Strange sound

[Mandeville]

Can anyone identify this strange warbling noise? I first heard it a couple of weeks ago, late afternoon. It was loud enough to be heard from about 15feet from the hive. The bees were coming and going, and appeared to be behaving perfectly normally.
Happened again this morning while I was doing an inspection - again all seemed normal.

 

[Anduril]

A similar sound on a YouTube video

 

[Finman]

I suppose that bee's wings hit onto the wall in hive.

 

[Horseradish]

Good video!

 

[Antipodes]

Well done on getting a recording of it. I've heard it a few times myself and it has been reported on the forum before as "drumming" in the hive. Most likely a form of sympathetic vibration of a hive component due to the fanning /wing movement of the bees.

 

[madbeelady]

Great filming and amazing that you caught this sound. I have heard it a number of times and am always baffled by it.

 

[Mandeville]

Great YouTube video - thanks for finding that! It's reassuring that it's not that unusual and doesn't mean anything bad.
The clue to the cause seems to me to be that the noise stopped when the guy in the video moved one particular frame. As suggested, synchronised wing beating combined with a frame being in exactly the right position.

 

[HarryO]

I have a hive that this "Brrrrrrr" sound emanates from, some days the sound comes others it doesn't.

I hear it when doing weekly inspections, but only from this colony/hive. Heard it the last two weeks in a row. I cannot think that with so many people having heard this from their colonies that it is anything to do with the accidental structure of the placing of frames in the hive.

But what do I know? Certainly is a mystery to me.

 

[Antipodes]

I have a hive that this "Brrrrrrr" sound emanates from, some days the sound comes others it doesn't.

I hear it when doing weekly inspections, but only from this colony/hive. Heard it the last two weeks in a row. I cannot think that with so many people having heard this from their colonies that it is anything to do with the accidental structure of the placing of frames in the hive.

But what do I know? Certainly is a mystery to me.

I've only heard it in spring...

 

[linoleum bonypart]

My theory is they are madly air conditioning the hive that a sonic oscillation occurs... Ive had this once or twice

 

[oxnatbees]

Sounds like the waggle dance. Bees grab a comb and vibrate their entire body to attract attention, the whole comb shakes, then they do the figure-8 dance. They can't shake thei entire thorax as fast as their wings so the tone is lower than a wing buzz.

In natural nests, they do this on one free hanging comb, usually near the entrance, known as the Dancing Floor, which is deliberately not braced to permit it to resonate. In framed hives with foundation, the Dancing Floor is formed by chewing away as much foundation as possible to make a comb attached only st the top, though they can't chew through wires.

If I'm right, you'll find such a comb in the hive making this dound, and not in the other hives.

 

[Murox]

Sounds like the waggle dance. Bees grab a comb and vibrate their entire body to attract attention, the whole comb shakes, then they do the figure-8 dance. They can't shake thei entire thorax as fast as their wings so the tone is lower than a wing buzz.

In natural nests, they do this on one free hanging comb, usually near the entrance, known as the Dancing Floor, which is deliberately not braced to permit it to resonate. In framed hives with foundation, the Dancing Floor is formed by chewing away as much foundation as possible to make a comb attached only st the top, though they can't chew through wires.

If I'm right, you'll find such a comb in the hive making this dound, and not in the other hives.

Now thats a good and plausible theory.

 

[Mandeville]

If I'm right, you'll find such a comb in the hive making this dound, and not in the other hives.

I think you've hit the nail on the head there! This colony does exactly that - chews the foundation away from the wires much more than any other colony I've ever had. And the pattern of the sound could certainly match waggle dances.

 

[madbeelady]

Sounds like the waggle dance. Bees grab a comb and vibrate their entire body to attract attention, the whole comb shakes, then they do the figure-8 dance. They can't shake thei entire thorax as fast as their wings so the tone is lower than a wing buzz.

In natural nests, they do this on one free hanging comb, usually near the entrance, known as the Dancing Floor, which is deliberately not braced to permit it to resonate. In framed hives with foundation, the Dancing Floor is formed by chewing away as much foundation as possible to make a comb attached only st the top, though they can't chew through wires.

If I'm right, you'll find such a comb in the hive making this dound, and not in the other hives.

Wow amazing, a new piece of info, very interesting.

 

[Kirbygrip]

Heard this just yesterday before we even opened the hive.