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bees on outside of hive, my hypothesis.

2K views 10 replies 7 participants last post by  mudlake 
#1 ·
This is a first time occurrence for me. I have two late July splits in the shade, partial shade anyway, that are bearding. I say bearding, but this isn't exactly what I thought bearding looks like. Anyway, it is usually said that they leave the hive because of being too hot. Yes it was a little warmer than it had been,mid 80's, but the real change was the past two days they have been bringing in the goldenrod nectar.

So is clustering outside of the hive not really heat related, at least in this case, but more of a function of drying down the nectar? Maybe the bees have to leave the comb to facilitate better air circulation.:scratch:

By the way these hives do not have ScreenedBB's. My other hives in the yard, which were in full sun, do have screenedBB's and have no bearding.

 
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#3 ·
I propped the lids this morning, and yes no more bearding. But I don't think the nectar flow was a coincidence. Perhaps heat alone doesn't do it, maybe heat with all the humidity of the nectar? I guess the solution is the same, they need more air circulation, but I'm just curious as to the exact cause. Thanks for your reply Bee-Sarge
 
#7 ·
Those are pretty strong looking "splits" so why don't you have honey supers on board ?
But never mind that. With a strong nectar flow, and the need to evaporate it, the bees must optimize the airflow to facilitize the effecient evaporation. I am sure that if you stand close to the hive you can hear the roar of the bees fanning. It takes a lot of work to draw air in the bottom and then blow air back out the bottom. A large number of bees remove themselves from the hive for proper air flow, not necessairliy because they are hot.

By venting the top, you facilitate natural convection and the nectar will dry down much easier.
 
#8 ·
Fuzzy- your response makes the most sense to me. You are absolutely correct, they were roaring.

My analogy of what I think is going on is as follows: You ever go to an outdoor concert where they didn't have bleachers\stadium seating, and you are unlucky enough to be toward the back with all those people in front of you? Do you recall how you couldn't hear very good because all those people were blocking the sound waves? Now pretend those people were bees on a frame and you were trying to blow air across it. I'm guessing that sound waves act similar to air flow. Does that make any sense at all? In order for the bees to facilitate drying, a great many must leave the combs.
 
#9 ·
Those are pretty strong looking "splits" so why don't you have honey supers on board ?
I'm out of mediums. I have to use deeps. My plan is to purchase mediums this winter.

The hive on the right is two deeps at about 7 of 10 frames covered with bees, the third deep on top is undrawn foundation so they have plenty of room.
The hive on left is about 8 of 10 frames filled with bees, top box undrawn foundation. So in my opinion they are not that strong, but are way ahead of where I thought they would be in terms of growth.
 
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