie B

odfrank said:


> That is a bait box hiding behind the swarm.


If my bait boxes looked like yours I'd hide them too!


----------



## Charlie B

*Re: Why is the odfrank challenge closed?*



Fuzzy said:


> Update: I don't need any more bees. Am giving them all away now.Fuzzy


You know my number Fuzzy!


----------



## odfrank

*Re: Why is the odfrank challenge closed?*



Fuzzy;791337 Am giving them all away now.Fuzzy[/QUOTE said:


> Fuzzy, you've known me longer than Charlie and I am closer so I would be the logical choice for your left over swarms.


----------



## LetMBee

*Re: Why is the odfrank challenge closed?*

Finally on the board! Mark me down for 1 
I don't know what day I picked this one up because the landowner is scared to death of bees and stays away from the trap. No pollen going in so probably only a couple of days. 

Friday I will be checking traps most of the day. So the number should go up.


----------



## odfrank

Charlie B said:


> If my bait boxes looked like yours I'd hide them too!


Here is the same box moved onto it's permanent location. It might not be as pretty as some newbees brand new stuff, but it sure catches the swarms. Let's take a look at your boxes after a few years of sitting on that foggy, wet roof top. And by the way, that is # 30 for me.


----------



## LetMBee

Up to 5 now. The last three days have been good to me.


----------



## KQ6AR

Still Zero in my bait hives.
Caught 8 by hand, have re-homed 3 so far.


----------



## Charlie B

Dan, 

If you've made the fatal mistake of telling Ollie where your traps are, he'll check them before you get a chance.


----------



## odfrank

Charlie B said:


> Dan, If you've made the fatal mistake of telling Ollie where your traps are, he'll check them before you get a chance.


The traffic and bridge tolls on that weekly drive to Concord are killer but the swarms I have shaken from Dan's boxes are really nice. 
Charlie, your MIL is a sweetheart, I was so sweaty from milking your hives in Saratoga she gave me a tall glass of ice tea to cool me down. 
PS: could you move the hives closer to the driveway? It is a long carry back to my truck with those heavy boxes of honey.


----------



## Charlie B

Everyone,

I think Tomas in Honduras is our only hope of beating Ollie the swarm bully. 

*Tomas, HELP!! * :ws:


----------



## odfrank

Charlie B said:


> I think Tomas in Honduras is our only hope of beating Ollie the swarm bully.


Tomas better hustle, here is #33 for me, same spot as #30, new box, caught by Bob the Bee Whisper in San Jose. Two that he caught for me last year are my best hives this year. They cleanup house ASAP.


----------



## odfrank

Andrew watch out!!
# 34 caught about one mile plus from your house Parrot X GlenBrook.


----------



## odfrank

Unpacked # 16 (caught 4/18/12) today, it is the Victoria Secrets bait swarm. Two 11 1/4" drawn comb, drew out most of six foundations. Heavy with honey and brood.


----------



## odfrank

#35 - The best location to trap bees, right on the stand. Today's catch, third in this box in a month, 9 1/8" frames in a box for 11 1/4" frames. Bob said it barely fits, I will box it up tomorrow.


----------



## BayHighlandBees

OD,
I'll be on the lookout. You look like you are on quite a roll!


----------



## Fuzzy

"I think Tomas in Honduras is our only hope of beating Ollie the swarm bully"

Charlie,

That's beginning to sound like sour grapes on your part. It's time to admit that you are getting your butt kicked by the old guy !!!

It ain't bragging if you're doing it !

Congrats to Oliver -- Fuzzy ( another old guy )


----------



## odfrank

Fuzzy said:


> Charlie,That's beginning to sound like sour grapes on your part. It's time to admit that you are getting your butt kicked by the old guy !!!Congrats to Oliver -- Fuzzy ( another old guy )


Charlies has admitted that he is only a few years younger than me. You can say sour grapes again, twice. 

Here is swarm from yesterday, post 208. I think that box has caught three this year and I reset it today. The bee had drawn a wild comb in about 16 hours in the bottom gap due to frames shorter than the box. Lots of festooning down there.


----------



## Luv2beekeep

Caught two swarms today here in Idaho. Both were approximately 7 lbs each. they were huge, had to use two deeps on each of them. It was great. My 10 year old daughter called me at work and said dad,these bees just flew over me and they sounded like your motorcycle, then they all landed in the pine tree by the chickens. She was so excitedshe could hardly talk. Needless to say I headed straight for home. Got them gathered up. Just finishing up with that swarm and a neighbor called and said I have a huge swarm of bees that just landed in my tree. Loaded up the equipment and the daughter and headed for the neighbors. Got them gathered up and put away. Man what a great day. I haven't seen my daughter that excited in a long time. She said, Dad, I am going to be a swarm catcher when I grow up. I said, I think you already are. It was AWESOME baby with a capital A.


----------



## enchplant

Okay this is nothing compared with Odfrank, but I have caught 6 swarms in in the 12 bait hives I have put out here in Contra Costa. Next year I will make sure I put the full compliment of empty frames or foundation in each box. I was being cheap- Cheap seems to be a theme here! Anyhow it is no fun having to do cut outs when you bring home a lovely hive packed with honey and brood.


----------



## odfrank

enchplant said:


> Next year I will make sure I put the full compliment of empty frames or foundation in each box.Cheap seems to be a theme here!
> 
> >Next year I will make sure I put the full compliment of empty frames or foundation in each box.
> Those are words to live by for Langstroth beekeepers.
> >Cheap seems to be a theme here!
> If Charlie is the theme, yep, it's cheap.


