[ClassicCannons]

Hi You All
I had Joined this forum last year around this time with question about the honey bee's that had came back to the grain barn at my house. My question is this they have done well on repopulating and now at night they are all over the the outside of their home/hive.

The swarm is about the size of a car door and about 3" thick they are all on top of each other buzzing loudly.

My question is this what type of hive should i make or should i make a 4" high by 3" wide box with a hinged front and small side doors to check the combs.

I'll have angled comb post so they can build their combs.

Or should i just buy a hive box but they require deviders for the comb. I have found a nice simple at backyardhive which looks quite simple i could make one like it and have the back attached to the hive thats in the grain barn. Will that allow the Queen to stay where she is and they could make the combs with the honey in the new hive. Below are some pictures of the hive i'm talking about thanks any input would be helpfull. My 12 years old is looking forward to building something for them. Or if i wait to long will they leave for a new home they had only started to swarm in the past few days

 

[ClassicCannons]

Here are the images of the bees but this picture was taken in the day and there are like 10 times as more than the pictures show are they at risk of leaving please let me know thanks AMG

 

[jal_ut]

The bees in your picture are hanging out near the entrance because the interior space is full and crowded and it is hot weather. Yes, they may decide to swarm, in which case the queen would leave with half or more of the older bees. They would most likely cluster nearby at first and you could capture the swarm. You would need a hive to put them in. I suggest that if you are interested in that, you should get a standard Longstroth type hive to put them in. You can Google beekeeping supplies and find sources.

It is a big project and sometimes disappointing to try to remove bees from a building and try to save them. Seek the advice of a pro if that is your intent. Those bees will continue to live in the barn and prosper even if a swarm does go out. There will be a replacement queen.

 

[charmd2]

They are bearding. and only because it is miserably hot here right now. This is not a swarm. But you could get started building a hive in the event they swarm next spring.

Bearding is a way they regulate their temperatures in the hive.

 

[ClassicCannons]

Hi Thanks for the info do you think it would be a good idea to make the hive shown as you can probly tell i'm new at this but i'd like to keep them around there kind of neat thanks Austin

 

[kbenz]

you should get a standard Longstroth type hive to put them in.

whats wrong with using the top bar hive to put them in??

 

[Andrew Dewey]

There is nothing "wrong" with putting the bees in a top bar hive. Many folks on this forum, including myself, don't have experience working with TBH and thus will not able to give you advice on particular problems you may encounter. But there are many others with experience with TBH who can.

 

[ClassicCannons]

Hi
So would it be fine to attach a hive to the barn with side panels to check on the status of the top bars. I had opened the door last night and removed some comb and got a cup of honey tried it and it was good. But when i had opened the door the comb was attached to it and it broke the comb and honey dripped out so would it be best not to open the door or should i remove all the attached combs and then attach the new hive thanks Austin

There is nothing "wrong" with putting the bees in a top bar hive. Many folks on this forum, including myself, don't have experience working with TBH and thus will not able to give you advice on particular problems you may encounter. But there are many others with experience with TBH who can.

 

[ClassicCannons]

Hi Their
Here are some close up Pictures of the Honey Bee's