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NewBEE ? : ) have a concern with my Two Hives

2K views 10 replies 7 participants last post by  BuzzedOff 
#1 ·
Hello,

I have a concern that something is amiss. I have two hives, the stronger one from last fall, was active during the last few weeks, but there is barely ANY activity now. The weaker of the two is already working ferociously. I popped the top on the stronger of the two, and it is filled with bees! A bunch flew up and buzzed around me, apparently wondering if I was going to bother the hive. Yet very few are coming in and out of the entrance of the hive. I have pondered the possibilities:

1. The hive still busy reading the last chapter of War and Peace.

2. Something is amiss in the bottom of the last medium, a collapse in the frame or did they over build it, seal it, trying to keep out the drafts? I'm certain that I need to open it up today. I just wish I could get my mentor to come down and look at this, he's just not available. I thought I would ask before I set forth and got into something that was over my head.

3. this is normal and they will come out when they are good and ready?

:s
 
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#2 ·
Welcome to Beesource!

Its not unusual for hives to behave differently, particularly from just observing the entrance. If you have overwintered hives, perhaps its time to step up and handle an inspection without your mentor. Wear your veil, and have that smoker going. :D
 
#4 ·
:D I'm used to working things out by myself. I just got the mentor, there are so few folks that live around here, normally not a bad thing... as I live in the middle of nooo where. It's just that he's busy until next week, when I hoped to split some nuc's out. We still had below freezing temp's at night, just last week. We are now in a forecasted warm spell, unusually warm for so long, normally we can have frosts until the first of June.The first few days of warm weather I chalked up to hives behaving differently, now with so few bees coming and going in that one hive, I'm just worrying. I guess I'd serve my time better reading that last chapter? : )
 
#6 ·
just speculating, but you said the hive in question was busy early on. Could be the queen put down a bunch of brood, and now everyone has to stay home, clustered up, to keep it warm. That should be fine as long as they have stores to feed the homebound brood warmers. Once things get warmer they can put out more foragers. The weaker hive's queen may not have laid a very large pattern early on, so the workers in that hive are able to come and go without needing to warm a larger broodnest.
 
#7 · (Edited by Moderator)
Thanks!
I would think that that could be a possibility. I decided to do what I learned as a kid when I thought there was a bee's nest, but no bees a buzzing; I shoved a stick in the entrance :popcorn:

Still nothing coming out the main entrance, but a bunch of dead bees and some foundation fodder, maybe fifty or so dead bees. I also could feel something like a broken foundation hanging down. Upon a further inspection, I noticed more propolis staining on the outside of the hive body near the two small entrance holes at the top of the hive. So I pulled the top feeder off and there were a whole bunch busy working on the top foundation frames. There was a huge amount of propolis on the bottom side of the feeder tray, at the joints of the individual frames. I wonder if they sealed themselves off, after a mouse got in there or some other catastrophic incident ? Well I'm off to peak a little further. Good bye cruel world :lookout:
 
#10 ·
It sounds to me like your queen died over the winter. The population of your hive declined naturally over time. With no brood and not many bees most of your honey was left untouched.

To check for a queen look at each and every frame and try and find eggs, if you find eggs you have a queen. If you have no eggs anywhere in your hive you are most likely queenless.

I would reduce the size of your hive down to just the box that actually has bees in it.

If your other hive is strong enough remove two frames with eggs and open brood and place them together in the middle of your possibly queenless hive and make sure the have a few frames of honey.

By cutting down on the space they have you will make it easier for the small number of bees you have to warm their hive. This should also eliminate your condensation problem.

By adding frames with eggs they should be able to raise a new queen, if by some chance they already have a queen the new brood will boost their population.

Or, you can buy a new queen and introduce her.

Either way, you need to make your hive smaller.

If you think they need more honey then add frames from your other mediums but don't don't add any hive bodies until you get your population up. If you only have as many bees as a nuc then you need to make your hive as nuc like as possible.

Or, a last resort, if you can't raise a queen or buy one, combine those bees with your other hives. Without a queen you are going to lose the hive one way or another, you may as well add those bees to your viable hive and build it up rather than let them die of old age.
 
#11 ·
It sounds to me like your queen died over the winter. The population of your hive declined naturally over time. With no brood and not many bees most of your honey was left untouched.

To check for a queen look at each and every frame and try and find eggs, if you find eggs you have a queen. If you have no eggs anywhere in your hive you are most likely queenless.

I would reduce the size of your hive down to just the box that actually has bees in it.
Sounds like great advice. I will check for this this afternoon after it warms up a bit more. Thank you, thank you all for your help. I'll let you know what I find!
 
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