----------



## odfrank

Today's catches, #'s 36 & 37: A small one in a winter deadout just left on the stand. Another catch by BeeWhisperer Bob in San Jose. That spot on the deck has caught four this year, and three in the last few days.


----------



## odfrank

*Re: Why is the odfrank challenge closed?*

I am having good luck with new wine boxes in which I have melted about a 3" diameter circle of propolis and LGO on the inside near the entrance. Yesterday when I did a transfer from the trap to a box, I saw a bee standing on that circle sniffing around. I also saw a bee checking out the stored empty traps. I put a ball of propolis on the inside with the side sitting level, heat it up with my heat gun, blow it around and as it melts drip a few drops of LGO into the molten slurry.
I name this the "Ollie Splotch".


----------



## odfrank

*Re: Why is the odfrank challenge closed?*

I moved the catch in post #206 three miles at dusk, almost dark. As I left the site I saw a few stragglers returning. The frames were full of honey. The host reports about 50 returning bees the next day. They either were flying in the dark, camped out or flew the 3 miles back the next day.


----------



## Charlie B

*Re: Why is the odfrank challenge closed?*



odfrank said:


> I name this the "Ollie Splotch".


I think "Ollie Oil" is a better name. What's everyone else think?


----------



## odfrank

*Re: Why is the odfrank challenge closed?*



Charlie B said:


> I think "Ollie Oil" is a better name. What's everyone else think?



Charlie, if you figure out the formulation to make it pour like an oil, we can bottle and market it and I will cut you in on 10% on the profits.


----------



## Fuzzy

*Re: Why is the odfrank challenge closed?*

Odfrank,

Since I know the ingredients and can make a pourable solution, what do I need you for ? And it won't be called "ollie oil".

Fuzzy


----------



## odfrank

*Re: Why is the odfrank challenge closed?*

You don't. I have once again given away one of my fabulous inventions for free. When will I ever learn? 
Fuzzy's Bee Lure Juice?
Fuzzy's Fabulous Queen Lure?


----------



## 2Tall

*Re: Why is the odfrank challenge closed?*

While I am new at swarm trapping after reading though this thread some, put a couple of boxes up a both caught a swarm in about 3 weeks .Thanks for the information and odfrank thanks again for the bee bee trees all are doing well.


----------



## Charlie B

*Re: Why is the odfrank challenge closed?*

The older you two get, the less creativity you have. Let a youngster help you out.

*Fuzzy's Bee Fudge and Ollie Oil! *

I'll e-mail you both my bill.


----------



## Charlie B

*Re: Why is the odfrank challenge closed?*



odfrank said:


> You don't. I have once again given away one of my fabulous inventions for free.


Sounds like Al Gore


----------



## Charlie B

*Re: Why is the odfrank challenge closed?*



2Tall said:


> .Thanks for the information and odfrank thanks again for the bee bee trees all are doing well.


Just be thankful his Bee Bee Tree seedlings are larger than his swarms!


----------



## odfrank

Charlie's been quick to insult my swarm traps made of T-111 paneling, but I can't complain about one 3/4 full with catch #41. The trick is not only handsome traps that match the hosts house, but proper Fung Shei considerations in placing the trap on top of a granite column. This is the fifth this year on my street.


----------



## Charlie B

Got two more today. Up to six good swarms, one small queenless one. Is anyone getting really small fist size swarms with no queen?


----------



## odfrank

Charlie B said:


> Got two more today. Up to six good swarms, one small queenless one. Is anyone getting really small fist size swarms with no queen?


No, ALL of mine have filled the box wall to wall and came with a plump laying queen. Clearly you are doing something real wrong.


----------



## Luterra

Since nobody can best Ollie and his 50 traps, how about we redefine the rules a bit. Divide the number of swarms you have caught by the number of traps you have out. Numbers greater than 1 are possible if you re-set traps after catching swarms. 

It's my first year trapping swarms and I am so far 2 for 8, or 0.25, with prime swarm season probably about half over here in Oregon.


----------



## odfrank

Luterra said:


> how about we redefine the rules a bit


So now you and Charlie feel so threatened that you are going to change the rules mid-season?...HA! Anybody with a few saws or $$ can have more traps than me. 
My biggest secret is having 80% die off every winter so that I have a lot of black combs for bait. Beat that Record, punk. 

Charlie quivers every time I post this picture.


----------



## Charlie B

I caught most of my swarms in June and July last year when the newbee packages get crowded so I'm still holding out for more. If we go changing the rules now we'd never hear the end of it from Ollie. I think he ought to package his "Ollie Oil" and give it to his dear Beesource friends as a mentoring gesture of good will.


----------



## TomHudson

I have a deep hive box (half the frames removed to make extra room) with shallow super (full of wax foundation frames) set up about 15 feet off the ground, with a Mann Lake swarm lure in it. Yesterday I noticed bees checking it out (and I have not seen ONE honeybee here all spring before this -- the only bees visiting my fruit trees have been bumblebees and other small native pollinators)

At one point yesterday I was certain they had moved in because there was massive activity coming and going (nobody was carrying pollen though) and the hum coming from the thing was awesome.

But this morning there were only a few bees on the box, coming and going kind of lackadaisical -- nothing like I would expect from a full hive.

