Unusual behaviour

[amandaj57]

I walk my dog within sight of my hives every lunchtime and noticed some unusual behavior around them today. I have an old empty wooden hive (not in great condition) that I no longer use but have been too lazy to move, as I need to cut the brambles round it, and an empty poly nuc box that I put a small swarm into earlier in the year but they decided they didn't like it and popped next door to a full size poly I had set up in case of emergency. The weather is pretty awful here today and my occupied hives were all quiet with no activity but there were bees around the entrances to the wooden hive and the nuc. I got my kit on and had a closer look and there appeared to be bees fanning in the entrances. I had a slight panic and peeked through the polycarbonate crownboards of my occupied hives and everything seemed calm and normal. Could these really be swarms at this time of year? Could they be feral bees desperately looking for shelter? I just slapped a block of fondant on each of the crownboards and have left them to it. Do I try and see if they are occupied if we get a mild spell in a few days or just keep slapping the fondant on if it goes. I am worried if they are not occupied, I am encouraging robbing behaviour when it is mild enough for my bees to fly.

 

[Apple]

Bees do nothing invariably

Wait til Spring, you may have a surprise in store!

Nadelik Lowen

 

[Ian123]

Up to you I’d crack the crown board and look.

 

[hemo]

I personally would kit up and have a quick peep.

 

[enrico]

I reckon they were bees from other hives robbing them out of every last bit.

 

[pargyle]

I reckon they were bees from other hives robbing them out of every last bit.

If you left any comb in there and the entrance open then I'd agree with Enrico. If there is anything in there that they can use then bees are opportunists and they will go for it. I'd have a look in and see what's going on .. then treat anything left in there for waxmoth and seal them up properly ... if the hives have been open since the season the chances are that the wax moths will have got in and you will have a right mess on your hands come spring.

If there is a colony in there they must have been there for some time and you just didn't notice.

Putting fondant on without checking to see what's going on could just exacerbate the situation if there is robbing - basically you would be open feeding which is never a good idea.

 

[pargyle]

OOps

 

[amandaj57]

I reckon they were bees from other hives robbing them out of every last bit.

I would be reasonably surprised if they were from mine. It was drizzling heavily and was cold (a two jumpers and big coat day) and there was not a bee to be seen coming or going from my occupied hives and I was there a good 10-15 minutes before things started turning blue. There is only one other beekeeper in the locality, about two miles down the road and over a hill in the next valley, everyone who has tried beekeeping in our valley has lost them with the exception of mine. Thinking about it, they were ginger bees and mine are mostly dark apart from one hive that turned up as a swarm a few years ago (I reckon I might have stolen the vicars bees but don't tell him! It was probably about that time he turned up with his hives and lost them all within 6 months).
We are forecast a short break from the rain on Monday afternoon so I will be brave and have a peek then. I am not quite sure what I am hoping for.

 

[enrico]

I would be reasonably surprised if they were from mine. It was drizzling heavily and was cold (a two jumpers and big coat day) and there was not a bee to be seen coming or going from my occupied hives and I was there a good 10-15 minutes before things started turning blue. There is only one other beekeeper in the locality, about two miles down the road and over a hill in the next valley, everyone who has tried beekeeping in our valley has lost them with the exception of mine. Thinking about it, they were ginger bees and mine are mostly dark apart from one hive that turned up as a swarm a few years ago (I reckon I might have stolen the vicars bees but don't tell him! It was probably about that time he turned up with his hives and lost them all within 6 months).
We are forecast a short break from the rain on Monday afternoon so I will be brave and have a peek then. I am not quite sure what I am hoping for.

I dont know what you are hoping for either. A box full of wild comb if you have bees!

 

[pargyle]

I dont know what you are hoping for either. A box full of wild comb if you have bees!

That's probably the best case ... the worst case scenario is feral bees that are robbing whatever has been left in the comb and a mess of waxmoth webs and tracks is what could be there.

EIther way, she should have a look .. if there is a colony then it's a gift and hopefully can be seen through winter (and I know what winters in Derbyshire are like - spent many happy hours in and around the Hope Valley and Edale when I lived up there and subsequent visits). Can be a bit nippy.

 

[amandaj57]

That's probably the best case ... the worst case scenario is feral bees that are robbing whatever has been left in the comb and a mess of waxmoth webs and tracks is what could be there.

EIther way, she should have a look .. if there is a colony then it's a gift and hopefully can be seen through winter (and I know what winters in Derbyshire are like - spent many happy hours in and around the Hope Valley and Edale when I lived up there and subsequent visits). Can be a bit nippy.

If you have walked much in Edale, there is every chance you have passed my house at some stage. The bloke who does my building work says its the only place he knows where it can rain up and down at the same time, even our waterfalls run backwards at times!

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/av/uk-england-derbyshire-51501883

 

[pargyle]

If you have walked much in Edale, there is every chance you have passed my house at some stage. The bloke who does my building work says its the only place he knows where it can rain up and down at the same time, even our waterfalls run backwards at times!

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/av/uk-england-derbyshire-51501883

I've spent many happy hours in and around Edale, over Kinder and round the valley. We used to catch the milk train from Swinton at the crack of dawn to Sheffield, change at Sheffield for one of the many stations in the Peak distict - Grindleford, Hope, Castleton, Edale and then walk - up to 30 miles on a serious day when we would walk the full way around the Edale Valley and end up for a quick pint in the Nags Head (after scraping our boots off !) before catching the last train back to Sheffield. Even my junior school used to do an annual trip when the whole school went by train to Grindleford and walked the valley via Padley catching the train back from Hathersage - we had to take a packed lunch and a matchbox in which we collected 'specimens' from the walk. My son lives in Sheffield and he still spends a lot of time in the Peak District - regularly climbing and bouldering around Stanedge edge. Lovely area all round. I miss it at times (but not much in winter !).

