Is this normal?

[cinnamon]

Hello all,

I haven't been on here for a while, as we were in the process of moving.

We moved 2 weeks ago. Before the move to prevent swarming, I wanted to give them more room so I put a super above the BB, then a queen excluder, and another super on top of that. Not sure if that was advisable but logically if they had more room to expand, they wouldn't swarm, or so I thought. So don't shoot me down if this was a silly idea. Anyway... the question is not about the 1.5 brood box setup (although it may be related... don't know.. hence why I'm here to ask)

Today I checked the bees in between rain showers. The super under the Queen Excluder had loads of larvae and pack full of stores and pollen, so I left them to it. The super above the Queen excluder had 2 frames pack full of honey but uncapped.

Please see the image. There are a ton of bees hanging outside the hive all the time. I took this image about 10 minutes ago, so well after 9:30pm in Scotland. Still light out but evening nevertheless. Why won't they go in? Is this normal? Is this a sign of upcoming swarming?

 

[Beefriendly]

There are a ton of bees hanging outside the hive all the time. I took this image about 10 minutes ago,

It's called a Cèilidh. ...it's not a lot of bees and don't worry.

 

[Millet]

It's called a Cèilidh. ...it's not a lot of bees and don't worry.

What ever it is called brood plus half is a pain in the BUT, i am still trying to clear a super of brood now which will probably be 2/3rds full of concrete through waiting...

Much better going double brood if the need arises from past experience.

 

[beeno]

Mine are doing it at the moment. Defending the entrance against robbers.

 

[user 6228]

Its common on warm summer nights. The hive should be making quite a racket at well

 

[cinnamon]

Phew! Good to know I hadn't messed up!
@beefriendly @derekm and @beeno - thank you so much for giving me peace of mind.
@Millet - I am now wondering how to get the super free of brood but to "gradually" cleanse it off brood, I took out 2 frames that were pack full of honey only, no brood, no pollen - just honey on either side of the super box and replaced those frames with dummy boards. Now all tightly packed. The problem is I have only 1 dummy board left so I can't keep doing that every time I inspect and remove a frame. Roughly 2 dummy boards per 1 super frame... Or maybe I get more dummy boards and fill it all out until all clear LOL. I don't know. They need to be able to get through to the super above the queen excluder so that's not a good idea. I may just leave them until the autumn when the numbers diminish and queen stops laying.

Still learning... But good to know thus far I have not messed things up royally. They all seemed to be happy and non-agrresive. I feared they'd swarm because there was just too many of them.. I mean they were packed to the rims! Every brood frame (and a half) were packed with bees! Anyway - I'll monitor how they get on.

 

[MerryBee]

Cinnamon

Whether or not brood and a half is a good idea is a matter of opinion. A lot of people dont like it but Wally Shaw wrote an article in favour in this months edition of BeeCraft.

If you decide you want to get the brood out of the super just put the queen excluder underneath it, make sure the queen is in the brood box, and wait 3 weeks. Job done. No need for faffing around with dummy boards.

 

[mickbees23]

I use brood and 1/2 on some but I have found it best to put the 1/2 under the full brood. That way they have enough space to expand if they need it and it certainly reduces the pollen that gets put in the first super above the QE. I have not found a queen cell in the 1/2 brood under yet, but when I used 1/2 above it just seemed to encourage queen cell building on the bottom of the 1/2 frames. It works well for me although not everyone's cup of tea. If you want to clear the brood on your set up just stick the QEx under the 1/2 brood, make sure the queen is in the full brood and wait until they are all emerged. You will prob get a load of drones stuck above the QEx but there is not a lot you can do about that.

Cheers, Mick.

 

[Poly Hive]

I would suggest giving them a 2nd BB as they seem to need the space.

No need to mess with dummy boards please. Just put the super with brood over the top of another super and let the brood hatch out. KISS

If WS is writing in favour of brood and a half it proves he ain't perfect. But then who is?

KISS again.

PH

 

[Millet]

The thing i have found with putting the super full of brood above the Q excluder is it needs checking regular to shake all the drones of into the brood box, the amount of dead drones i have seen dead stuck in the excluder sickens me and i will not make the same mistake again.

 

[masterBK]

Why not just provide a temporary front entrance above the excluder for 3 weeks for the drones to exit by propping up the super with a piece of lath or using an eke with entrance?