I went into my backyard to check on my hives and the whole backyard was full of bees in flight. One of the hives had bees all over the entrance. They were festooning and falling off into the grass below. There were clumps of mostly young bees on the ground. At first I thought they were swarming but then i saw thick layers of bees swirling into the hive entrance. This hive was made queen less after a split and I left three queen cells to hatch out. Today would have been the right time for a mating flight. Does the queen usually travel with such a large entourage?
Swarming or mating flight return?
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My wife has had the chance of seeing this type of activity two times... she was amazed and said that bees were everywhere. By the time that I made it home, there were only a few bees "bearding" near the entrance. These both happened near the time that a virgin should be making mating flights.
Obama would be jealous if he saw the kind of calvacade these girls provide. I don't see how a bird could pick off the queen with that many bees in the air. It was pretty impressive. I'd say half of a large healthy hive was in the air.
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