But I just went up there a while ago and there are still bees checking it out. Are these just stragglers from yesterday, or might the swarm still have scouts out there looking?

Seriously, at one point there were so many bees buzzing around I was sure that (1) they had moved in or (2) they were building up critical mass for the swarm to move in. Disappointing that it was so quiet this morning. 

My goal is to catch any feral swarms to prevent them from moving into someone's house and getting exterminated. Wish me luck.


----------



## KQ6AR

Hi,
If any of the deep frames are drawn with remnants of honey on them it could look like a swarm moved in. 
I'd put all ten of the frames in the deep, even a large swarm would be happy with that amount of space. If one moves in you'll want to leave them alone a week or two, in that amount of time they could make a mess of comb in the empty space.


----------



## BayHighlandBees

not a lot of posts here recently. Either you've all slowed down some or are too busy catching swarms to post!


----------



## odfrank

Nothing since last 5/12 other than a call 5/18 from San Carlos that had been there for three days.


----------



## Charlie B

Nothing but little fist size swarms with no queen. I combined three of them yesterday with bigger hives. I talked to Ollie and we think they smell the LGO and think there's a queen in the box and move it. Weird. (I'm not counting these like Ollie does).


----------



## odfrank

Charlie B;799999) Weird. (I'm not counting these like Ollie does).[/QUOTE said:


> I'm counting them triple, how do you think I got up to 41 so fast? I have named them "Zombie Swarms", I do not know quite why. At first they appear to be overnighting scouts. They develop laying workers very quickly or maybe come with them. I also had one with a virgin but only about 25 workers. I have added brood and workers to it, and if it takes, it goes on my tally.


----------



## KQ6AR

Swarms have slowed over here the last couple weeks also.


----------



## BayHighlandBees

Ollie, every time I see that pic of all your traps stacked up like that, I think of 'Angry Birds'


----------



## DRAKOS

Total account
11 swarms captured in swarm traps, in 22 traps I have put.
The first was captured in 15-4-2012 and the last in 16-5-2012.
The 6 were captured in 3 positions after I removed the first swarm and put the trap again in the same place.
I have made the traps with your informations. 
Thank you guys.


----------



## Charlie B

Nice work Drakos!


----------



## odfrank

*Re: Why is the odfrank challenge closed?*

Does size matter?

Bait #43 had a choice between a five frame Langstroth deep nuc or a Jumbo depth eight frame box and filled the five framer wall to wall. Charlie will say it was the ugly green color they rejected.


----------



## Charlie B

*Re: Why is the odfrank challenge closed?*

Yep! The jumbo looks like an old Army 50 cal. ammo box, hardly the look girls are going for these days.


----------



## KQ6AR

*Re: Why is the odfrank challenge closed?*

That depends on what girls you're going out with.


----------



## Adam Foster Collins

*Re: Why is the odfrank challenge closed?*

I've got 10 traps, and swarming is just beginning here. I'm channeling Odfrank this season. He's my hero in this department. 43?!?! Or is it more now? There should be a Wikipedia entry on you for this stuff.

Adam


----------



## Charlie B

*Re: Why is the odfrank challenge closed?*



Adam Foster Collins said:


> I've got 10 traps, and swarming is just beginning here. I'm channeling Odfrank this season. He's my hero in this department. 43?!?! Or is it more now? There should be a Wikipedia entry on you for this stuff. Adam


Please don't encourage him, we'll never hear the end of it.


----------



## Adam Foster Collins

*Re: Why is the odfrank challenge closed?*

We're never going to hear the end of it anyway. And in truth, can any of us really forget? I mean, come ON! Anyone who gets into swarm trapping and has spent any time on this forum got to have a moment or two thinking, "Odfrank got 40-something, I've got to be able to catch at least ONE!"

At least that's what I'm thinking...

Adam


----------



## BayHighlandBees

*Re: Why is the odfrank challenge closed?*

thats what I'm thinking too. At least you've got the added comfort that you live 5 timezones away whereas I'm only a mile away from Ollie!


----------



## odfrank

*Re: Why is the odfrank challenge closed?*



Charlie B said:


> Please don't encourage him, we'll never hear the end of it.


Charlie, you started this thread, so just sit there and squirm.

I am up to 44 baits caught, five of which were either a "Phantom" bait swarm or a "zombie" bait swarm, or and "Occupier" swarm. A Phantom swarm looks good at move in but turns out later to be queenless, I had two of them. A Zombie swarm is a tiny cluster that usually come in pairs into boxes laced with LGO and placed to close together. This happens on my pile of baits in storage. These fist sized swarms think they have a queen but only have the LGO. They develop laying workers. I had two of those. An Occupier swarm is a bunch of scouts that keep spending the night, never bring in a swarm, and never leave until they all die six weeks later. I have one box I suspect is a Zombie swarm, it has a good looking patch of brood, but I never find a queen and see a few cells with two eggs. I have had several that immediately develop EFB, some are responding to medication. I have caught a few swarms, got paid $350 for a easy cutout, and today go a messy cutout in a box and bucket as a gift. The bait at my house has scouts, and a warmup is coming. I am up about 50 colonies without buying a queen or package. I have had several romantic evenings driving around picking up my catches. Life is good.


----------



## odfrank

*Re: Why is the odfrank challenge closed?*



BayHighlandBees said:


> thats what I'm thinking too. At least you've got the added comfort that you live 5 timezones away whereas I'm only a mile away from Ollie!


