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bees hanging out.

2K views 4 replies 5 participants last post by  Curtis 
#1 ·
I have 3 hives that were started in May with a package in each hive. Lately the bees in two of the hives have been hanging out on the outside of the hive. On one hive they were on crowded on top of one another in a vertical line. The temp. has been in the low eighties in the daytime. Is this OK or is a warning of some kind.
 
#2 ·
Bees do this usually for one of three reasons: They are crowded and need more space, they are hot, or they need better ventilation. Sometimes, all 3 conditions exist. If they have adequate space and ventilation, then they are likely just hanging out on the front porch to keep the hive and themselves cool.
 
#4 ·
Like others have said, they might be crowded and are hot. Another reason is that they are ventilating the hive to help reduce moisture in the hive to "cure" honey. More warm bodies in the hive equals higher amounts of respiration, and hence more moisture, which defeats the purpose... Also, they might be fanning to bring the moisture out.

If one of my hive does that too often (during this time of year), I check the hive to see if I need to add another brood box or super. I just did that to two hives yesterday - one was a new split which was just booming in population, and low on brood space (new queen is a laying machine), and another hive was running low on space to put some basswood nectar. Sometimes the bees are trying to tell us something - we just need to "listen".

MM
 
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