WebKiwiNZ 46 Posted November 8, 2019 Share Posted November 8, 2019 I had a weird thing tonight. 11pm. The hive has a beard thats quietly humming. 20degrees. Not much wind. I assume they are cooling the hive. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Alastair 8,554 Posted November 8, 2019 Share Posted November 8, 2019 6 minutes ago, WebKiwiNZ said: I assume they are cooling the hive. Exactly right. They will appreciate if you open up that tiny entrance. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
Maggie James 874 Posted November 8, 2019 Share Posted November 8, 2019 They will be making the hive hotter because they are now blocking the entrance. Prob not enough room for them all to be inside when they are not foraging. Definitely agree with Alastair - get rid of that bit of wood that appears to be under the hive. Then today at a cooler time, do a hive inspection. You need to check for swarm cells. if the hive is really crowded and you are in for a hot day, don't go inspecting in hot temperatures cos you will interfere with their natural ventilation system and you may cause them to swarm Quote Link to post Share on other sites
WebKiwiNZ 46 Posted November 9, 2019 Author Share Posted November 9, 2019 Thanks for that. They were a new hive in mid autumn so blocked the hole to be a small one as we had a lot of robbing attempts. Its now open to about 1/3 the bottom but will open it up fully. They look strong enough again. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
AdamD 338 Posted November 10, 2019 Share Posted November 10, 2019 Do they have enough space inside the hive? Colonies could be expanding quickly - and a frame of brood is apparently 3 frames of bees..... Quote Link to post Share on other sites
WebKiwiNZ 46 Posted November 12, 2019 Author Share Posted November 12, 2019 Yes. They lost a queen earlier so a new virgin queen started 3 weeks ago. Only 2 to 3 frames of brood. Put 10 frames on 4 weeks ago but will do another 10 as much of that is nectar and honey. About 20 plus kgs in weight. Quote Link to post Share on other sites
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