New-Bee from Central Florida

[chefbb]

Hi!!!  I am brand new to bee-keeping.  I have wanted to get started for a couple of years and have finally made the plunge.  I feel so dumb because I know very little about what I am doing!  Hopefully I will learn a lot from the forum!  I am in central Florida near Orlando.  Most of the Bee Books I have read are more for Northern Bees that have cold climates. 
I bought 2 hives of bees from a gentleman that is having health problems and no longer care for his bees. One thing I have noticed is that the bees seem to "congregate" on the hive above the entrance. About 100 bees are there. Is this normal? Or is this a "sign" of some sort?? Like they are crowded? If this questions has already been asked and answered, please refer me to area where I can find the answer.  Look forward to reading all the info...there is certainly quite a lot!

[indypartridge]

Hello and Welcome!

This forum is a friendly place to learn about bees & beekeeping. The tutorials on the main page were one of the first places I looked when I began my beekeeping journey a few years back.

I am in central Florida near Orlando

We have several here from Florida. I encourage you to get involved with a local beekeeping club:
http://www.floridabeekeepers.org/
Local clubs are great places to find mentors; get connected with nearby beeks and learn all the local beekeeping techniques.

One thing I have noticed is that the bees seem to "congregate" on the hive above the entrance.

Perfectly normal - just hanging out on the front porch.

....please refer me to area where I can find the answer

I use the 'search' function a lot. Very often I find that my question has already been discussed and I can find an immediate answer. A great feature if you're impatient, like me!

[Cindi]

Brenda, welcome to our forum.  Pampered Chef, I think that I went to a party years ago and bought some really nice and cool stuff, by the way, oops, off topic, kind of, hee, hee.

You will find our forum the best place for you to get information, learn, become a great beekeeper.  The more you learn the more you will want to learn, you will be held under their spell, you will soon find that out -- if you haven't already.

Yes, use the search function.  What you are seeing with the bees hanging out is sometimes referred to as "bearding".  Do the search on the forum using "bearding" as the key search word.  That will take you to many posts about this interesting topic.

Stick around, you will make friends here, you will find us a very friendly and helpful group, ask all the questions that you need, no question is ever considered dumb or irrelevant.  AND....have that most beautiful day, lovin' and livin' our wonderful lives.  Cindi

[chefbb]

Thanks for all the encouraging words and information.  I had a local beekeeper come over to help me look ar t my hives today.  I do beleive the reson for the "bearding" is becuase they are too crowded.  So we added a super and hopefully they will go inside and get to work!

[crowhammer]

Hello,
I'm from Central Florida, also. But nearer the west coast. Mine beard up a lot. I opened the cover a little to give them some ventilation and that really seemed to help. Good Luck.