That is the pits, Andrew. Your realtor should have disclosed that. I have caught five on my street with possibly another on the way. I did catch one .7 miles away from Charlie's Saratoga site, but his San Francisco bees elude me. My big mistake was letting him trick me into giving a talk on swarm control at his bee club. I got him back by tricking him into selling me brand new covers and QE's at pennies on the dollar. Those wimps converting from 10 down to 8 frames are suckers.


----------



## bhfury

*Re: Why is the odfrank challenge closed?*

4 total


----------



## Rader Sidetrack

*Re: Why is the odfrank challenge closed?*

If it wasn't for the earlier thread(s) with _ODFrank_ and _Charlie B_'s _*witty repartee *_:gh: about swarm trapping, its likely I would not have been motivated to build some traps. With 5 traps around mine and neighboring properties, I have caught only one swarm, but I am very pleased with those results. As a new beek, I increased my apiary by a whopping 50%, and did it for free!


----------



## Charlie B

*Re: Why is the odfrank challenge closed?*



odfrank said:


> I have had several romantic evenings driving around picking up my catches. Life is good.


Ok, that's a little creepy. See what you did Adam?


----------



## Charlie B

*Re: Why is the odfrank challenge closed?*



odfrank said:


> Those wimps converting from 10 down to 8 frames are suckers.


Now this is what a hive should look like. Beautiful *8 frame boxes* painted to match the color of the building it rests on. (Urban camouflage). Note the boxes are all glued and screwed with ceramic outdoor screws. It also looks like my girls have no interest at all in Jollie Ollie's vintage WWII Howitzer artillery crates.


----------



## BayHighlandBees

*Re: Why is the odfrank challenge closed?*

It's funny. I've got all kinds of non-honey bees that are visiting my yard, just not a lot of honey bees. Today I noticed at least 3 different kinds of bumblebees in my wife's foxglove. Theres also a bigger solid black bee as well (and I have no idea what type of bee that is). Then I've got a ton of sweat bees pollinating as well (and I didn't really know they even did that). I get a little traffic from my own bees, but my girls are totally hanging out in the open field behind the houses across the street. That must be where all the honey bees in my neighborhood are hanging out. I've seen normal bumbles in my yard in the past, but I'm really surprised to see all the alternate pollinators.


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## BayHighlandBees

*Re: Why is the odfrank challenge closed?*

has anyone else noticed that the plastic frames that mann lake sells has that 'bee smell' to them? It's the same the smell the bees make when they are buzzing around you. I was assembling some of those frames in my back yard and there were a number of bees checking me out while I was doing it so I'm going to switch the dadant frames in my trap with some of these and see if it helps bring in some traffic.


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## KQ6AR

*Re: Why is the odfrank challenge closed?*

The large all black bee is probably a carpenter bee, they burrow holes in old wood to lay eggs.
That lovely bee smell on the new frames is wax.


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## odfrank

*Re: Why is the odfrank challenge closed?*

[QUOTE=BayHighlandBees;806215 That must be where all the honey bees in my neighborhood are hanging out. 

Your bees are hanging out in my swarm traps. I had to add a few supers yesterday. The California Cherry is in bloom, you can see all the light yellow blossum on the left as you drive up Tichonderoga, the toyon will pop soon.


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## Cheech

Hi guys, i'v caught 8 so far out of 11 5-frame nuks. just made up 6 15-frame TB nuks and put them out a week now.
here's a pic of one of the TB nuks i made (these were inspired by you Tomas)
I have cut enough plywood to make 24 of these and hope to get them made and out within the next week
reason for making larger traps is because I have lost 2 known large swarms because the 5-framers are just too small.


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## Charlie B

*Tomas in Honduras*, where are you? Give us your count. Ollie's eating our lunch!!!


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## odfrank

Charlie B said:


> Ollie's eating our lunch!!!


I had a homemade salmon taco for lunch and then I went out and found catch #46 in Hillsborough in a jumbo depth four frame box, not a big swarm but satisfactory. I have caught two swarms at that site this year but had three colonies swarm, so I am negative there for now. I am very proud of catch # 2 at my house on 3/21. It is drawing out it's third section shallow box with ten frames of foundation. I think catch # 45 yesterday in Belmont was also out of one of my own hives. Can't say we are having a great flow this year with all this cool weather, but it is stirring up some later swarms.


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## BayHighlandBees

odfrank said:


> I think catch # 45 yesterday in Belmont was also out of one of my own hives.


Ollie, do you have hives in Belmont or did your bees travel?


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## odfrank

BayHighlandBees said:


> Ollie, do you have hives in Belmont or did your bees travel?


I have five hives below Carlmont Shopping Center. Five now that I caught a new swarm. It has been swarming madness there this year because at least one colony I brought there already swarmed three times last year and two times this year. When you build an apiary with caught swarms you have to expect that those bees might have excessive swarming tendencies. I did not use any queen excluders this year, kept well ahead with empty supers, and still had a lot of swarming. I was drawing out new foundation which seems to act like a honey excluder.


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## CSMint

Caught my first and second swarm. Noticed them on 5/28. Two swarm traps filled up on the same weekend, only 30 yards apart. Can't complain...I'm only working with 6 traps and only needed to fill two hives.


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## Solomon Parker

Ten swarm traps all over the county and not a thing. I think our record breaking year last year was too much for the feral bees and many of the kept bees as well. I'm going to haul them in and cut my losses.


