Swarmcatcher pheromones Nasonov

01 · WHAT IT DOES AND DOES NOT

It makes the box attractive, it does not make swarms

Nasonov pheromone is what workers release while fanning to orient the rest — what makes a swarm cluster and what lets stragglers find the entrance. A lure does not cause swarming or pull swarms in from kilometres away: what it does is make sure that when a swarm looking for a home passes nearby, your box smells lived-in rather than empty. The rest is decided by where you put it.

02 · WHERE IT GOES

South-facing, in the shade and up high

The lure is fixed to the side bar of a frame, near the entrance, inside an empty hive — better with a frame of drawn comb, which adds its own scent. And the box itself facing south, in the shade and between one and three metres off the ground. A bait hive at ground level or in full sun gets ignored no matter how good the lure is.

03 · THE OTHER USES

Moving hives, greenhouses and water

Outside the swarming season it keeps working. When moving hives, it helps regroup the bees left flying. In greenhouse pollination, it helps them find the way back in. And it serves to draw them to a clean drinker — which is the polite way of getting them to leave the neighbour's pool alone.

04 · THE FREEZER

Before, between uses and after

They are kept in the freezer until you use them, and there they last up to three years. In place they last about four months; and since they can be reused, between seasons they go back in the freezer. Freezing and thawing does not spoil them: it is exactly the intended use.

05 · BEFORE YOU BUY

The tube is not opened: the pheromone diffuses through the plastic. And it is kept in the freezer — including between one use and the next.