Usurpation?

Tommo · July 20, 2015, 09:31:42 AM

So I took a look at my hive this afternoon and saw a large clump of bees around the entrance, with a queen in amongst them, they were all piling into the entrance with a constant stream of bees still arriving while this happened. The guard bees seemed irritated but there wasn't any fighting going on and within half an hour the activity died down(the sun was setting) and they all entered the hive. I did a quick inspection a couple of weeks ago and there was definitely a queen already in there and laying well.
It's still winter so it's a bit early for swarms to be looking for a home, so I'm a little confused about what exactly was going on. It's a fairly weak colony only occupying 7 frames in a 10 frame hive. I started it from a weak nuc late in the season and it's taken a while to get going, it's had a lot of problems but finally seemed to be doing well.

I'm not too worried, since more bees can't be a bad thing but I'm curious about what it was all about.
Could it have been a neighbour's hive absconding and taking over my colony? Maybe a swarm from my own colony leaving, then returning?

This is my first colony and I'm still learning the basics so I'm not sure what's normal bee behaviour and what isn't. I'm just west of Brisbane(If that helps).

BeeMaster2 · July 20, 2015, 01:10:37 PM

Your subject line says it all. Looks like this hive will be a lot stronger for the winter. Ask your neighbor if he had a hive abscond. I lost 5 hives this spring to absconding.
Not really a bad thing for your hive.
Jim

BeeMaster2 · July 20, 2015, 01:12:52 PM

This hive may have come from a long way off. They may have come from another area and were looking for better grassing grounds.
Do you have anything in bloom still?
Jim

Tommo · July 21, 2015, 01:46:35 AM

Yeah, I'm in the sub-tropics so there are still some plants in bloom even in the middle of winter, they've been bringing a range of different pollens in fairly steadily so there must be food out there for them.

I'm glad to hear that it's good news for the colony. There's a lot more activity from the hive than there was previously and there's suddenly a large number of bees busy propolizing around the entrance, I guess they're doing some redecorating. Thanks for clarifying what was going on, I wasn't too sure what was happening at first.

BeeMaster2 · July 21, 2015, 08:28:58 PM

NP. Keep us updated on how this hive does, especially next year.
Jim

chriso38 · July 23, 2015, 05:44:06 AM

Hey mate, It may have also been a swarm of bees hit the existing hive also, but it would be rare at this time of year..but not impossible. All my hives are doing well also at this time of year.. seems a rather mild winter so far.. Don't let them run out of room though.. Make sure they have frames to build on.. If the outer frames are starting to fill with honey, then its time to add another box....

Oldbeavo · July 23, 2015, 08:36:08 AM

Tommo
Was she a mature queen or a smaller bodied young queen?
When you last inspected your hive were there any queen cells?