Hi, could you please help me, my bees have been acting very strange lately. I have not seen them do much flying like it used to be and for almost two weeks now they have been just sitting there like it is in the picture, except usually there are much more of them. The ones that are sitting outside just move back and forth in the exact same motion.There is about 1 .5 deep broot chambers full of them. When i last opened, the queen was functioning and laying eggs. What could be the problem? Are they splitting? What should i do to prevent that?
PS- the other hive i have is acting normal, so it is not due to the weather.
(http://img178.imageshack.us/img178/1802/bees.th.jpg) (http://img178.imageshack.us/i/bees.jpg/)
it looks like bearding and it is normal. some hive do it more than others. bigger, more crowded hives, are prone to it. the flying up and down in front of the hive is probably orientation flights. those bees ready to leave the hive and forage spend a couple of days getting oriented to the hive location.
how are your stores in the hives?
The hive is :2 broot chambers by 10 frames each and a feeding box. The thing is, they are not flying at all. maybe just 1 or 2 at a time.
check your stores and make sure they are not starving. i am not sure what you mean by "feeding box". is that an internal feeder? make sure the syrup has not gone bad or dry.
other than that, i can't think of much if everything looks ok inside. the will be sluggish when it's cool in the AM and PM. during the heat of the day, they should be active, but if there is no flow, they may not have anything to go out and collect.
What if they are about to leave? What should i do? How can i stop them?
:?
I doubt if they are preparing to swarm away, this time of year. It does happen, but very seldom. It's more likely that you are in a nectar dearth and too many bees with too much time on their little footpads so they start washboarding. They also will hang out front towards evenings in a bearding manner if they have brood in the bottom box, if they have nectar they are curing in the hive, or if it is warm weather.
Are they crowded? This time of year a few empty supers is usually enough to deter swarming.