Bees sleeping outside the hive

[crowhammer]

Hi Everybody,
     I'm a new beekeeper. Just got my first hive a month ago. Well, last week I noticed that a large number of my bees are sleeping on the outside of the hive. I gave them a super to go up into, but it's that plastic foundation stuff. Do you think it's too hot in the hive? Should I ventilate? and how? Or is this normal in florida where it's been a little hot and humid lately?

[Two Bees]

Good morning!

How many deeps are you using?  How is your entrance reducer being used?

[crowhammer]

I have one hive box and put the super on w/out a queen excluder so they can use that as a brood box too. As far as an entrance reducer, I have a block of wood that I stuck in the entrance that blocks a little under half of the entrance. So the entrance is now a 3/4" by 10" hole.

[Two Bees]

If the day temps have been hot, you can probably remove the reducer completely and add a couple of thin sticks (popsicle sticks) between the top cover and the top super to allow for some flow-thru ventilation.  And observe to see if they still hang out on the outside of the hive.

How many frames are filled in the lower deep hive body?

Why did you use a super (medium?) instead of a second hive body?

[tillie]

You're in Florida - even here in Atlanta on hot days/nights the bees congregate outside the hive.  They are trying to keep the inside of the hive at optimum temp - that means that often to achieve that a certain number of bodies have to be outside the hive or fanning on the entrance way.

In Atlanta I keep the tops propped open with a stick - provides both ventilation and an upper back door entrance.

I also use slatted racks and screened bottom boards on all of my hives.

When I added a slatted rack, it made a huge difference:
http://beekeeperlinda.blogspot.com/2006/06/its-miracle-beforeand-after.html

I'm frustrated right now because  Betterbee is back-ordered on their slatted racks - I've waited two months for the two more that I need and am still waiting.  It's important that the slatted racks run the same way as the frames for most effective use of the screened bottom board and many companies (Brushy Mtn, Rossman) sell slatted racks with the racks running cross-wise (not helpful).

Linda T in Atlanta wishing I had better construction skills

[JP]

Feral colonies beard, its just what bees do, mine beard.

...JP

[WhipCityBeeMan]

My colonies beard as well, although not just yet here in MA.  Its still cool. I almost fired up the wood stove this past week. 

-WHIPCITYBEEMAN

[Dick Allen]

Bees even up here at latitude N 60º will sometimes beard up on the outside of their hives when it gets very warm. It generally cools down by early evening here so then they mostly go back inside. I was introduced to beekeeping by an uncle in upstate New York at latitude N 43º. In summer, bees were always seen bearded up on the outside of their hives by late afternoon and sometimes still bearded there the following mornings.   

[crowhammer]

     It's 11:30 pm here and i just went outside to check on the bees and give them another jar of syrup. The entire front of the hive is a beard, two and three bees thick. tomorrow, if we don't get rained out, I'm going to check out how everyone is doing and install my Popsicle sticks. Will also definitely look into slatted racks.
     I'm using a deep hive body and a medium super as the brood area because the guy at dadant said that's all he uses. My medium super is plastic foundation w/out wax coating that i put on last week. Tomorrow will be the first time I check it. Didn't know enough to wax coat or spray w/ syrup. I hope they are drawing it out anyway. I've been giving them a steady diet of sugar syrup and MegaBee. so hope that will speed the drawing out.

[HAB]

You're in Florida - even here in Atlanta on hot days/nights the bees congregate outside the hive.  They are trying to keep the inside of the hive at optimum temp - that means that often to achieve that a certain number of bodies have to be outside the hive or fanning on the entrance way.

In Atlanta I keep the tops propped open with a stick - provides both ventilation and an upper back door entrance.

I also use slatted racks and screened bottom boards on all of my hives.

When I added a slatted rack, it made a huge difference:
http://beekeeperlinda.blogspot.com/2006/06/its-miracle-beforeand-after.html

I'm frustrated right now because  Betterbee is back-ordered on their slatted racks - I've waited two months for the two more that I need and am still waiting.  It's important that the slatted racks run the same way as the frames for most effective use of the screened bottom board and many companies (Brushy Mtn, Rossman) sell slatted racks with the racks running cross-wise (not helpful).

Linda T in Atlanta wishing I had better construction skills

Linda T,
We live farther south and closer to the Gulf humidity.  It has been so hot and humid lately!  But not once has our one really full hive (we have a second and two small Nucs) Bearded on the outside of the hive or acted hot (currently 92F and 60%Humidity) in any way.
We do have ours located in the partial shade (from about 10:00am-4:00pm) and on SBB but nothing else.  Wonder why we aren't seeing any of your signs?

[tillie]

Hi HAB,

Mine aren't bearding yet - the pictures from my blog that I posted are from two years ago in the summer - they will beard as we get hot nights - right now our nights are in the 60's.  Once we hit late June, then the bearding starts.

Linda T in Hotlanta

[rast]

 crowhammer, I am about 30 miles east of you. I went with a screen bottom board, slat rack, and 1/4 spacers under the top cover. a deep and two mediums. Stopped the bearding, but as humid and hot as it has been, there are some still on the landing board till the wee hours of the morning when it cools off some.
Rick

[crowhammer]

I put a couple of sticks in between the top body and frame today. I've already seen bees fanning. Will report how it works!

[crowhammer]

Haha, my bad. I put the sticks between the body and cover.