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16 Posts
Hello... a noobie here.
I received my first two packages of Carniolans on April 27. The weather had taken a turn for the worst. It was cold and rainy. I got my two colonies into their respective Top-Bar-Hives two days after pick-up. There was no foraging due to the cold conditions. The bees didn't even leave their cluster to feed from their feeder. I was a tad concerned about the colonies starving. In one the bees were starting to drop. Finally after two more days of wet and cold it finally warmed enough for the bees to forage. Both colonies were active, but more so in the colony where the bees had begun to die.
After three days the colony that had me the most concerned had produced three combs which I later found contained honey. The "healthier" hive wasn't matching the productivity of the other.
The next day, after checking on both active hives, I ran some errands. When I came home 2.5 hours later I was surprised to see a swarm of bees buzzing around the bushes in front of our front door. So many in fact that we were unable to use the door. I ran to check the hives in back only to find that the colony that had initially lost the most bees had absconded. My hope was they would cluster by nightfall and I could return them to their hive. We took our son to his soccer practice and returned 75 minutes later... only to find that the bees had flown the coup.
I checked the empty hive and was quite impressed with what the bees had produced in just three days... AND there was honey too!
Please see photos at: http://gdnghtjohnboy.smugmug.com/Missing-Bees/i-Cqb4Lqr
Now here's my problem. After just under one month my remaining hive is active, but doesn't look like it has produced as much as my absconded hive produced in just three days. Is it normal to have hives with such completely different personalities/habits? The hive that absconded did seem more active and might I say aggressive.
Should I be concerned with my remaining "slow" colony?
All thoughts are appreciated.
I received my first two packages of Carniolans on April 27. The weather had taken a turn for the worst. It was cold and rainy. I got my two colonies into their respective Top-Bar-Hives two days after pick-up. There was no foraging due to the cold conditions. The bees didn't even leave their cluster to feed from their feeder. I was a tad concerned about the colonies starving. In one the bees were starting to drop. Finally after two more days of wet and cold it finally warmed enough for the bees to forage. Both colonies were active, but more so in the colony where the bees had begun to die.
After three days the colony that had me the most concerned had produced three combs which I later found contained honey. The "healthier" hive wasn't matching the productivity of the other.
The next day, after checking on both active hives, I ran some errands. When I came home 2.5 hours later I was surprised to see a swarm of bees buzzing around the bushes in front of our front door. So many in fact that we were unable to use the door. I ran to check the hives in back only to find that the colony that had initially lost the most bees had absconded. My hope was they would cluster by nightfall and I could return them to their hive. We took our son to his soccer practice and returned 75 minutes later... only to find that the bees had flown the coup.
I checked the empty hive and was quite impressed with what the bees had produced in just three days... AND there was honey too!

Please see photos at: http://gdnghtjohnboy.smugmug.com/Missing-Bees/i-Cqb4Lqr
Now here's my problem. After just under one month my remaining hive is active, but doesn't look like it has produced as much as my absconded hive produced in just three days. Is it normal to have hives with such completely different personalities/habits? The hive that absconded did seem more active and might I say aggressive.
Should I be concerned with my remaining "slow" colony?
All thoughts are appreciated.