Robbing?

[FullerBee]

Hi all,

So my 5 frame nuc has been settling in and planning to move nuc into hive by end of the week. So far all the bees have been busy and watching them they've been out collecting pollen and such like - all seemed well. The plan is to move them into the hive by end of this week - that would have given them a week to settle into new location - and given we've had 2-3 days of rainy/cold weather - that seemed reasonable.

Today is second day of sunshine and activity has gone a bits nuts. I would think there's plenty pollen and nectar out there but this isn't feeling 'normal'. I've not seen robbing first-hand but getting a little concerned. I looked for dead bees but don't see any, nor any wax outside the nuc entrance. There aren't any bees flying low to the ground (suggesting they are weighed down with honey) There is a stream of bees coming and going but of course cant tell if they're mine or robbers. There's very much fewer coming in with pollen today - again no real surprise if nectar is flowing. However, I would normally expect my workers to be be flying straight in/out (or thereabouts depending on traffic) so to see so many in the air is adding to the view this isn't 'normal'

Posted a short video. What's the thinking?

 

[Finman]

They may be young bees on cleansing flight?
They whirl in front of entrance.

 

[drdrday]

Agree with Finman. You get times when there are a lot of young bees around and they all tend to go on orientation flights early afternoon on a nice sunny day - makes the hive very busy for a couple of hours. If you can't see any agitation between the bees, or fighting, then it's probably not robbing.

 

[user 819]

Nuts activity, it all looks pretty normal and busy to me following a spate of being cooped up with inclement weather, one suspects they have found a good or major forage source. When you swap them over a BB look at the combs for fresh nectar.

 

[FullerBee]

Thanks all for the replies.

30 mins or so later and activity has dropped to what I call normal for a busy active hive. No signs for anything untoward from the outside at least. Entrance busy and some in the air but what I’d expect. So yea, orientations and/or just enjoying freedom from ‘lockdown’!

I did read somewhere that 2pm is always a ‘nuts’ time for hives so maybe I’ve finally seen that for myself!

 

[drdrday]

Yeah, early afternoon is often rush hour. My hives are surrounded by a thick cloud of bees as I type - just a combination of the time of day, the flow, and the fact this is the first dry day they've been able to enjoy for over a week.

 

[jenkinsbrynmair]

Hi all,

So my 5 frame nuc has been settling in and planning to move nuc into hive by end of the week. The plan is to move them into the hive by end of this week - that would have given them a week to settle into new location

Five minutes after they arrived would have been sufficient

 

[FullerBee]

Five minutes after they arrived would have been sufficient

Thanks, I shall remember that. Typically it appears that anywhere from around a day to a week is the ‘norm’ by most accounts. On this occasion though, I had no desire to move them whilst a bit cold & raining so happier giving them a bit longer