I know from reading this forum that the bees will sometimes sit on the outside of the hive when it is hot outside. Today was a high of 74 degrees and we first looked at the hive at 5:30 pm and there were several hundred just hanging out We have a deep and medium brood, excluder and one deep honey super right now.
Is 74 degrees enough to make them sit around out side?
Should I do anything to assist them?
Thanks, Ray
When they're sitting outside the hive at 74º there could be a few different senarios.
1) There's a honeyflow and they're fanning to remove moisture.
2) They need more room/ are taking swarm preparations.
3) They're populous and "washboarding".
This last one (3) would be the most obvious. The bees would be organizing and all seem to be swaying back and forth, while licking the area around the entrence, in unison.
Quote from: raybIToday was a high of 74 degrees and we first looked at the hive at 5:30 pm and there were several hundred just hanging out
74 is not hot . 90 is hot because it is same temperature as in brood area.
You should inspect your hive.
* Look old brood how much is going to emerge brood.
* one full brood frame broduces 3 frames of bees.
* look how much bees have empty combs where to put pollen and honey
* look how much you have ventilators on entrance
Normally in spring they burst out because they need more room.
YOu may put one Langstroth down and medium up. Take exluder away.
When you add supers or deeps you may give 3 langstroth boxes first and no exluder. Bees can make so much brood as they need. After that give mediums on so the topmost is full of bees.
Add always empty super between brood area and honey. Then turn second and third box in two weeks cycle.
I use that and I need not excluder. In late summer you may use excluder when you take all yiled away.
Thanks for your quick responses. I am a little slow on keeping up with the bees and didn't realize how quickly they can fill supers. I had on one deep super (boy are they heavy.. next year I'll go smaller) and after two weeks it was almost full and 50% capped. I guess I need to learn faster and stay ahead of the bee's needs.
I added another super and the bees hanging around the front have gone back to work. Now it is just the normal front door traffic.
Thanks, Ray.
Quote from: raybafter two weeks it was almost full and 50% capped. .
If super is so full bees have stored much nectar in brood box.
I shoud look and lift the most full frames to that box which you just put on.
When you get so much honey and your hive is small
you should inspect hive every week that they have empty space and they do not make swarm cells.
Our bees had to hang out on the porch last night. Wow it was hot. We hit 96 yesterday. It was neat to see them gather out on the front of the hive. Some on the bottom board were fanning like crazy. It must have been like an oven inside the hive. This morning there was a huge group of them spread over the entire front of the hive and the landing board. It's no wonder they call it "bearding". It's supposed to cool way down today and the rest of the week. Whew.
A slatted rack is one partial solution to bees hanging on the front of the hive, it gives expansion room inside the hive to relieve crowding and it also gives them a perch from which to fan. I use two one between the bottom brood box and the bottom board and the other above the brood chamber in place of a queen excluder. It also compensates a little for a delay in supering.
Most commercially available queen excluders are a swarm generator. The only ones I've ever seen work well were hand made using 1/4 inch dowling spaced 1/4 inch apart but not every body is willing to put in that much work to make one.
At 74 degrees and bees hanging outside is a neon sign saying no vacancy fully stocked with bees and honey. It's time to super. Failing to do so quickly will result in a swarm.