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## Buzzsaw2012

Well I'm a little behind the rest of you !
I'm a new bee keeper and decided to put out 2 nuc size traps just to see.

well , i got what i believe to be a very nice swarm .
I even managed to transfer it to my mighty bee yard {now 3 hives strong }
So we shall see, but they seem to like building comb fast as can be and I would guess there is 3-4 lbs of bees so it should build fast from what i am seeing.
I am definitely hooked.

Lee


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## rwurster

Caught swarm #10 a few days ago.


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## BayHighlandBees

I talked to ollie yesterday. He's still plateau'd at 46. I think its because he's too busy monitoring his traps around the corner from my house waiting for my bees and my bees aren't budging!


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## Charlie B

Here's how I choose to look at this competition. I started this thread because Jollie Ollie aka: Ollie "The Bull" Frank was bragging about luring other beekeepers bees when they swarmed. So far Ollie has captured 46 swarms. He may have captured the most swarms numerically but none of these were from any Bay Area beekeepers hives (on this thread anyway) so you can make the argument that we all actually won. He wasn't successful at attracting any of our sweet girls to his T-111 olive drab bomb crates with his little pink spinning wheels. 

*Victory is ours! *


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## odfrank

I feel sorry for Charlie's wife, she is a nice gal. It must be miserable living with his drinking problem when he says up until 12:51AM at night commiserating to himself about how jealous he is over my swarm trapping success's.
1. I did not brag, I keep swarm trapping under covers as to minimize competition. I have however  been overly generous giving my advice to all on this board. I even gave 
BayHighlands some old comb as lure.
2. I have not targeted any specific beekeepers hives, I had been trapping 1 mile from Charlies's site before he became a beekeeper, I have not caught a swarm there in four years. I have been trapping swarms at my house near BayHighlandsBees since before he was born. I certainly do do enjoy taunting him (and Charlie) about trapping his bees next year.
3. I have caught numerous quiet, gentle swarms this year which I assume are out of someone's last year package. More feral bees are better.
4. I have filled most of my green, grey, brown, silver, other boxes and just yesterday painted those amateurly constructed inner covers that Charlie sold me the same green color . 
5. None of the wheels are pink.
6. The swarm season is not over, nor should bee the competition. I caught a supercedure swarm on 9/17 last year.

Charlie, i advise that you frequent one of those medical Marijuana Dispensaries near your house rather than the liquor stores. You might be less delusional. 

Your design of this elevated staple on inner covers to create a permanent ventilation gap is ingenious however. It must have been the Jack Daniels speaking to you. The Formica faux marble board is a nice touch also. I guess you find all those leftover construction materials on the sidewalk as you stumble around your neighbor hood in the fog late at night.


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## KQ6AR

With you're track record, you have a right to brag. I've been reading about you're swarm trapping success a few years now.
Sorry Charley!


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## Charlie B

Ok, ok I'll admit he's Mr. Magnificent. Look at him, you just can't help loving this guy!









I think the faux marble inner cover goes well with the olive drab!


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## NasalSponge

I guess my measly 9 don't stand a chance but I have run out of room and gear, put in a big order today for more just to get everything I have now into two deeps. I have received at least 40 calls so far, many of them in the last week. There are either many hidden beekeepers around the City or the ferals are making a comeback either way I am happy about it.


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## odfrank

NasalSponge said:


> There are either many hidden beekeepers around the City or the ferals are making a comeback either way I am happy about it


Those 12 million new hobby beekeepers are now a swarm trappers best friend. They pay for the $75 dollar package, babysit the colony while it supercedes it's queen replacing it with a much better locally mated queen, feed it through the winter, and then overfeed it in spring sending a lovely swarm into our traps. Thank you bay area bee clubs for importing about 1000 new colonies into our neighborhoods.


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## bevy's honeybees

I'm still at the 4 I got in March. I have 2 boxes set out and nothing since then. I'm very pleased with the ones I got--3 are now in deeps with 2 having medium supers. One, the tiny swarm that got infested with shb and I had to pull 2 frames, is still struggling and in a 5 frame box. 

Fla state discourages swarm catches which I don't quite understand. The bees are going to swarm, to where? Trees and people's eaves or cinder block walls etc, and the cost of destruction and removal if they can afford it, vs swarm boxes and requeen if necessary by beekeepers. Hmmm. 

Between reading Odfrank and Michael B, and others of course, Charlie, thanks for all the great teaching and fun! My new bees and I are happy! One of my neighbors did not get her yearly swarm in the wall ($$$) gee I wonder why?


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## BayHighlandBees

Charlie,
we had a newbie beekeeper in our guild announce today that their hive had just swarmed. That can only mean one thing ...

... that OD has gotten one step closer to #50!


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## Charlie B

I really don't know how Ollie sleeps at night, (He'll tell you "like a baby"). Most of his swarm catches have young newly mated marked hygienic queens that some poor beginner paid their hard earned cash for. 

At our club meeting tonight many of our beginners said their new packages have swarmed already. I know Ollie has traps in SF so I warned all our members about him.

Ollie sleeps with this picture under his pillow every night. Is nothing sacred to this man?


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## odfrank

BayHighlandBees said:


> we had a newbie beekeeper in our guild announce today that their hive had just swarmed.


