Flower Planter... Yes it is any size box,(Nuc, 8 frame, 10 frame) with any way to mate the trap to the feral source, and close off all entrances except the one you want them to go through. You can do it with two wooden tunnels, one that will slide inside the other, with two pipes, one that will slide inside the other, or any other way to attach them. With everything sealed, the trap becomes just another chamber for the bees to live, reproduce, and store honey in.
Yes, actually it is luck, as to getting the queen. However, when I have a trap in progress, and I introduce the unsealed brood (NO BEES on the frame) I normally find the queen on this or adjacent frames in the first 24 hours. It is not uncommon to get 6 to 10 pounds of bees on your first trapping in 24 hours, if, the feral source is a good colony. Once you introduce the brood, you get the mix of bees that you need to start a new hive, as cleaners, housekeepers, nurse bees, additional guard bees, fanners, etc will move out into the box to tend the brood, protect the brood, and prepare for more area to lay eggs and store honey/pollen Keep in mind, if you remove 8 pounds of bees, and you do not want to kill the colony, you will need to let it build back up, before taking the next start, unless it is a very large colony.
(To fill the box, or get enough to start a new colony), First trapping, normally, no more than 48 hours to get 5 to 10 pounds of bees in your trap. After that, it depends on size of the feral colony, and how fast they rebuild. I like to wait 3 to 4 weeks between taking the 2d start. If it takes more than 48 hours to get a minimum of 3 pounds of bees, it tells you the feral colony has been weakened, and you may need to allow it time to build back before taking those bees away. If you are wanting to eliminate the colony, just as soon as you have 3 pounds, take it and futher weaken the feral source, and start your new colony.
I trap several trees each year, and yes it an unlimited source, as long as you don't weaken the source and kill it. Yes, if you only put foundation, or foundationless frames in the trap, the bees will normally treat it as a place to store surplus honey, and will likely place honey in all the frames. In this case, about all you get, as far as a mix of bees, is guard bees who move out to the front of the trap as soon as all entrances are sealed, housekeepers who start cleaning the trap and frames, and fanners who ventilate the hive. To get the mix of bees you need to start a new hive, you really need the frame of brood. Short of adding the frame of brood, the queen and nurse bees etc, will only move out into the trap, if, they are pushed for space, and they start treating the trap as part of her brood nest.
I haven't checked the Kelly web site, but will. As I have stated before, I DO NOT and NEVER HAVE received anything from Kelly on the sale of the Swarm Harvester. I gave them the idea, and the plans, two or three years ago, just to help beekeepers. I did not want to get into producing and selling traps, and Kelly did.
If I can help anyone , let me know.
cchoganjr