My bees always use the top entrance or the vent holes, so there is very little activity on the bottom entrance for bees going into the hive. There has always been a large bunch of bees just sitting there at the bottom entrance, they must be guard bees. Lately I was watching them close up and it looked like they were biting on the front entrance. Today they were all doing the same thing, I would say it was covered almost solid and it appeared that they were cleaning all at the same time, women's work??? Ha Ha..... I am new to this and this was one of the most unique things I has seen so far. I have heard that bees are very clean and I can see why, the board looked like I just painted it.
It is called washboarding. All beeks have seen it, but none have ever deciphered it.
The behavior you're witnessing is called "wash boarding" and no one has quite figured out why they do it yet. Just today I watched a feral colony in a water meter box doing it on the cast iron cover and thought "what on earth could they be cleaning from there?".
Scott
Maybe the queen boss is watching and they have to look like there doing something, happens at work by me.
Thanks for the insight.
Brian
Our bees do something similar. They take a few steps up...and then a few steps back...and then again and again.
Tomorrow we go back in to inspect. It's been 12 days since we put the upper deep on.
Question..."Beekeeping for Dummies" says to put the upper deep somewhere (here's a question...WHERE?) and inspect from the bottom deep up to the top deep that they do not tell you where it sits (possibly with bees in it) while you are inspecting.
To be honest...just inspecting the bottom deep is nerve frazzling enough for me. (don't hurt the bees...don't hurt the bees.)
Just looking for some tips. We will forgo the camera this time and spend our time doing maintenance. Burr comb...and maybe just slowing down to deal with stuff.
Camera will be out there with us...but we think that sans camera on every frame we will be much more efficient.
I'm thinking Murphy's Law or "If ya want Got to laugh...have a plan".
Again...I sooo appreciate all of ya'lls input.
Best,
Sarita
Scrubbing the front porch, line dancing.....Wouldn't it be neat to know? My scuzzy front porches now actually have clean tracks through them :)
Sarita, just lay the boxes that you take off on their end...bees and all. They'll be fine. (sorry for hijacking...apologies).
Scott
Apologize for me too, scott.
Sarita, I lay the outer cover on the ground, place the boxes on it, check the bottom box, set the next one on, check it, ETC.
THANKS!
Outer cover where it's on the ground like a table or where all 4 rims are facing the sky?
Sorry for being specific here but we've had some pretty stressful moment in being technical in the yard.
And REALLY SORRY for going off topic.
Sarita
Either or. Don't get too technical. It spoils the fun.
I've seen orientation flights, etc. but I haven't had the joy of watching them "washboard" the front of the hive. I've seen bees bearding but not line dancing or cleaning. I hope to see it soon.
Honeybee Washboarding (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tjF-yIastp0#)
Cool, would have been better without the music, but awesome to see at any rate.
I have always figured that they were spreading scent around the front of the hive when they were "cleaning"
That is an amazing video Robo and you can clearly see them moving back and forth. What a mysterious movement.
AllenF, Thats what I just read in the July ABJ magazine. It is thought to give the entrance a unique scent to help the returning bees in locating the entrance according to Peter Borst the article writer.
GW
You can't see it very well in the video, but their tongues are fully extended and being dragged back and forth on the hive. Sort of like a mop.
Washboarding does effectively clean the front porch :). When our hives were new, we had cinnamon dust sprinkled everywhere that ants could/were accessing, including on the landing boards of the hives, to repel the fire ants. While the ants were still a problem, the bees cleaned only a small area around the actual hive opening. Once the ants were no longer a problem to the bees, they started washboarding in earnest. They cleaned those front porches & then the entire boxes, starting with the fronts, bright white again. I figure they are probably laying scent too.
Yes Allen F took words right outta my mouth, just what I would suppose. They are pheremone communication based creatures. Depositing unique scents w/ tongue & feet quite likely. Do you have a link to that July ABJ article?
I did not read that article. Just flipped right over it. It looked like it was all about plants and flowers by the pictures in it. When I get some time, I will hit it again.
The article about washboarding was "The Mystery of the Hive" by Peter Loring Borst on page 659 of the July ABJ.
GW