observation hive activity: is this normal?

[phill]

After making myself an observation hive, I finally got around to installing a small colony last weekend. So far so good, but...

The last couple of days-- the first good-weather days since they took up residence-- the level of activity has got frantic in the afternoon. After a reasonably calm, busy morning, the buzzing rises to a high pitch, there are lots of bees circling outside, and I start worrying whether this is normal.

Robbing? I haven't seen any fighting, nor are there dead bees around the entrance. The entrance is a 2" PVC tube, leading to a 2" circular hole that I can close up still further with a sliding-door arrangement. I've got it pretty small now; I'd think there are enough bees (they cover 2 deep frames) to defend it. The bees that come streaming in a peak-traffic times go right for the brood nest, not the honey; the honey stores seem intact.

So: does this sound normal? I don't have enough experience to know.

[Kathyp]

do they have any kind of landing board outside?  they may just be jamming up waiting for their chance to enter.  more activity during the warmth of the day is normal.  you may also be seeing some orientation flights.  they usually happen in the pm.

sometimes i hear mine buzzing in the middle of the night.  it's a pleasant sound  :-)

[Tommyt]

Orientation Flights come to mind
but I'm not near as good as many here
on Beemas,but I've read it many times
seen it many also

Tommyt

Re-read
Are they doing cleansing flights after being locked in due to weather

[phill]

The bees circling outside look pretty much normal to me: some orientation flights, some waiting to get in. It's the pitch of the buzzing inside the hive that I wonder about. Again, I have no experience with an observation hive, so I don't know what to expect.

The buzzing gets louder and higher in pitch as the activity increases. That's natural, right? But put it this way: If I heard this level of buzzing while I was working a hive outside, I'd finish up quickly and get out. 

[Scadsobees]

Is that buzzing inside or outside the hive?  They're going to be that much more busy, fanning honey and so on.  You probably don't notice it in a regular hive as much, you aren't as close and when you open the hive and smoke them it interrupts their normal workings.

One thing neat to try...when they are all busy and running around in the hive, play a high pitched tone or make a high pitched tone with your voice and watch what they do - mine all freeze for the duration of the tone.

[specialkayme]

Keep in mind that I am not hearing it personally, but yes, that is normal.

One of the fun things about an observation hive is getting to listen to them. Different hives will sound different, at different times of the day and different times of the year. I had an OH in my bedroom while I was in college. My girlfriend (now wife) would spend the night and get super freaked out that there was a low humming noise coming from the box about 3 feet from our head.