It is swarm season, probably in most of the Northern temperate climate, as I write this.
Ever-tinkering and experimenting beekeepers have long tried to find ways to prevent, slow, and divert honey bee swarms. Nineteenth century approaches included leading the exiting swarm directly into another set of equipment.
The device below claimed to do this via a perforated metal tunnel:
When once in place, the bee-master can go about his business, whether fifty miles away or near the apiary; and he can rest assured that, should the bees swarm during his absence, they will be self-hived, and all settled to work upon his return.1)Henry Alley, “Novel Self-Hiving Arrangement for Bees,” American Bee Journal, Vol. XXVI, No. 2, January 11, 1890.
A swarm re-directing device from 18902)Henry Alley, “Novel Self-Hiving Arrangement for Bees,” American Bee Journal, Vol. XXVI, No. 2, January 11, 1890.
Other devices aimed to catch and contain the swarm in the apiary, to then make it easy to put the bees and their queen into another set of equipment.
A correspondent wrote to Gleanings in Bee Culture in 1904 to show his home-made device to stop swarms:
Another swarm-catching device from the early 1900s3)Letter to the editor from J. M. Mack, San Diego, California, Gleanings in Bee Culture, July 15, 1904, p. 706.
As ever, dealing with swarms is the plight of the beekeeper. Newfangled approaches will likely continue to emerge as we go.
