Normal Bearding?

[Javin]

So I know a lot of people have reassured me that bearding is a good thing, and the lack of supercedure cells makes me considerably more comfortable, but I figured I'd just get some more eyes on this since I finally dug out my camera:



Now keep in mind this is a relatively "cool" night, so this is the LEAST amount of bearding I've seen in almost two months.  Usually it's double this.  Still normal?

[AllenF]

They are washboarding.   Look at the straight lines where they are dancing.   The pics look all good to me.

[iddee]

If they have empty cells in the hive to store incoming nectar and pollen, and empty cells in the nest for eggs, all is fine.

If not, they need more space.

[Hemlock]

Looks fine

I see four boxes and no top entrance.  There may be one there beneath the bees maybe?  
Do they have a screened bottom board?
Slatted racks work better than anything else.

Even with those items most of my colonies spend the night out on the front porch in warm weather.

[Javin]

Yeah, I'm assuming that since I've never seen a supercedure cell means they're okay, it's just odd to me that they have literally done this all summer, and many times worse.  In fact, it only reduced to this level when I split the hive myself taking out 9 full frames of brood and 6 frames of honey in the process (of which they robbed two back).  I just wish I could clone this specific queen as she's been going gangbusters since the day I put her in the hive.  The bees are incredibly docile, too.  I often take people (neighbors) right up to the beard, and touch the wood all around the bees to reassure them that my bees aren't mean.  Only once have I even had one look at me angrily (she flared her wings and looked alot like a small dog that was trying to frighten away something it was afraid of).  Never a sting, or even an angry face-buzz.  And they've never stopped producing honey.  At all.  Even through the drought.  I love this queen.  If these things make it through the winter, I'll be ecstatic.  

They have plenty of open comb (in the bottom) as well as some frames I emptied to allow them to build (which they've been doing).

When a hive gets this size, is creating a top opening the advisable thing to do?  I'd probably have to cut down the inner cover a bit, but I'm currently working on a prototype watering system that reroutes rain water into the hive to keep them watered that may interfere with a top entrance.

[Joe D]

I have 1 hive thats about the same as this one and one that has lots of bees on the outside.  They are both swarms I caught back in the spring, doing good.  Good luck with your bees



Joe

[Hemlock]

When a hive gets this size, is creating a top opening the advisable thing to do?  

The more the merrier!

make a 1/2" inch shim with a 3/8" inch notch in the front an inch or two wide.  Place it beneath the inner cover.

...prototype watering system that reroutes rain water into the hive to keep them watered...

Just so you know, excessive moisture in a hive causes all manner of problems.  it can kill the bees in Winter and completely screw up honey curing in Summer.  Bees spend a ton of energy regulating moisture and temperature in the hive.  Pumping water Into a hive will cause the bees to work even harder.

[Javin]

Just so you know, excessive moisture in a hive causes all manner of problems.  it can kill the bees in Winter and completely screw up honey curing in Summer.  Bees spend a ton of energy regulating moisture and temperature in the hive.  Pumping water Into a hive will cause the bees to work even harder.

Yep, taken it all into account.  The water will be put into a top hive feeder (no different than feeding them sugar water).  There will also be additional ventilation to allow for moisture removal (and honey curing).  The idea is that with the tops I have on my hives, rainwater is caught by a gutter around the edges, then fed into the top hive feeder through tubes, with an overflow valve to keep the water from getting too full and spilling into the hive beneath. 

My bees have been spending a lot of time at the neighbor's pool (much to the disapproval of the neighbors) to collect water, and seem to have no interest in the creek, bird baths, or other water sources I've placed just outside the hive for them.  My thought process is that with a water supply in the hive, they'll waste no honey going out on water collection trips, and the only trips they'll be making outside will be for actual products.  According to "The ABC and XYZ of Bee Culture" bees prefer warm water (which is why they'll take the pool over my water sources), and the hive will keep the water plenty warm, reducing further their energy expenditure to go out and collect cooler water then have to warm it themselves. 

Other reading has said that bees will consume their body weight in water per day.  At roughly 3,500 bees per pound, and this hive having near 60,000 bees, that works out to about 17 pounds of water per day that they'd be going through.  That's a lot of water.  So to keep an eye on the water supply the feeder also has a float in it that turns a dial on the outside of the hive so I can see just how quickly they're actually drinking the water, and by pouring water into the gutters, I can refill it without having to open the hive at all.

The water in the winter that kills off hives is a result of the condensation dripping onto the ball of bees and preventing them from maintaining a decent temperature.  One struggle I've read about is that the condensation is actually a necessary part of the bees' winter survival, as its their primary water source during that season.  So over ventilating during the winter can kill them from dehydration, while too much condensation can drown them out.  If I choose to leave the waterer on during the winter, the condensation will collect at the top of the hive (where it's cooler), and drip back into the feeder instead of on the bees, which is the best of both worlds.  A water supply without the dripping hazard.

I've built a series of vents into the water supply, but have them screened off to allow the bees to propolis them to regulate the ventilation as they see fit.  I finished the prototype tonight, in fact, and it's in the shed drying as we speak.  Tomorrow I'll be putting on this hive.  Perhaps if a second entrance is a good idea, I should remove some of the screening to allow them to have a top entrance as well...

Either way, the only way to know for sure if an in-hive water supply is a bad idea is to try it out.  Thus, of my three hives, only one will be getting the prototype and we'll see if they fair better or worse than the other two.   

[T Beek]

If they have empty cells in the hive to store incoming nectar and pollen, and empty cells in the nest for eggs, all is fine.

If not, they need more space.

Agreed.  If your bees are just hanging around w/ little to do because all the cells are full, it's time to give them some room.