 

[amandaj57]

I've spent many happy hours in and around Edale, over Kinder and round the valley. We used to catch the milk train from Swinton at the crack of dawn to Sheffield, change at Sheffield for one of the many stations in the Peak distict - Grindleford, Hope, Castleton, Edale and then walk - up to 30 miles on a serious day when we would walk the full way around the Edale Valley and end up for a quick pint in the Nags Head (after scraping our boots off !) before catching the last train back to Sheffield. Even my junior school used to do an annual trip when the whole school went by train to Grindleford and walked the valley via Padley catching the train back from Hathersage - we had to take a packed lunch and a matchbox in which we collected 'specimens' from the walk. My son lives in Sheffield and he still spends a lot of time in the Peak District - regularly climbing and bouldering around Stanedge edge. Lovely area all round. I miss it at times (but not much in winter !).

We are not in the built-up, commercialised metropolis of Grindsbrook Booth but the other end of Edale Valley. We are luckily over a quarter of a mile from our nearest neighbour, unless people are in the holiday let, so get lots of peace and quiet and no complaints about the bees, in fact most people don't even know I have them! I always said this would be the last place I would live as a child, visiting my grandparents. It's funny how your ideas change as you get older, I can't imagine being anywhere else now.

 

[elainemary]

Lo

I've spent many happy hours in and around Edale, over Kinder and round the valley. We used to catch the milk train from Swinton at the crack of dawn to Sheffield, change at Sheffield for one of the many stations in the Peak distict - Grindleford, Hope, Castleton, Edale and then walk - up to 30 miles on a serious day when we would walk the full way around the Edale Valley and end up for a quick pint in the Nags Head (after scraping our boots off !) before catching the last train back to Sheffield. Even my junior school used to do an annual trip when the whole school went by train to Grindleford and walked the valley via Padley catching the train back from Hathersage - we had to take a packed lunch and a matchbox in which we collected 'specimens' from the walk. My son lives in Sheffield and he still spends a lot of time in the Peak District - regularly climbing and bouldering around Stanedge edge. Lovely area all round. I miss it at times (but not much in winter !).

Lovely part of the world. My then boyfriend & I used to travel up from uni in Birmingham most weekends in the summer, to rock climb on Stanage Edge staying at the campsite near Hathersage. Happy days.

 

[oxnatbees]

I walk my dog within sight of my hives every lunchtime and noticed some unusual behavior around them today. I have an old empty wooden hive (not in great condition) that I no longer use but have been too lazy to move, as I need to cut the brambles round it, and an empty poly nuc box that I put a small swarm into earlier in the year but they decided they didn't like it and popped next door to a full size poly I had set up in case of emergency. The weather is pretty awful here today and my occupied hives were all quiet with no activity but there were bees around the entrances to the wooden hive and the nuc. I got my kit on and had a closer look and there appeared to be bees fanning in the entrances. I had a slight panic and peeked through the polycarbonate crownboards of my occupied hives and everything seemed calm and normal. Could these really be swarms at this time of year? Could they be feral bees desperately looking for shelter? I just slapped a block of fondant on each of the crownboards and have left them to it. Do I try and see if they are occupied if we get a mild spell in a few days or just keep slapping the fondant on if it goes. I am worried if they are not occupied, I am encouraging robbing behaviour when it is mild enough for my bees to fly.

The bees are fanning, therefore thy are NOT robbing, there is a colony in there. Proably colonised by a swarm that happened when you were not at home. Opening "to check" will chill them badly, maybe kill them - it will be small as you have not seen it before. Opening breaks seals, cutting brace comb removes their draught excluders. Do not open, do not treat (another stress). If they make it through winter they will probably thrive next year, very possibly without treatment if they have made it this far.

 

[Erichalfbee]

I think I would’ve tempted to leave them alone till spring.

 

[masterBK]

If there is a colony in there it is unlikely at this time of year that there will be much if any brood inside. In which case the bees are living at much reduced temperatures so will be hardly affected if you take the crownboard off and have a look. Most years I will check for the absence of brood at this time of year before treating with oxalic and have not noticed any ill affects on the bees and do not expect any. Bee scientists have checked colonies in winter for decades without adverse effects. Bee don't need mollicoddling by anthropomorphic minded beekeepers. Go for it and check for bees and stores. More likely it will be opportunistic bees clearing out any remaining stores.

 

[Apple]

I would be reasonably surprised if they were from mine. It was drizzling heavily and was cold (a two jumpers and big coat day) and there was not a bee to be seen coming or going from my occupied hives and I was there a good 10-15 minutes before things started turning blue. There is only one other beekeeper in the locality, about two miles down the road and over a hill in the next valley, everyone who has tried beekeeping in our valley has lost them with the exception of mine. Thinking about it, they were ginger bees and mine are mostly dark apart from one hive that turned up as a swarm a few years ago (I reckon I might have stolen the vicars bees but don't tell him! It was probably about that time he turned up with his hives and lost them all within 6 months).
We are forecast a short break from the rain on Monday afternoon so I will be brave and have a peek then. I am not quite sure what I am hoping for.

The Good Lord works in mysterious ways his miracles to perform... Divine intervention.. as my Gran would have said!!
Nadelik Lowen

 

[jenkinsbrynmair]

Opening "to check" will chill them badly, maybe kill them

 

[ericbeaumont]

there were bees around the entrances to the wooden hive and the nuc.

Both entrances? Two colonies or two sets of robbing?