# Beelineing...



## riverrat (Jun 3, 2006)

I wouldnt cut down the tree I would put up swarm traps hoping to get the bees that way


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## EKW (Feb 2, 2005)

I have a collection of old bee hunting boxes. Maybe I could take some pictures and send them to you, if you think that would help?


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## min79854 (May 22, 2008)

I agree...This in "our time" thinking....I guess in the old days, not too much thought was put into the waste of the tree, albeit, most likely pretty much rotten...could have been fire wood or something....not just left there.... Back to the bees........I need info..... I've sat near my hive and watched the bees coming in...which direction..etc...seen where they fly off, which direction...So, if I were to capture one of those bees...gone in the direction of their flight..as far as possible, then let that bee go...and watched it again..potentially I could continue in that direction until I would find their source of pollen or whatever....conversely; if I were at a stream or grove, and captured several bees(in the box), then let one go and tracked it's direction until I could not see it , then let another one go...and repeated the process, I could then locate the hive... Anyone with me on this....or am I way off base here with my understanding.......I still want to give it a try....and would appreciate some help here....Thanks, Min


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## min79854 (May 22, 2008)

I would love to see the box collection......POST PLEASE!!!! Thanks...M


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## iddee (Jun 21, 2005)

Jim will tell you all about bee-lining..........

http://www.bee-quick.com/500/index.html


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## MollySue'sHoney (Apr 10, 2008)

I, too, would love to see your collection. I still 'hunt' bees at times. I found a feral colony yesterday by tracking one on some flowers at my office. The box I use is made from an old cigar box. Works well, too.


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## min79854 (May 22, 2008)

Thanks Lawrence for your response. I'm hoping for some time off work to practice the skill.. I liked your idea of the cigar box.....I have seen pictures of a few beelineing boxes..and am anxious to see the ones mentioned above...


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## SL Tx (Sep 17, 2006)

I built a beelining box using 3/32" craft plywood, plastic picture frame "glass" and a wooden box (all for less than $10 from a craft store). Last summer I had captured a swarm in my neighborhood and I wanted to know where they came from (hopefully not someone's house). If you're beelining when nectar is sparse, you can get plenty of action, but I found that a saucer in a cigar box worked just about as well as my beelining box. I also learned that my patience was a little too thin for serious beelining. 

I then convinced my niece, a sixth grader, to do a "beelining" science project. She won first place! At first she tried marking foragers with bright acrylic paint (back to the craft store!) and timing their round trips. She had found equations for estimating distance to the hive on the internet, but that didn't prove to work. She had figured that she could see which way they were going...march off a calculated distance...and there they woud be. That didn't work, but she was fascinated by seeing marked bees coming back over and over again. (When she started marking bees the second day, things got screwed up by yesterday's marked bees coming back too.) She used four or five different colors with some bees marked on the abdomen and others marked on the thorax, so marked bees started going and coming faster than she could right down the time.

The real unknown in the equation is how long it takes for them to unload and start back. To eventually find the hive, she just watched their direction of travel and triangulated the location...370 yards through the neighborhood from her starting point to about 25' up in a hollow pecan tree. Her strategy was to watch the direction of traffic for a little while, then close the cigar box and moved that way about 75 - 100 yards (she would lay in the grass to silouette the bees against the sky). Her project display included a Google Earth map with arrows pointing from her observation stations in the direction of travel...and to the hive. She had photos her mom made of her marking bees and marked bees on the saucer taking syrup/honey mixture. She was fascinated at how quickly the number of bees coming to her lure would grow as the foragers "spread the word".

I talked her into presenting her project at our local beekeepers meeting and she did a good job. She answered a number of questions about her work with the bees, but when asked if she wanted to be a beekeeper, her thoughtful reply was “No.” (She has lots of time to change her mind.)

It was kinda fun and good to know that the feral colony was safely living in a hollow tree. The second place winner (and my favorite) was entitled "Why Dead Fish Float".


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## EKW (Feb 2, 2005)

I'll take some pictures and se if I can post them- not sure how to do that though, so it may take me some time to figure it out.

