Do bees all "wake up" at the same time?

[Monkey]

I have two hives, about 5 feet apart. Both were new last year from nucs.

One of them is now really active, with lots of pollen going in, there is lot of biscuit coloured debris on the floor below.

The other, while active, is very quiet in comparison. Where the first hive has several bees around the entrance all the time (weather allowing), this one has the occasional (every 10-20 seconds at a rough guess) leaver or returner. A very small amount of debris below.

Both hives were given a kilo of fondant at the end of October. The quiet hive needed a top-up and was given another 2.5kg, direct on the frames at the end of January. The busy hive hadn't finished the 1kg they'd been given so I left them alone.

The forecast is pretty warm for the next few days, so I plan to open them both up to have very quick check that all seems ok. I am worried about the quiet hive though. So my question is would I expect the two hives to be as active as each other, or is what I am seeing perfectly normal?

 

[Erichalfbee]

I think you can tell only by looking.
I have a small colony like that and I’m moving them into a poly nuc box in a few days so it might be an idea to have one handy

 

[maddydog]

There is genetic variability between colonies with regard to their foraging. Some on here report that their black bees will forage in temperatures that my carni mongrels baulk at.
Having said that it wouldn't surprise me if there was a problem with your hive.

 

[enrico]

Two hives can be totally different. One may survive winter on the minority of bees and take a while to get going whilst another may be up and running almost immediately.
E

 

[drex]

Tend to agree with enrich. Most of my hives are at different levels of activity. After a couple of inspections I tend to move boxes or frames to equalise out, which makes general apiary management easier for rest of year. Of course making sure all are healthy before any moving about