# does a used queen cage attract bees in a swarm trap?



## stavros (Feb 26, 2008)

I have about 10 queen cages that in the past few years have had queens in them. Does a used queen cage attract bees when placed in a swarm trap? If so, I can add some of them to my swarm traps along with the usual comb and lemon grass oil. Thanks a lot,
Stavros


----------



## jim81147 (Feb 18, 2013)

A swarm swarms with their queen . I would think scent from an old cage would be a deterrent .


----------



## stavros (Feb 26, 2008)

But then why are bees attracted to queen-juice made out of crashed dead queens (soaked in alcohol)?


----------



## Deepsouth (Feb 21, 2012)

jim81147 said:


> A swarm swarms with their queen . I would think scent from an old cage would be a deterrent .


I used queen juice (queens soaking in Alcohol) for swarm attractant so Queen smell defiantly attracts swarms. I wouldn't think cages have enough smell, but it wouldn't hurt.


----------



## LetMBee (Jan 4, 2012)

Try it and let us know....... It is just so easy to use an old broom comb and a coupe drops of LGO. I will be waiting for a report.


----------



## Mr.Beeman (May 19, 2012)

I was in the process of shaking a swarm off a tree limb and the foragers/scouts coming back found a year old used queen cage in my beekeepers caddy.


----------



## Daniel Y (Sep 12, 2011)

I had three swarms land in the same tree in exactly the same spot over a months period of time last year. Being curious about the exactness of this location I started looking around for clues as to why. I found everything from leah lines to it is not really all that uncommon for a beekeeper to pretty much know on what limb of what tree a swarm might cluster. Some of the comments suggest that it is the odor left behind from the previous swarm / Queen that attracts the next swarm to that spot. Tossing out the extremes such a hokus pokus and random chance. I find this the most likely explanation.


----------



## odfrank (May 13, 2002)

This queen shipping box from Velbert Williams had bees from my hives clustering on it for over a week last summer.


----------



## Michael Bush (Aug 2, 2002)

>Does a used queen cage attract bees when placed in a swarm trap?

Yes.

> If so, I can add some of them to my swarm traps along with the usual comb and lemon grass oil.

Yes.


----------

