Swarm Traps For Survey and Control of Africanized Honey Bees

Africanized honey bees, Apis mellifera scutellata L., are expected to arrive in southern Texas in 1988 or 1989. Currently no tested and effective means of survey or control of these bees are available for implementation. A swarm trap that is inexpensive, effective, and apparently competitive in capturing honey bee swarms is described. When tested in an environment in which Africanized bees are expected to become well established, these traps at 24 stations captured 43 swarms over the 7-wk swarming season. These traps could become a valuable means for surveying and helping to control populations of Africanized honey bees.