Pollen Trap Question

[Martha]

I bought a pollen trap. I am not sure about how this works.
It is an exterior pollen trap that fits between the hive bodies or the honey super.

I am a bit confused. I thought that it would allow the bee to enter the hive after walking over a screen. This one has no way for the bees to walk in the hive. I thought it would have a little knob to open and close.

Are they supposed to go in what they think is an entrance, walk around loosing their pollen then try and find the true entrance?.

And when I need to "turn off" the trap do I just remove the drawer? It would be a real pain to take the hive apart to remove it - just to put it back a few weeks/days later.

I was told this is the trap you should use when you use SBBs.

Thanks!
Martha

[Michael Bush]

>It is an exterior pollen trap that fits between the hive bodies or the honey super.

Exterior as in hangs on the front?

>I am a bit confused. I thought that it would allow the bee to enter the hive after walking over a screen.

Not over. THROUGH a #5 screen or a perferated plate.

>I thought it would have a little knob to open and close.

Some have a way to open and close the trap so they can bypass it.

>Are they supposed to go in what they think is an entrance, walk around loosing their pollen then try and find the true entrance?.

No, They are supposed to squeeze through the screen dislodging the pollen in their baskets in the process.

>And when I need to "turn off" the trap do I just remove the drawer?

Since I haven't used this exact trap, I don't know.

>I was told this is the trap you should use when you use SBBs.

I don't see why you can't use a regular bottm trap with a SBB. Lloyd Spears says they make a top version of a Sundance trap if you think it's an issue.

[lloyd@rossrounds.com]

Martha, we manufacture the best pollen trap in the world...the Sundance trap. Because we do that, it is part of my job to know about the traps manufactured by others.

If you will tell us (1) does the trap have a 'name', such as Sundance? (2) from whom did you buy the trap? (3) about how much did you pay?

With this information I am reasonably certain I can find out more precisely what kind of trap you have, and be able to answer your questions.

I'll want until I hear from you,

[kenpkr]

I have a Sundance trap ordered and on the way but I didn't think that my SBB's would be an issue. Are they?
Ken

[Michael Bush]

I don't consider a SBB an issue. The idea of BUILDING a SBB was because of experiece with less mites in a hive with a pollen trap. So I don't think you'll lose any mite drop from having a bottom pollen trap. I would not worry about it.

[Dick Allen]

If I think it's what you are describing there's a 5-mesh screen folded in the shape of a "V" or "U" that the bees must pass through to get into the hive. If that's the type of trap you have, the trap needs to be pulled out of it's mounting shim to allow bees unimpeded access to the hive. Another option is to drill some 1/4 to 5/16 inch holes on the side of the trap immediately behind the trapping screen "V" or "U" which can be closed or open using a dowel or even duct tape. Also, with those type of traps there's going to be some burr comb built in the open space between the two hive bodies created by the shim. (And, of course, you do need to close the lower entrance on the bottom board to use that type of trap.)

[lloyd@rossrounds.com]

Unfortunately, one of the things that makes the Sundance such a superior trap is the cleanliness of the pollen. That cleanliness is accomplished by having a floor to catch the hive debris before it gets into the pollen. That same 'floor' will catch mites, that will then crawl back on the bees.

Sorry...our top mount will avoid that problem and still have the cleanest pollen available! Due in 2006!

Lloyd

[Dick Allen]

Lloyd, can you give a few particulars on the top mount trap? This is the first I've heard about it.

(Asked about you at the SABA conference in Albany last month. Anne told me she hadn't seen you there.)

[lloyd@rossrounds.com]

Well...the Top Mount Pollen Trap may well be the 2nd best thing that Ross Rounds ever invented! (Ross Rounds being the first...but that was largely copied.)

First, bees love top entrances. Just about all feral hives that I have ever seen have had their entrance above the honey and brood comb. If you give bees their choice of top or bottom entrance they will always prefer the top! I figure that we have bottom entrances because that was most convenient for the beekeeper.

So, no persuasion is necessary to get bees to use a top entrance...unless they have been trained to use the bottom.

The very large advantages to the top entrance hives are (1) the pollen is super clean. If you think that the present Sundance trap has clean pollen...it looks dirty compared to that from the top entrance trap! (2) The twice-yearly exercise to put the trap on and take it off has about 90% of the effort removed!

We have an ingenious design (usually I am very modest) to get the bees through the trap to collect the pollen and to then get them out again to the field, and we continue to have constant drone egress ability.

The only difficulty that we have come up with is that skilled woodworkers will find it much easier to copy than is the Sundance trap. There is no question in my mind that it could be patented, but I'm not up to spending the money.

I guess all I can say is 'stay tuned'.

Lloyd

[justgojumpit]

lloyd, do drones fit through the #5 mesh of your sundace traps? Right now I have a little portal door open to allow one bee in/out at a time, without having to go through the screen. I wonder if that is necessary. I guess I could close the door and find out, but I'd rather ask than stress a hive over it.

thanks

justgojumpit

[lloyd@rossrounds.com]

No, drones cannot fit through a 5 mesh screen. We use a device that functions like a minnow or lobster trap. That is...a large opening on one end and a small opening on the other end. The bees, including drones, will readily enter the large end and once there will exit through the narrow end, to the outside of the hive. However, they will not go back through the narrow end. Mostly, that is.

We use 10 of these cones, and were the first to do so. Just about all other traps (save one, that copied us) force the bees to go through the 5-mesh screens to get out of the hive. We THINK this slows them down, and we KNOW that the drones can't get out. The idea is that once a week or so the beekeeper lifts the cover to let all the drones swarm out.

What you are doing will work. But sooner or later several thousand workers will discover this one-bee entrance that bypasses the trap and then they will line up to use it. If I were doing it, I would put the one-bee exit on the back of the hive (meaning opposite the normal entrance). We have actually had beekeepers request such a device for queens to use after supercedure mating flights. We cut a little 'door', put a screw in the middle of it to use as a handle, and recommend that the beekeeper attach the screw to the hive with a wire so the door doesn't get lost.