One hive had tons of bees all over the front of the hive and landing board. I think they are too hot. I have the outer cover propped up(3/8 inch), does anybody ever take the inner cover out? Seems like just propping the top won't do much with the inner cover still in place.
thanks,
scott
I just posted about the heat too. I wonder if there should be a (sticky) post about it this time of year? I'm looking for some tips as well, but it seems that the girls know what to do to cool down the hive. Bearding is normal although scary.
Bearding is a good thing. That way you can see that your hive has lots of bees.
My inter cover has a slot on each of the four sides, all on one side top or bottom. In the summer I have it down on top of the super and in the winter I turn inter cover over, slots up. I do have SBB's. I also have what most wouldn't do, I have all hives at the present under a shed. No walls, post and a roof, in the winter I put plastic sheeting on the west and north sides. My bees are on the fronts on these hot days also. Good luck with yours.
Joe
On a really hot day they should be bearding. I would be worried about a hive that wasn't...
Is heavy bearding an indicator of overcrowding or preparation for swarming? Only 2 of my hives are bearding on our few 80 degree days and I figured they were getting ready to swarm, and they were full of bees, but not much capped brood or honey :?, so I made splits and gave empty boxes with some honey frames and the same ones are still bearding.
build or buy all season vented inner covers.
http://www.honeyrunapiaries.com/plans/all_season_inner.pdf (http://www.honeyrunapiaries.com/plans/all_season_inner.pdf)
Shade helps them a lot if they are normally in direct sunlight. Here in the Phoenix desert,I havefound that even a scrap piece of plywood on top can make a tremendous difference.
He's in Michigan and shade is not required and infact when winter rolls around it could become a problem. We are have some heat but it wont last long. The vented covers really help in the heat and in winter I stuff them full of straw for alittle moisture control. I have them on all 70 of my colonies
I'm also concerned about bearding, though this thread has alleviated my fears somewhat. It's been VERY hot (100's) and humid here in Virginia lately, and we had a freak storm that knocked out millions of people's power over the weekend. I happened to be out of state when it happened, so first thing I did was check the hive when I got home tonight. It's close to midnight, and even now there's a MASSIVE beard on the hive. I really don't want to lose the bees due to a swarm, but due to the heat and humidity, can I assume this isn't a swarm indicator?
Four days ago I did a check of the hive and saw that they WERE pretty much full, with the top two hive bodies (out of five) mostly filled with honey. I won't be able to split the hive until the 12th either way, so I wanted to know if I should be worried about a swarm heading out sooner than later.
The hive is three months old, but has been doing phenomenally well.
You may or may not be heading for a swarm, but the bearding is NOT an indicator. It is an indicator of a healthy hive and should put a smile on your face.
I view bearding as the girls just wanting to enjoy the cool evening air. In SC the days have been right at 100F. Lots of bees on the outside of the hives at night.
Just what are the external indications of a potential pending swarm anyway?
walk up to them at night and hit the box. If they bzzzz really fast and sharp all is well. If they have a slow rising bzzz or it takes a few hard knocks to get them to respond, then they are feeling swarmy.
Just went out and leaned a piece of scrap plywood against the west side of the hive in the back yard
Other than keeping the garden hose dripping on a board where they can fill up, that's about all that's possible here
102 today, no real relief till Monday