Sunbathing Bees

[user 22881]

Hi folks
This is my first post.
So 20th May I put my first hive in the garden.
6 days later a swarm entered.
1 week later (as you do) I put another hive about 7ft away from the first one.
A day later scouts started looking at hive 2 this went on for a day or two. Then the weather went cold here for a few days so all the activity stopped and when finally the weather warmed up the scouting started up again and they got real busy scouting.
So for a few days I’ve seen fighting on the landing (on hive 2) feeding and now it’s all calmed right down and there’s just a small gang of about 10-20 just sunbathing. About two dozen bees or so staying at the hive and sunbathing in the day.
I did think they were waiting for the swarm but seems a little unlikely now with the weather we’re having and the time that’s gone by.
I did think they were from the first hive but the ones I’ve seen head over to hive one get a good hiding.
I did think it could be a queen less colony but there’s far to few bees for that surly.
Does anyone have any idea what could be going on.
Cheers
Gaff

 

[enrico]

Maybe you have one of those bee hotel things and they are on holiday

 

[Erichalfbee]

Hi folks
This is my first post.
So 20th May I put my first hive in the garden.
6 days later a swarm entered.
1 week later (as you do) I put another hive about 7ft away from the first one.
A day later scouts started looking at hive 2 this went on for a day or two. Then the weather went cold here for a few days so all the activity stopped and when finally the weather warmed up the scouting started up again and they got real busy scouting.
So for a few days I’ve seen fighting on the landing (on hive 2) feeding and now it’s all calmed right down and there’s just a small gang of about 10-20 just sunbathing. About two dozen bees or so staying at the hive and sunbathing in the day.
I did think they were waiting for the swarm but seems a little unlikely now with the weather we’re having and the time that’s gone by.
I did think they were from the first hive but the ones I’ve seen head over to hive one get a good hiding.
I did think it could be a queen less colony but there’s far to few bees for that surly.
Does anyone have any idea what could be going on.
Cheers
Gaff

Look inside

 

[user 22881]

There’s nothing going on inside, new, clean frames and foundation. Just a few house sitting.
Also the bee hotel is stuck on the side of the shed.

 

[Nannysbees]

One of the "swarms" we caught had about 50 bees in and a very large queen, goodness knows what happened to the rest!!!!

 

[user 22881]

One of the "swarms" we caught had about 50 bees in and a very large queen, goodness knows what happened to the rest!!!!

Did they survive?

 

[Nannysbees]

Did they survive?

Well...... we have put them in a nuc given them a frame of capped brood and fed. In the lap of the gods, should have shaken them out caged the queen and made a split but I didn't have the heart to shake out the bees. Heart ruled the head!!!!!!

 

[Swarm]

Well...... we have put them in a nuc given them a frame of capped brood and fed. In the lap of the gods, should have shaken them out caged the queen and made a split but I didn't have the heart to shake out the bees. Heart ruled the head!!!!!!

Were there signs of emerging bees in the sealed brood? Did you add the nurse bees as well?

 

[Erichalfbee]

Well...... we have put them in a nuc given them a frame of capped brood and fed. In the lap of the gods, should have shaken them out caged the queen and made a split but I didn't have the heart to shake out the bees. Heart ruled the head!!!!!!

If there are only 50 bees they won’t be able to keep the brood alive.
If you had shaken the bees out in front of a nuc you made they would have gone in.

 

[Erichalfbee]

@Nannysbees
Any update?