Little cluster

[Jake]

Hi guys quick question, so I got given a swarm on Thurs they went into new hive ok, I have got qe on the floor just incase they try to swarm again I also added a liquid feed as I got told to as they are not the biggest swarm.
I have checked on activity on Friday and today while walking dog. Friday they were active bringing in pollen, today not much action but it is pretty cold and windy I watched a couple bees leave hive and a couple come back in through entrance. At same time I saw a few bees just going under hive so I have a quick look and saw a little cluster of bees under mesh floor is this norm? Here is a pic

 

[Jake]

Can't seem to upload pic but it is a a cluster of maybe 20 bees

 

[enrico]

They don't know they are not in the hive, they just can't get throuh the floor. Wipe them into a box and tip it near the entrance for them to climb in. Block off the space they are using to go under the OMF. If you leave them they will die on these cold nights. Common with OMF floors
E

 

[Jake]

So my hive is on a make shift bee stand it's a couple feet in air and can fit 3 hives on. I will have to try and get them into a pot and tip them back into hive tomorrow I just didn't want to open hive up so early after adding swarm

 

[enrico]

You don't have to tip them in the hive. Just put the pot by the entrance and they will all crawl in while you hold it there
You need a bigger landing board or to block the front off with a piece of fine net from the entrance to the floor.
E

 

[Jake]

Yep I will suit up and do it tomorrow, would it be worth me putting the plastic varroa board in to try and block the pheromones a bit from the mesh floor

 

[enrico]

That defeats the object of the floor. They are just underflying the entrance. They don't know any better! If it is a cold night they will all be dead or dying by tomorrow! There is no heat under the OMF
E

 

[dn170221]

Be careful with the QX. If it is a cast swarm with a virgin queen she will need to get out and mate. Of course if you have seen eggs there is less urgency.

 

[beeno]

Be careful with the QX. If it is a cast swarm with a virgin queen she will need to get out and mate. Of course if you have seen eggs there is less urgency.

Usually leave it on for 3 days for a cast swarm. No mating weather in my locale before Saturday though.

 

[echidna]

I've had that problem and largely solved it by putting a "skirt" of the mesh I use to protect my brassicas from butterflies around the base of the hive.

 

[Courty]

I’ve had the same issue with a poly nuc after putting a queen in that I found about to swarm from her main hive, luckily spotted her on the landing board before she set off. I scooped her up and dropped her in the poly nuc and added some spare frames, a bit rushed, and put a queen excluder over the entrance. Quite a few of the bees struggled with the Qx and went underneath. Lesson for next time, temporarily block the OMF when coaxing flying bees into it.
I hope I remember all these minor details when I next need them!
I tried to get the bees off the OMF today but it was cold and quite a few struggled to get moving when I put them in front of the entrance, or they found a way back underneath. I wondered whether they may have been better off where they were clustered together for warmth until it gets warmer.
Some bees seem to need extra help finding the entrance,I suppose that is why we have developed landing boards and some slopes to the floor where lots of bees seem to wander lost.

Courty