Couple of books you might look for-

an older volume by George Edgell called "The Bee Hunter"

and a more recent publication by Robert Donovan called "Hunting Wild Bees". Donovan's book shows how to make a box out of a cardboard milk carton.


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## Dr.Wax (Apr 30, 2008)

Fascinating. I never knew such a thing as "beelining" existed.

Always learning something new here at the good ole beesource forums!


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## min79854 (May 22, 2008)

Great input folks!!!! Keep it coming....This is a very interesting topic....and still; awaiting the pictures.....I too am trying to work on getting some pictures on here....I have an old extractor I'm wanting to work on(see Equipment forum)....took some pictures of it, and currently working on getting them on here...stay tuned......Thanks again.....Min


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## Jim Fischer (Jan 5, 2001)

If you want a Bee-Lining box that actually works, my dad makes
and sells them. 

Bee-Lining is a great sport. Much better than golf.


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## Troy (Feb 9, 2006)

I bought one of Jim's Bee lining boxes and between it and some homemade bait stations that I made I have big fun with this.

I enjoy the challenge of the hunt. I usually end of finding them in the side of someone's house (who is usually aware of it, but sometimes does not know either.) Last one I found was 30 feet up in a dead tree. 

I use google earth to set waypoints and directions from my bee box and bait stations. I can usually triangulate tier position within 100 feet when my bait stations are still 1/4 mile away.

I have a book that I read by Winchester Press that is just fantastic. Here is the info on it......

I looked it up on Amazon as I could not remember the author's name. Here is the data from Amazon:

Hunting Wild Bees (Hardcover)
by Robert E. Donovan

# Hardcover: 184 pages
# Publisher: Winchester Pr (August 1984)
# Language: English
# ISBN: 0876913109

It's out of print, but 3 copies were available (when I last looked) they were used and starting at $10 (no I'm not selling mine). It is very well written and I highly recommend it.

Good luck - it is fun hunting for them, and it is more challenging than bird watching. Bee Finding, it's your new sport.


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## min79854 (May 22, 2008)

Hey Thanks for the info....This has turned out to be a very informative thread.. Min


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## livetrappingbymatt (Jan 13, 2006)

A nice lady gave me the bee lineing box her dad made.She is 91 .
bob


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## moonlightbeekeeper (Jul 4, 2007)

*beelining*

i think that it is wise to learn the old methods for finding the feral colonies so that you know where to catch swarms!! If you are planing to try to get the bees from the tree, you need to realize that you stand a better chance of killing the queen than not. imho it is not about you or your need for bees as it is for humanity to leave as many feral colonies to develop immunities and natural defenses to the parasites and diseases that we gave or they got. they will produce more swarms than you will be able to use and the ones that you dont catch will repopulate the area and everyone will benefit from it. swarm traps and the knowledge we have for catching them have advanced to the point that it is so much easier to use them than it is to go thru the trouble of tearing down a tree for the bees. i have caught swarms for about fifteen dollars (maybe less) and wonder why would you not want to use them?


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## Troy (Feb 9, 2006)

moonlight,

I agree that learning the old ways is a prerequisite for learning new ways of doing things.

That is what the Winchester press book is all about. They made an attempt to catalog the old ways of hunting, fishing and things in those series of books and the one I mentioned above is excellent at doing that.

Troy


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## mountainvalleybee (May 13, 2007)

*Beelining*

Used to be called Coursing Bees


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## KQ6AR (May 13, 2008)

This is a very interesting topic, I'd like to hear more about these boxes. I've tried to do it without equipment or paint & found a swarm once while trying to locate a hive.

Dan


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## Troy (Feb 9, 2006)

I find this topic exciting too. OK, I'll talk a little about it.

Some of the basic premises:

1. Bees share info on where they found the food and will bring friends.

2. They will fly a "mostly direct" route home once they have loaded up.

3. They are sensitive to strong smells. Anise Oil, and or hot beeswax work very well.

4. Bees are more motivated to go to an artificial nectar source when there is not much in the way of a natural flow going on.

