Beemaster's International Beekeeping Forum

BEEKEEPING LEARNING CENTER => TOP BAR HIVES - WARRE HIVES - LONG HIVES => Topic started by: Arthur on July 21, 2012, 12:58:20 am

Title: What are my bees doing?
Post by: Arthur on July 21, 2012, 12:58:20 am

I'm not sure what's going on here. I added a box (to the top like a super) on Monday, and every day since, more and more of them have been hanging out on the outside. I looked inside today, and there are a few dozen in the new box just kind of wandering around. What's going on?

(http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b378/tarior/DSCF0177.jpg)

Title: Re: What are my bees doing?
Post by: hardwood on July 21, 2012, 01:30:30 am

Bearding...no biggie. When you added the box was it just foundation? Foundationless? I find that switching a couple of frames from the bottom box to the top one will help entice the bees up to the new box if so.

Scott

Title: Re: What are my bees doing?
Post by: Arthur on July 21, 2012, 01:34:46 am

Foundationless bare frames that I built from cedar. When I looked in today, I spritzed a little sugar water in the top to see if a few more would come up.

Title: Re: What are my bees doing?
Post by: AllenF on July 21, 2012, 06:18:32 pm

Bearding is the same as us sitting on the front porch on a hot summer evening.  It is all cool.   

Title: Re: What are my bees doing?
Post by: jredburn on July 29, 2012, 09:09:17 pm

Did you use aromatic Cedar?

Title: Re: What are my bees doing?
Post by: Arthur on July 30, 2012, 11:29:02 am

The box in the pic is actually fir. I'm using cedar for all my new hive boxes.