[bevy's honeybees]

I have a container with one ounce isopropyl alcohol--how many queens does it take to make a decent strength queen juice? Are 2-3 queens enough for a start?

In previous years I have used the entire dead queen, when I had them, for swarm bait boxes. This year I want to start a good juice but only have 2 queens in it at the moment.
Thanks.

 

[Phoebee]

Check over this recent discussion. I want to try this myself when I have old queens available. I was wondering if the losers in the race for new virgin queens to emerge might be used for this, but apparently you want a laying queen in order to get the pheromones.

http://www.beesource.com/forums/showthread.php?250876-Queen-Juice&highlight=queen+swarm+bait

 

[Michael Bush]

I add queens until they are not covered. I add alcohol until they are covered. I use it whenever I need it... whatever you have will help. If you want to fill in with something in the meantime, you can buy pseudoqueen from Mann Lake (and probably some other suppliers as well).

 

[WBVC]

What does use Queen juice for?

 

[shannonswyatt]

WBVC, it is used for Swarm bait.

 

[WBVC]

Ahhh...maybe that is why I get no swarms..no bait

 

[shannonswyatt]

You can use lemongrass oil if you have no queen pheromone. Some say it is better than queen pheromone. I don't know that the commercial baits are really pheromone.

You should also use old brood comb. If you don't have any old brood comb that you can put in it see if you can get some processed brood comb wax. It really isn't good for anything outside of a hive, but it would have the right smell.

 

[bevy's honeybees]

I like to use all 3 when I have them--brood comb, lgo, dead queen (now queen juice).

I also started using the filtered out gunk from wax melting. I put wax (clean cappings and comb pieces) on top of a thick paper towel then in a home made solar wax melter. Nice clean wax melts through and what lays on top of the cloth is used as fire starters and I break off pieces and put in the bottom of bait hives. I put that in my new bait boxes. Old boxes, I don't do all that.

Thanks for the link, Phoebee.

 

[Michael Bush]

>I like to use all 3 when I have them--brood comb, lgo, dead queen (now queen juice).

They seem to find all three almost irresistible. If I had to choose one it would be lgo. If I could pick two, it would be lgo (Lemon Grass Oil) and QMP (Queen Mandibular Pheromone aka queen juice). But all three is a trifecta...

 

[wadehump]

I have a small glass jar that mushrooms came in. I put LGO,OLD QUEENS AND ALCOHOL together I also went through all my dead outs and if I can find the old dead queen I chuck them into can't hurt.

 

[Dodgerdoob]

I was at an auction talking to an old beekeeper today. I always approach them warily because I don't know if they are bastions of knowledge or cantankerous old [email protected]&$s that refuse to change. This guy was pretty smart, but he was adamant that pheromone lures signaled to the bees that the hive was taken and to stay away. Mentally, I called bullshirt, but said nothing because I was being polite. Anyone else ever run into that theory?

 

[shannonswyatt]

I think a lot of people would disagree. I think what happens is the lure gets them to the box and then they see it is empty.

 

[shannonswyatt]

A lot of swarms from other hives land in bee yards. It has got to be the smell of the bees that bring them their. Based on the old man's theory they would stay away.

 

[Daniel Y]

I was at an auction talking to an old beekeeper today. I always approach them warily because I don't know if they are bastions of knowledge or cantankerous old [email protected]&$s that refuse to change. This guy was pretty smart, but he was adamant that pheromone lures signaled to the bees that the hive was taken and to stay away. Mentally, I called bullshirt, but said nothing because I was being polite. Anyone else ever run into that theory?

I know for an indisputable fact this is BS. I have a spot in a tree next door that had 5 swarms in the exact same spot. I could have marked the location to within 6 inches of center an every swarm would have been centered over that spot. The only explanation that settles it for me is that they could smell the queen from the last swarm. I was thinking of attaching a rope to the limb so I could simply hoist a basket and shake. At the very least I know where to locate one trap.

 

[Michael Bush]

I can almost always lure them right out of a tree with an old box that has some black brood comb, some LGO and some QMP. They can tell a hive is occupied because it IS occupied... not because it smells like it USED to be occupied...

 

[FlowerPlanter]

I put my queens in with the LGO.

I use a q tip covered with a piece of paper towel in a snack zip loc. It retains the smell the whole season.

Last year I caught 20 swarms in traps, which was at 50%.