So the basic idea is to take advantage of these things. We offer them a food source. We give them a strong smell like anise oil to home in on. We try to do this when the bees are out foraging, but not much is available in the wild.

Capture a bee wherever you can find one or attract them in to bait stations. Get them in the box with the bait. Make it dark so they will stop looking to the light for a way out and wander around finding the bait in the dark. They can't help themselves and will load up on the bait. Release them one at a time and watch which way they go.

I like to get bait stations out there and then just watch the bees for a while gaining a better and better line on their direction home. Then I use the box to capture some bees and move them to another bait station somewhere else, and start the beelining process over again. I use triangulation to try to get an idea of where the hive is located and I keep moving the bait stations close and closer to that area.

You have to be very patient. I have had some wild hives that I found in a couple days, and others which have taken me months to find. Just keep at it.

As for inexpensive bait stations..... I have had good luck using the metal tops to my honey jars. They are cheap and I don't mind if I lose them every now and again. 

I do most of my bee finding in an urban area. So I have had to try to find obvious places to set my bait stations that people won't mess with them. I have set them on top of transformer boxes (here in Orlando, most electric utilities are underground and have green transformer boxes at ground level every 4 houses or so.) I have also set them on top of fence posts, and on top of the green R2D2 boxes that the cable companies use.

Set them out and get going, ask questions here, and read the book I suggested earlier it is worth every penny.

Have fun..........


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## RAlex (Aug 18, 2001)

Min ...Beeling is a very interesting subject , but I noticed that you are located in Florida ? Cant help but to think you might bee line yourself into a situation where there are some AHB living in the wild. I would use the swarm boxes to catch swarms from the feral bees here in NY . I also think Dennis mentioned in a post that Florida has some new laws about catching swarms ? I will do a search to see if I can find the original thread ...Rick


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## RAlex (Aug 18, 2001)

Although I didnt find the thread I was looking for I did find this one perhaps its worth reading 
http://www.beesource.com/forums/showthread.php?t=213836&highlight=Swarms+Florida
I didnt read it totally . lol...Whatever your endeavor I wish you the best of luck...Rick


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## min79854 (May 22, 2008)

WOW! I had no idea that someone was actually shipping AHBs ....The whole thread was crazy.... Not having been an active hobbiest for about the last 5 years, I have been out of touch with what has been going on....This has been a real education... AHBs were just coming into the US when I was first into beekeeping. I think that people need to be cautious and concerned, however; not paniced..This is where mistakes are made.... Though this has put a different light on my desire to "hunt bees", I think that again, being cautious and protected is the answer....And could be helpful, if ferral hives are simply discovered,perhaps marked, then they also could be studied and evaluated. I'd rather be helpful in the environment then do something to disturb it. Thanks for the information...Min


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## BeeCurious (Aug 7, 2007)

*How much does Mr. Fischer charge for his Bee-Lining boxes?*

Jim: How much does your father charge for a Bee-Lining box?

Any pictures? 





Jim Fischer said:


> If you want a Bee-Lining box that actually works, my dad makes
> and sells them.
> 
> Bee-Lining is a great sport. Much better than golf.


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## hankdog1 (May 17, 2008)

Interesting i never knew they actually had boxes for that or even an idea of how they might work. Can someone go into a little more detail on how it's done? All i've heard of is putting out some honey and following the trail of bees back to the hive.


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## iddee (Jun 21, 2005)

Hankdog, go back to reply #6 of this thread and click on the link. Jim has it all there. Quite a laugh, too.


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## min79854 (May 22, 2008)

EKW has posted pictures of his beelining boxes on a new thread....They are very cool! Thanks EKW!!!


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## min79854 (May 22, 2008)

Also, Mr. Fischer said that his dad makes and sells beelining boxes......Do you have any pictures of them? Thanks..Min


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## Aram (May 9, 2006)

Thanks iddee. I just went back to take another look. Wow!
Beelining Box


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