steve_e
House Bee
- Joined
- Jan 19, 2010
- Messages
- 251
- Reaction score
- 0
- Location
- East Sussex
- Hive Type
- National
- Number of Hives
- 3
I have a queenless (though very full) hive. I'm waiting to either merge or re-queen it. Over the last few days they've been acting very oddly.
They are in the garden so I have easy and regular views of them. They act as though they are swarming - very full swarm - crawling all over the hive and air thick with bees for 10 to 15 minutes. However they don't actually take off, they just slowly return and cluster outside the hive for a while before returning to normal.
It happened three times today, once this morning at about 9.30am then again this afternoon at 1pm and again at 2.30pm. I've never knowingly seen a mating flight, so although I guess it's possible I've missed a virgin queen it could be that I suppose, but the descriptions I've heard of them don't sound anything like as dramatic as a swarm?
Is there anything else it could be? Are they just exhibiting queenless distress or something?
They are in the garden so I have easy and regular views of them. They act as though they are swarming - very full swarm - crawling all over the hive and air thick with bees for 10 to 15 minutes. However they don't actually take off, they just slowly return and cluster outside the hive for a while before returning to normal.
It happened three times today, once this morning at about 9.30am then again this afternoon at 1pm and again at 2.30pm. I've never knowingly seen a mating flight, so although I guess it's possible I've missed a virgin queen it could be that I suppose, but the descriptions I've heard of them don't sound anything like as dramatic as a swarm?
Is there anything else it could be? Are they just exhibiting queenless distress or something?