Even funnier was that he was going to check if the hive was now empty. I caught two baits and one swarm yesterday after weeks of nothing. What was it? Full moon? It wasn't even hot. Wednesday the 13th? not Friday the 13th. I don't get it. What caused a lot of swarming yesterday? Both baits came into traps that had been set out for three months already and almost ignored up till now. 
Subtracting queenless catches from the approximately 52+ I have caught, my tally of good catches floats around 47 now. Still three months to go.


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## minz

I got two just buzzing! Went from splitting into my spare gear to none left (maybe I could have just got rid of it and they would come). 
Question: I pulled my trap a couple of weeks ago and it was empty?? Put it back up and it is singing again. Now I found another one that is also humming but the bees coming in and out have pollen. Should I pull them both since it is a night time run? Can I scare them away by pulling them? 
I have one drawn and I think one wax coated plastic, 3 empty frames. How long can I leave them be before they really make a mess?
Sorry if you guys already covered this but I have to take off so do not have time to read all 14 pages.


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## odfrank

With great humility and hubris I hereby announce that I was unable to lure any of Charlie's San Francisco swarms into my bait hives. My site in San Francisco one mile from his rooftop apiary has failed for the fourth year in a row to lure in a swarm. On several days scouts inspected the traps, but no swarms were enticed. The man is truly a master of swarm control. I was however, able to catch several wax moths and their larvae, so not all was lost. Two of my three San Francisco traps are back in San Mateo, twenty miles away from his hives, his sleepless nights are over.


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## Charlie B

odfrank said:


> With great humility and hubris I hereby announce that I was unable to lure any of Charlie's San Francisco swarms into my bait hives. My site in San Francisco one mile from his rooftop apiary has failed for the fourth year in a row to lure in a swarm., his sleepless nights are over.


It pays to check for swarm cells and to keep your brood nest open! 








I learned that in a class taught by a guy named Oliver Frank.


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## BayHighlandBees

odfrank said:


> Two of my three San Francisco traps are back in San Mateo, twenty miles away from his hives, his sleepless nights are over.


What Ollie failed to disclosed is where he moved his remaining trap too. Charlie I wouldn't let your guard down just yet!


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## Charlie B

BayHighlandBees said:


> What Ollie failed to disclosed is where he moved his remaining trap too. Charlie I wouldn't let your guard down just yet!


Oh I know BHB, I don't trust him. Just look who he hangs out with!


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## minz

I got 2! Yeah finally in the game with the big boys! My boss put the hive on the top of the building so I put traps around the area (just like Ollie). He said that he had never heard of trapping and gave me a uppity snort, now he has taken one of my traps he put next to his hive and wants to know where I get the LGO. 
Question, do you have a stash of brood comb? About this time all my brood comb is in use and I am looking for more. I want to reset the traps but weighing the best need. Flow is on strong here.


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## odfrank

minz said:


> Question, do you have a stash of brood comb? .


My secret is to make sure that 80% of my hives die each winter and then I have lots of brood comb for trapping.


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## KQ6AR

I have our hives build a 3rd deep of new comb every spring so I can steal the bottom deep.


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## Charlie B

That's a good idea Dan.


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## BayHighlandBees

thread has gone silent. Does anyone have any updates?


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## Charlie B

Swarms have slowed down dramatically here in SF. Still only 8 so far. Haven't talked to Ollie in several days but I think he's still trapping. I'm sure he's over 50 by now. I've been busy extracting. Quite the flow going on right now.


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## odfrank

This was my last one. Nobody liked my video because I was so giddy with excitement. My life is pretty boring so this was the biggest thing in months for me. I will work on my list because I have been deleting the queenless ones, which run about 10%. I have once again run out of honey supers and should do some extracting. 

http://www.beesource.com/forums/showthread.php?271711-The-Master-Out-Does-Himself-pics-and-video


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## Charlie B

As Dan mentioned previously in that post, you are the one and only true masterbaiter!


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## BayHighlandBees

running out of honey supers is a good problem to have!


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## minz

Went on vacation (Oregon to Wisconsin) and got swarm calls #2 and #3 for the year. Seems the swarms know when I am on vacation. Weather stopped raining here in Portland and the flow of blackberries is on. I pulled my swarm traps to get frames, stopping on the way home to get more foundation for my supers.


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## KQ6AR

Our CA privet flow has been disappointing this year. Nectar is coming slow. 
Wish I had you're problem.


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## odfrank

KQ6AR said:


> Our CA privet flow has been disappointing this year. Nectar is coming slow.
> Wish I had you're problem.


It is just starting here with the toyon. Hopefully something will come of it all. I saw both blooming for weeks last year.


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## Charlie B

Probably that nasty San Mateo ragweed your picking up.


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## odfrank

Since Charlie's inferiority complex has already has already driven him to starting another challenge and it is unlikely there will be any more swarms in my hood, here is my not totally accurate list of catches this year. S at the beginning means swarm caught. The numbered list is bait swarms caught. Fail means they were caught but did not take. Some were totally deleted from the list, I would think the baits caught number about 60 with at least a 10% failure rate. I am surprised how many fails there are, you would think that a swarm is a swarm. CO is cutout.

