Is it swarming! Please help to identify

[Irina]

I am new to beekeeping (2 years), and I have never had swarming before. I attached the today's photo.
Please could anyone tell me what is going on with this hive? Also, my queen has clipped wings.
I leave in NH.
Thank you!



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[Kathyp]

you don't have enough post to upload a pic.  ask one of the mods to do it for you.  it's a security thing.  once that is done, we will be happy to look at your pics  :-D

[Irina]

How do I ask mod? Thank you.

[Kathyp]

http://forum.beemaster.com/index.php?action=staff

here's where to find them.  i don't know who is available.  try Robo and buzzbee.

[Irina]

Thak you, I sent them email with the photo link.

[buzzbee]

Sorry I took so long. This post is a little bump to get some replies!!

[AllenF]

Several questions first.   How was the weather there?   How long have they been doing this?  Is your queen clipped?    I don't think it is a swarm from the pic.

[Kathyp]

does this happen over the course of the day, or do a bunch come out all at once and hang out on the outside?  what does the inside look like?  your weather seems to be 70's and t-storms?  that's plenty hot/humid enough to cause bearding in a full hive that's out in the sun.  

it's hard to tell from the pic, but are the bees flying away from the hive or are they flying in front of the hive.  are the crawling from the bottom upward and flying up and down in front?

a clipped queen doesn't keep them from wanting to swarm, it just makes it (in theory) impossible for the queen to leave.  have you found swarm cells?  

more info and maybe we can help narrow it down for you...but if they are there still there i wouldn't panic at this point.

[Dr. B in Wisconsin]

I am new to this also, WOW thats alot of bees, I am interested to see what people say.

[AliciaH]

a clipped queen doesn't keep them from wanting to swarm, it just makes it (in theory) impossible for the queen to leave.  have you found swarm cells? 

more info and maybe we can help narrow it down for you...but if they are there still there i wouldn't panic at this point.

Yea, a picture like that just makes me wanna put on my suit and dive right in!  When was the last time you inspected? 

[L Daxon]

I had a hive swarm 2 weeks ago. They left and went about 30 ft up in a neighbor's tree. Within about 15 minutes they all came back and hung out on the outside of the hive and looked similar to your picture.  If a swarm takes off and the queen doesn't leave with them (which would/could have been the case with your girls) they often return to the hive and eventually go back in.

Your photo looks like it is daytime.  My girls beard more towards the end of the day and into the evening (until I got slatted bottom racks). Now I don't see too much bearding, certainly not up the full front of the hive like in your photo.

[JP]

It looks like they may need some extra room, or they want/tried to swarm, judging by the picture.


...JP

[Irina]

Thank you all for your comments. I was not able to login into the forum yesterday.
Here are all my answers;

It was humid day and occasional rain yesterday - 80F
It was happend around 1pm
Within an hour they all went inside the hive
I don't know how they fly during that time; I was not at home; my husband took this pic.
I checked my hive last time 3 weeks ago and did not find any queen cells.
We had rainy weather for the last two weeks.
I am planning to check them today after work, after 5pm.

What should I do or what should I check for???
Irina

[iddee]

Check for queen cells and open workspace. If they are out of open working space, add a super.

[Irina]

If I find the queen cells, what do I do with them? My queen is almost 1 year old.

[Tommyt]

Thank you all for your comments. I was not able to login into the forum yesterday.
Here are all my answers;

Within an hour they all went inside the hive  
I checked my hive last time 3 weeks ago and did not find any queen cells. Look Good this time or remains of any We had rainy weather for the last two weeks.
I am planning to check them today after work, after 5pm.

What should I do or what should I check for???
Irina

Insert Quote
Check for queen cells and open workspace. If they are out of open working space, add a super.

Do you have a Clipped winged Queen also Be sure you have a Queen

Tommyt

[AllenF]

Tommy, I like your new avatar. 

Vikoch -  what does the hive look like today?

[Irina]

The hive is full... full of bees; it is very overcrowded.
I was very surprise because I checked them 3 weeks ago and it is big, big different now.
I added extra space for them for now.

You told me that they would still swarm.
What should I do to prevent this? Should I divide them? And, HOW???

Please help, I am panicked, I don't want to lose them. They went thru a lot. Twice wild animals attacked them. I did not expect they would grow that fast after the attack

Thanks.
Irina

[Kathyp]

you can kind of calculate how much and how quickly they will expand by seeing how much brood you have.  that's just for future reference.

did you find any queen cells?

if you did, you can take the old queen, some frames of brood and food, and make a new hive.  leave the queen cells behind.

  if you didn't, you can just divide the frames of eggs, larvae, and brood between the old hive and the new.  make sure the new hive has plenty of eggs and plenty of food.  they can then raise their own queen.  if you don't see the queen, don't worry.  as long as the one that doesn't have her, has the resources, they can raise a new queen.

with a hive that full, i would immediately add a second box to the original hive...or the hive that has the queen if you move her.  the hive that will make a queen needs to be watched.  they may fill frames with food and not leave room for the new queen to lay.  you will have to be ready to add a box to that one also.

[Irina]

This hive has the queen cells.
I will do a second hive tomorrow. How many frames do I have to take from the original one?
Thank you for your help.