Beemaster's International Beekeeping Forum

BEEKEEPING LEARNING CENTER => GENERAL BEEKEEPING - MAIN POSTING FORUM. => Topic started by: Algonam on June 10, 2011, 08:02:39 PM

Title: need help to understand what I saw today
Post by: Algonam on June 10, 2011, 08:02:39 PM
To start, I am new at beekeeping in Eastern Ontario (Canada). It is nice and warm during the day and cool at night these days.
I have 2 hives, side by side, on stands. I installed the nucs exactly 2 weeks ago. Originally I had only 9 frames in the hives but last week I added the 10th frame in to each.
The hives are a 40 minute drive from home on a piece of rural property that I own and I work long days so I can only get out to check on them twice a week. 
In the past 2 weeks I've been able to feed them sugar water 1/1 only 3 times.
There still isn't much blooming here. It is very green, with the odd wildflower and wild rose bush. Wild strawberries and wild Raspberries will soon be blooming.
Today I went there to continue setting up my electric fence and I noticed that 1 hive was active with roughly 30 - 40 bees around the front of the hive at any point in time. I was disappointed to see only 3 or 4 bees around the other hive at any point in time. I was thinking there may be a problem with the one hive.
I continued working through the afternoon and then late this afternoon I realised there was alot of buzzing. When I looked up the hive that had previosly been quiet was super active with probably 1,000 bees all over and around the hive. It was as if they had all been out and they were all returning at the same time.  The other funny thing was theye weren't using the main entrance. Most were using the 2 holes on the top side of the bottom box. This lasted 20 minutes or so and then everything seemed back to normal.
Title: Re: need help to understand what I saw today
Post by: FRAMEshift on June 10, 2011, 08:30:39 PM
Quote from: Algonam on June 10, 2011, 08:02:39 PM
I continued working through the afternoon and then late this afternoon I realised there was alot of buzzing. When I looked up the hive that had previosly been quiet was super active with probably 1,000 bees all over and around the hive.........This lasted 20 minutes or so and then everything seemed back to normal.

Are you familiar with orientation flights?   They ususally occur in the afternoon.  Lots of bees will come out and fly figure 8 patterns in front of the hive.  You will notice that they are facing the hive entrance as they fly.  These bees are new foragers who are learning what their hive looks like from the outside so they can find it again when they return from a forage flight.  I think that's what you saw.  

If you also saw bees hanging onto the box and each other in a big clump, this is called bearding and it happens on warm humid days, probably as a means of cooling off the hive.
Title: Re: need help to understand what I saw today
Post by: sc-bee on June 10, 2011, 09:46:36 PM
How many of the frames are drawn out and full? Feeding heavy and no extra boxes on yet?

I vote with Frameshift from what I have heard but don't let them get crowded or you may find them in the trees.

On a side not how cool is cool at nite? Two much room could lead to chilled brood depending on your temps @ nite.
Title: Re: need help to understand what I saw today
Post by: sc-bee on June 10, 2011, 09:57:29 PM
Just pulled up you weather 12c still a bit cool as you said!
Title: Re: need help to understand what I saw today
Post by: Algonam on June 11, 2011, 12:09:53 AM
So, should I assume that what I saw is healthy?
Title: Re: need help to understand what I saw today
Post by: FRAMEshift on June 11, 2011, 04:05:55 PM
Did you see the bees flying back and forth in front of the entrance, facing the hive?  If so, yes that's healthy.
Title: Re: need help to understand what I saw today
Post by: Algonam on June 11, 2011, 06:21:18 PM
I did a hive inspection today. As I said I am new at this....

It is a 10 frame hive. The 4 nucs that I installed 2 weeks ago have what I think is capped brood on at least 80 % of all 4 frames. They are starting to work into the next frame on both sides and the outer frames are still untouched.
My pollen patty is still in there. I gave them more sugar water today as well. Just a little bit of activity around the hives today. BTW, the 4 frames were also covered with bees. We are trying to hook up camera to show pictures...just missing the all important connection wire!

One hive isn't using the main entrance, they are using the 2 breather holes on the top edge of the box and occasionally the single breather hole on the back of the box. Should I close these off?

Title: Re: need help to understand what I saw today
Post by: sc-bee on June 11, 2011, 07:38:29 PM
It's your choice :-D Not a problem either way. If you want them to use the front entrance close them off till they get use to it. And open the holes later.
Sounds as though you have plenty room at this point.