How to get some feral genes without disturbing hive???

[WesternWilson]

I read something recently on how you can set up a trap such that the feral queen comes in a lays, then you can take the frames of eggs and brood away and hopefully raise up a queen from that feral queen.

I would like to do this as I know some people with a feral colony under their deck...can anyone explain methods and equipment or point me to an information source?

Many thanks,
Janet

[AmericasBeekeeper]

There is a remote possibility such a trap may work. Queens and bees period do not naturally abandon the brood nest they already have.
The better consideration is what benefit will you gain from these "feral" genes. They were likely someone elses managed hive last year. Even yours!
It would be easier and more certain to buy a frame of brood from your neighbor, or tie a frame of that colony's brood into your hive.

[Daniel Y]

I am thinking you may be confused. I also suspect you are talking about the hogan trap out.

In the trap out you add eggs and open brood to the trap out in an attempt to lure the queen from the hive. this is likely to result in the bees that are in the box simply making a new queen for themselves. The eggs came from another colony most likely one of your own.

If you do manage to lure the queen out. there is no need to make another one as she will remain in the trap out and you already have a fully functioning colony with a fertile laying queen.

Here is one thread where someone is actually using the tap out.
http://www.beesource.com/forums/show...ght=hogan+trap

[odfrank]

That feral colony might be a swarm from a purchased package of bees a few years back and actually have the genes of some breeder's bees. I started beekeeping in 1968 and am familiar with what was "feral bees" then, mean, vicious and boiling out of there hives when worked. The bees I catch these days in my swarm traps are the bees that some hobbyist paid $75 dollars for last year, sweet, mellow and quiet.

[WesternWilson]

Thankyou both! Yes, I think I was thinking of the Hogan trap out. And yes, these bees are very likely a swarm off purhased bees. But if they have overwintered on their own, that makes them interesting!

[whiskers]

Mr. hogans method involves adding a chamber through which the bees must pass to enter their current hive. When the bees accept this chamber as part of the hive, evidenced by the fact that they start to build comb there, a frame with eggs and young larva (carefully inspected to avoid transferring a queen) is introduced. The queen, apparently in response to the smell of foreign larva, comes out into the new chamber and lays. There is no one way cone so she can travel back and forth at will. After a week or a bit more for good measure the larva introduced with the frame will be too old to make a queen. At this point one can remove a frame with young larva and eggs (to avoid setting back the hive of interest avoid taking the queen) (if it is the introduced frame make sure no queen cells are currently started) and construct a nuc confident that any queen cells constructed will contain larva from the queen of interest. The bees, capped brood, and stores to be included have no influence on the genetics of the nuc and can come from any source. The queen the nuc makes will have half the genetics of the queen of interest. After the queen of interest begins laying in the new chamber she will continue to return making this a well from which multiple starts can be taken. Contact Mr. Hogan he is generous with information.
Bill