Swarm trap

Another thing we didn't do back in the old days was catch free swarms.  We bought package bees with a queen.  I guess with inflation the prices nowadays are probably in line, but at $100+ the idea of catching swarms sounds mighty good.  On the other hand, I have no idea about my chances to actually catch one (or more) but it seems worth the effort to put out at least one trap.

Accordingly, I scanned the Internet and YouTube for ideas and settled on a double 5-frame nuc box with 10 frames of foundation.  It has about 30 liters of volume which someone said was what is needed.  While learning to use my table saw and dado blade making my medium super boxes I came across a plan for making 5-frame nucs out of plywood and I had a piece left over from some long ago project.  So I made three of them and had them on hand for this project.

I had seen a video wherein the fellow made the two-deep design with solid walls and ends.  He commented that it was difficult to get the frames in and out of the bottom compartment and I thought to myself "yeah, and wait 'til that box is full of bees!".  So I wanted to be able to snap together two of my existing boxes and to be able to unsnap them if , and when, I catch some bees.  The answer is a pair of drawer snaps which can be found at most hardware stores.  Hopefully, the pictures below will illustrate the idea better than more words.

I also figure to screw on the top in lieu of nailing as it will be much quieter when it comes time to remove the swarm and put them into a permanent box.