S 3/20/12 El Cerrito swarm
S CannLake 3/29/12
S CannLake4/3/12afteroak
S cedar tree 6/13
CO Castro RC 5/30
Mary's tree 4/7/12
Wisteria vac swarm 6/8 DOA
1 B 3/8/12. 1928 doa bait stand
2 B 3/21/12 1928 #2 stand
3 B Anderson TC 3/28/12 stand
4 B Mary 3/28/12 stand
5 B Claude 3/20 stand FAIL
6 B Huggins 4/3?/12
7 B Leigh tiny 4/3/12
8 B Red trailer winebox 4/7/12
9 B Dan 4/3?/12
10 B Mark winebox 4/7/12EFB
11 1928 #3
12, 13 BB Bob 2 4/8/12
13 B Greg 4/8?/12
14 B Ken 4/14/12
15 B Ken II, 4/18/12
16 B Mark II, 4/18/12
17 B Greene 4/20/12
18 B Tony 4/-20/12
19 B 101 4/-20/12
20 B Jason 04/21/12
21 B Baez 4/-23/12
22 B Runnymede 4/-23/12
23 B Bart 3/26?/12
24 B bedroom 4/27/12
25 B Dirks 4/27?/12
26 B Hutchinson 04/?/12 EFB
BB 2 dinks yard FAIL 
27 B BoB 5/2/12
28 B Faye 4/25?/12 fail
29 B Ken Saratoga
30 B Bob 5/6/12
31 B Saffo 5/4/12
32 Winterborne 5/7/12
33 B Arcadia brood chmbr 5/8/12
34 B Bob 5/9/12
35 B Lydia 5/12
36 B Donald 5/9/12 WB fail
37 B yard table 5/10/12
38 B Roger 5/12/12 QLESS fail
S 27th Ave. 5/12/12
B Belmont Virgin 5/17 fail
39 B Anderson TC stand 5/22/12
40 B 5/+6/12 cabin
CO 5/25 Lydia Ct
41 watershed on stand -5/30
42 Belmont 6/2/12
43 101 Jumbo end of May
45 Bruce 6/10
45 Jennie 6/11/12
46 Glenn 6/13 fail
49 B yard follwr brd 7/1/12
50, 51 watershed date unknwn


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## shannonswyatt

It seems to me that I've found the cause of CCD. The bees are not just flying away, odfrank is trapping them!


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## KQ6AR

Of the 9 swarms I caught around my neighborhood, Zero where trapped in my 4 bait hives around the neighborhood.
I admit my loss, maybe next year.


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## Charlie B

Dan,

I just obtained a bee yard in San Mateo so next spring we can use it as a base of operations to assault the odfrank compound!


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## Fuzzy

"I just obtained a bee yard in San Mateo so next spring we can use it as a base of operations to assault the odfrank compound! "

Really bright there Charlie. You want to move right next to where Od loses 50% of his hives every year ! So now you can inherit a good deal of his inferior, disease prone, overwintering failures. 

I like your logic -- NOT

Fuzzy


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## minz

Odfrank, what is the # of traps you have out. I know I am small time but I am attempting to determine how successful I was with my limited drawn comb. I went 3 for 5, one of mine did not stay. I gave a box to a guy here at work so I suppose I could say 2 for 6 actually taken home. I have the maps out and trying to determine the best spacing. Any advice? I have been seeing bird nesting boxes all over along the slough and starting to think I can hang mine in the same area without anybody bothering them (I was really concerned last year).


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## Charlie B

Fuzzy said:


> "I just obtained a bee yard in San Mateo so next spring we can use it as a base of operations to assault the odfrank compound! "
> 
> Really bright there Charlie. You want to move right next to where Od loses 50% of his hives every year ! So now you can inherit a good deal of his inferior, disease prone, overwintering failures.
> 
> I like your logic -- NOT
> 
> Fuzzy


Ouch!


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## odfrank

Charlie B said:


> Dan,I just obtained a bee yard in San Mateo so next spring we can use it as a base of operations to assault the odfrank compound!


Charlie, in this day and age of terrorist threats being treated with major concern by police and FBI I caution you not mess with me. We have it here in writing with numerous witnesses.


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## odfrank

Fuzzy said:


> Really bright there Charlie. You want to move right next to where Od loses 50% of his hives every year ! So now you can inherit a good deal of his inferior, disease prone, overwintering failures. I like your logic -- NOTFuzzy


My ten of ten loss in winter 2010-2011 was in Monte Sereno comprised of swarms all caught in San Jose. I would warn Charlie to stay out of your neighborhood for fear of catching whatever you guys have down there.

This year several swarms from near Woodside Road, 94027 and 94026 and 94063 immediately came down with EFB. I don't think we are safe anywhere on the peninsula. Charlie and other newbees with their sterile brand new equipment in their first two years will likely learn a tough lesson as time goes on.


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## odfrank

minz said:


> Odfrank, what is the # of traps you have out.


 I probably put out 50 traps and some catch a second swarm. My percent of success was lower this year but in the past probably 90%. I brought home about 7 empty traps and two were hit by wax moths. Some of my traps are just my dead outs left on their stands or placed at other sites with some LGO. One of the last ones caught in a empty box with only a follower board and no lid is going gang busters. The local bee clubs every year import several hundred packages to my trapping zone, gotta love those newbees. Their $75 package with hybrid queen last year is my FREEBEES this year. YAHOOOO!
That is one reason my losses are high. I am treatment free and the big supplier Olivarez says "if you don't treat my bees they will die". By the time I catch them the queen is two years old and worn out.


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## KQ6AR

I could donate a truck load of NUC boxes to the cause, the only way we can beat Oliver is if we all team up on him. 



Charlie B said:


> Dan,
> 
> I just obtained a bee yard in San Mateo so next spring we can use it as a base of operations to assault the odfrank compound!


