What are these Bees Up to?

[gwt_uk]

Hello all,

I have been getting a lot of activity (see attached video) at my bait hive but no sign of a swarm.

Inside the bait hive I have old brood comb some old empty frames and some lemon grass/rose oil lure.

They bees seem very interested in the hive and seem to be spending quite a bit of time inside. They also like to hang around the entrance. Are these still scout bees or is something else going on?

 

[Erichalfbee]

They look like scouts. There are no bees flying out at speed, indicating robbing
The bees are walking around the entrance and over the front of the hive and a few seem to be orientating around it.
Whether you get a swarm depends on whether the hive they are from is managed just in time and whether they decide to go elsewhere or indeed whether the weather keeps them in.
IF you suddenly get lots more then they all disappear just as suddenly ........stay put for a few minutes

 

[gwt_uk]

They look like scouts. There are no bees flying out at speed, indicating robbing
The bees are walking around the entrance and over the front of the hive and a few seem to be orientating around it.
Whether you get a swarm depends on whether the hive they are from is managed just in time and whether they decide to go elsewhere or indeed whether the weather keeps them in.
IF you suddenly get lots more then they all disappear just as suddenly ........stay put for a few minutes

Thanks - they have been doing this for the past week on the sunnier/warmer days. 1 or 2 bees arrive in the morning then the numbers build as the day goes on.

 

[Earthboy]

Thanks - they have been doing this for the past week on the sunnier/warmer days. 1 or 2 bees arrive in the morning then the numbers build as the day goes on.

When they are in, check if they are trying to recycle the old comb. I have seen scout-looking bees stealing the old comb to recycle: lots of active bees but no swarm.

 

[gwt_uk]

When they are in, check if they are trying to recycle the old comb. I have seen scout-looking bees stealing the old comb to recycle: lots of active bees but no swarm.

Thanks will do

 

[Erichalfbee]

Thanks - they have been doing this for the past week on the sunnier/warmer days. 1 or 2 bees arrive in the morning then the numbers build as the day goes on.

It's wonderful when you see the swarm arrive. Generally the scout bees reach fever pitch then suddenly disappear and you think that's it. Wait a few minutes and the swarm arrives.
Bait hives can be scouted for weeks so don't give up.

 

[Erichalfbee]

Thanks will do

Don't forget the photographic record so that you can compare

 

[gwt_uk]

It's wonderful when you see the swarm arrive. Generally the scout bees reach fever pitch then suddenly disappear and you think that's it. Wait a few minutes and the swarm arrives.
Bait hives can be scouted for weeks so don't give up.

thanks! Will keep you posted!

 

[gwt_uk]

When they are in, check if they are trying to recycle the old comb. I have seen scout-looking bees stealing the old comb to recycle: lots of active bees but no swarm.

would there be any visible signs of this from bees exiting the hive?

 

[Erichalfbee]

would there be any visible signs of this from bees exiting the hive?

I'd be interested in that too...perhaps they load their pollen baskets with it or carry it in their mandibles

 

[jenkinsbrynmair]

or in a sack on their backs labelled Swag

 

[Erichalfbee]

Mind you, on a sunny day if I'm cleaning boxes outside I do get bees taking propolis and that goes in the corbiculae.
Watching a wasp cut up a piece of ham in a sandwich is more entertaining. Clever things

 

[Earthboy]

would there be any visible signs of this from bees exiting the hive?

Not from bees existing but from the debris left on the floor, or you can actually see lots of bees on the comb, working on the drawn wax. If the bait comb is relatively new, you will see more debris and some bees will be working even on the debris to pick up bits of wax.

 

[jenkinsbrynmair]

Mind you, on a sunny day if I'm cleaning boxes outside I do get bees taking propolis and that goes in the corbiculae.

Yes, seen them shifting that, a few yeas ago now I had overwitered a small colony in an old style wooden nuc with a full length entrance, in the spring they built an amazinf chicane like lobby out of propolis to stop any draughts, when I eventually hived them I put the floor to one side with the intention of scraping off the propolis and saving it, I was pottering around the apiary later that day and noticed bees going to and fro the floor and taking some propolis away, over the next few days they cleared a lump of propolis away probably the size of a golf ball

 

[gwt_uk]

Not from bees existing but from the debris left on the floor, or you can actually see lots of bees on the comb, working on the drawn wax. If the bait comb is relatively new, you will see more debris and some bees will be working even on the debris to pick up bits of wax.

thanks - I have just popped out to the garden and had a quick look. There are sections of drawn comb that look like they have been eaten back down to the level of the foundation so I am assuming that’s what they are up to. Here was me getting all excited about a swarm coming!!! I may remove one of the frames of old comb and keep the hive going anyway on the off chance a swarm decides to come my way.

 

[gwt_uk]

Not from bees existing but from the debris left on the floor, or you can actually see lots of bees on the comb, working on the drawn wax. If the bait comb is relatively new, you will see more debris and some bees will be working even on the debris to pick up bits of wax.

have attached a couple of pics...Is this the sign of them recycling the wax?

 

[jenkinsbrynmair]

have attached a couple of pics...Is this the sign of them recycling the wax?

No, that's the typical sign of some stores remailing in the comb which they have robbed out, it's the usual MO, they chew out every last morsel of honey, obliterating the wax at the same time - you will then see the chewed out wax littering the floor below the frames (or below the OMF if there is one)

 

[pargyle]

Have you been using lemon grass oil or a queen pheremone attractant ?

If so ... it does attract a lot of bees in the vicinity ... I made the mistake of checking to see if there was any lemon grass oil in my vial of it by tipping it up and got some on m fingers ... I then went out to do some weeding .... bloody bees would not leave me alone buzzing around my hands.

 

[Earthboy]

have attached a couple of pics...Is this the sign of them recycling the wax?

It does appear the old comb had some morsel of honey still left. Was there any you are aware of?

 

[gwt_uk]

Have you been using lemon grass oil or a queen pheremone attractant ?

If so ... it does attract a lot of bees in the vicinity ... I made the mistake of checking to see if there was any lemon grass oil in my vial of it by tipping it up and got some on m fingers ... I then went out to do some weeding .... bloody bees would not leave me alone buzzing around my hands.

Yes I have been using an attractant oil. The instructions said to put a couple of drops on top of the frames then out the vial in a envelope at the back of the hive.