Congragation

[Dexterboy]

I'm new to bee keeping and I've had my hive now for about 2 1/2 months, there doing pretty well and I'm not overly concerned about anything as they have filled and capped 7 frames of the 9 frame super, however the last 3 times I have been up they seem to be congragating round the entrance and I've not seen them do this before, is it normal or should I be worried? Also yesterday when I got up they where about 12 bees in a ball with a lager size flying insect in the middle, I don't think it was a bee or a wasp but they was decapitating it, any advice would be greatly appreciated.

 

[Erichalfbee]

I'm new to bee keeping and I've had my hive now for about 2 1/2 months, there doing pretty well and I'm not overly concerned about anything as they have filled and capped 7 frames of the 9 frame super, however the last 3 times I have been up they seem to be congragating round the entrance and I've not seen them do this before, is it normal or should I be worried? Also yesterday when I got up they where about 12 bees in a ball with a lager size flying insect in the middle, I don't think it was a bee or a wasp but they was decapitating it, any advice would be greatly appreciated.

Don’t be concerned with the insect. The guard bees are just doing their job
If your bees have capped 7 frames they need more room. A second super should go on as soon as the first super is full of bees. They need room to ripen the honey and somewhere to move to when they are not flying. What’s the brood box like. Is there much honey there? Has the queen got room to lay? They might be putting their honey there. When did you last look in?

 

[Dexterboy]

Thanks erichalfbee, I haven't looked in the brood chamber for about 2 weeks and last time I looked in I didn't really know what I was looking at, all I knew is that it was very busy in there and that it disturbed them and had them going a bit crazy, what should I be looking for? As for the new super I'm buying some frames tomorrow and putting them in.

 

[Erichalfbee]

Do you have a beekeeping association local to you? Can somebody with experience look in and give you a hand? You really need to assess the brood box and you obviously need a little help. Is there a forum member nearby? Where in Derbyshire are you?

 

[Dexterboy]

I'm local to Bakewell in Derbyshire, I don't know about any beekeeping associations, to be honest I didn't think there was anything else I needed to do before I started once I had everything to go, all I thought I would need to do was call my bee supplier who I got my package from if I had a problem, what do i need to check for in the brood chamber then? I'll be going up tomorrow to put another super on, should I put the new directly above the brood or on top of the super, or does it not matter?

 

[Erichalfbee]

Oh if it were that simple.
Bees need to be managed.
In a sentence, you need to check their stores, space for queen to lay, health of the brood and for queen cells during the swarming period.
Give association a call and see if somebody can give you a hand. Book a course with them over the winter
In the normal course of events the queen will fill the bottom box with brood. If the bees fill it with honey they will swarm
Put your super under the existing one

 

[pargyle]

Don’t be concerned with the insect. The guard bees are just doing their job
If your bees have capped 7 frames they need more room. A second super should go on as soon as the first super is full of bees. They need room to ripen the honey and somewhere to move to when they are not flying. What’s the brood box like. Is there much honey there? Has the queen got room to lay? They might be putting their honey there. When did you last look in?

Looks to me like he's on double brood already ?

Big colonies for beginners can be very intimidating .. Personally, without someone alongside that knows what they are doing and are able to do it quickly I would let them get on with it. A second super won't do any harm and is an easy addition if they are running out of space (look like national boxes).

Mine are bearding a bit at present and with the amount of honey in the brood chambers they can be a bit tetchy when I go in. Inspections are very light and just tend to be checking for space and brood.

OP's colony looks to be healthy and of a size .. swarming likelihood is low this late in the season with double brood and a super - although always a possibilty.

OP probably needs moire help that the forum can provide at this stage - perhaps a few eveings reading a bee book might be the best advice. £16 well spent on Haynes Manual of Beekeeping from Amazon perhaps ?

 

[philipm]

I've had a couple of hives where the bees pile out the front on inspections.Don't think its a big problem.

 

[Dexterboy]

It's not during inspection they come out, there already out when I get there.

 

[Dexterboy]

I did look at the haynes manual before I set up but wasn't sure how credible it would be as I've always had that brand for car manuals and they haven't always been great for that, I take it it is good book then?

 

[pargyle]

I did look at the haynes manual before I set up but wasn't sure how credible it would be as I've always had that brand for car manuals and they haven't always been great for that, I take it it is good book then?

For beginners it's an excellent book to get you through the basics of the first couple of seasons .. it won't answer all the questions you will face as a beekeeper but it's a step by step guide, written very clearly and by good beekeepers, that if you follow it through the season will help enormously.

There are lots of other beebooks but as a simple, logical, UK relevant read .. it's good.