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## shannonswyatt

Not a bad idea. Send 'em to me. I'll put them out! <grin>


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## Charlie B

KQ6AR said:


> I could donate a truck load of NUC boxes to the cause, the only way we can beat Oliver is if we all team up on him.


Exactly. I'm planning a strategy meeting inviting all Bay Area Beesource members. We'll also take a clandestine "walk through" of Olly's beeyards. That way, everyone can claim their swarm trap space for next spring.


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## Johnny Crabbcracker

*trap line question*



odfrank said:


> I probably put out 50 traps and some catch a second swarm. My percent of success was lower this year but in the past probably 90%. I brought home about 7 empty traps and two were hit by wax moths. Some of my traps are just my dead outs left on their stands or placed at other sites with some LGO. One of the last ones caught in a empty box with only a follower board and no lid is going gang busters. The local bee clubs every year import several hundred packages to my trapping zone, gotta love those newbees. Their $75 package with hybrid queen last year is my FREEBEES this year. YAHOOOO!
> That is one reason my losses are high. I am treatment free and the big supplier Olivarez says "if you don't treat my bees they will die". By the time I catch them the queen is two years old and worn out.


I see you put out 50 traps. I have a few newbee trapper questions for frank or anybody else who would know the answer or be kind enough to give me some advice. I'm thinking about trapping along the river where i have been getting multiple swarm calls. This is a secluded area and has like 5 parking areas in 2 miles. I was going to put 3 traps - 50yds apart in each parking area long the river. . Assuming its a good spot, should i put 1,2 or 3 in each spot. Also can i put 15 traps in a 2 mile area along the river or would i be wasting traps? Also, can i freeze old comb right now and it still be affective to use it in the traps in the spring? Thanks John


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## odfrank

*Re: trap line question*

Placing that many traps would only mean that if there were fewer swarms some might not get filled. They will only get filled if they are there so it can't hurt. I extract any honey out of the combs and store them on top of strong hives until I place them out. Disguise them well because there are a lot of guys like Charlie that will take them home as soon as they are filled.


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## Johnny Crabbcracker

*Re: trap line question*

So how many traps do you personally use per location Frank?


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## Luterra

*Re: trap line question*

The way swarm decision-making works is that they leave the hive and settle somewhere, usually in a tree, then send out scouts that try to locate within a 1-2 mile radius the best location to call home. If your trap is the best such location, they will come. Having additional identical traps in the same spot may improve your odds slightly of catching a swarm in that spot (or catching multiple swarms there) but your overall trap rate (# swarms/# traps) will likely be lower than if the traps were spaced around 1/2 mile apart in good habitat.


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## Johnny Crabbcracker

*Re: trap line question*

Thanks for the information folks!


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## odfrank

*Re: trap line question*

>So how many traps do you personally use per location Frank?

One or two, but one site has caught 10,13, 6 in the last three years, new ones rotated in as the two on site get filled.


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## shannonswyatt

*Re: trap line question*

I think odfrank should go on the lecture circuit on how to catch swarms with traps! 13 swarms in one location! That is crazy!


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## odfrank

*Re: trap line question*



shannonswyatt said:


> I think odfrank should go on the lecture circuit on how to catch swarms with traps! 13 swarms in one location! That is crazy!


i would be glad to speak anywhere I am wanted. I charge a reasonable fee but would of course need my travel and board paid for. In my hotel room I will require a fresh fruit bowl, fresh flowers, Dom Perion champagne and Perrier on ice, a goose down pillow and comforter. I will not reside above the 2nd floor and require an elevator. I will need to be picked up at the hotel and given a ride back. At the podium I request a bowl of chocolate and peanut butter ice cream to cool my throat as I speak, and the requisite bottle of Perrier water. Please have the club members welcome me at the airport and give me a grand sendoff as I return home. Contact me with your preferred dates, as my speaking schedule is getting crowded.


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## bevy's honeybees

*Re: trap line question*

Odfrank, though I am so grateful for all I've learned from you, you sound a bit high-maintenance so we will pass on having you come speak. 

I caught another swarm today. Starting Sunday there were bees in my garage checking a wax cardboard nuk I have, and I think it has some frames in it. broken comb, honey smell. So I put out a 4 frame in the back yard, and today a 10 frame deep. They chose the 4 frame and no more bees in the garage. 
That puts me at 5 for the season. I'm thrilled!


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## shannonswyatt

*Re: trap line question*

While your requests seem rather, um, reasonable, I'm sorry that we cannot accommodate a visit now due to the high number of members with peanut allergies. <grin>


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## Rader Sidetrack

*Re: trap line question*

_Mr. Oliver Frank'_s requests seem eminently reasonable for a star of his magnitude. Consider this list from Jennifer Lopez 



*The diva has landed: Jennifer Lopez's extraordinary list of hotel demands*





















Images linked from this article:
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/tvshowbi...-Lopezs-extraordinary-list-hotel-demands.html


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## odfrank

*Re: trap line question*



Rader Sidetrack said:


> _Mr. Oliver Frank'_s requests seem eminently reasonable for a star of his magnitude. Consider this list from Jennifer Lopez
> 
> Thank you Graham. This comparison clearly shows how down to earth and humble I am as a simple beekeeper and that my success as an uber master swarm baiter has not gone to my head. Hopefully I can maintain this level of humility and simplicity as my reputation soars.


----------

