Hi All, I finally was able to add a super to my hive and the bees were going crazy around the frames. But suddenly they swarmed and were inbetween the slats of ours and the neighbours fence. There are still alot of bees in the original hive. I managed to get the swarm into one of those white boxes that i recieved the initial nuke in. But a day later there was alot of dead bees on the ground outside the box and alot of bees just walking around. I tried gathering them up and putting them back in the hive. I watched as they came out the entrance, they would just tumble to the ground.
I tried picking them up and gently throwing them but they seem unable to fly.
The bees inside are doing well.
Does anyone have any ideas as to what is going on?
I am ordering a new flowhive, when should i put them in?
Thanks heaps, Tim.
Difficult to say, maybe too much heat in the box or not enough ventilation. It may also be that the queen had moved on and most of the bees went with her and what you now see are some remaining stragglers. Remember that there could be tens of thousands of bees in a swarm, so 100 stragglers might seem a lot, but relatively it is nothing.
It is pointless trying to put bees back into the hive. They will either go there or they will not. Bees tumbling out the entrance may actually be rejects from the hive.
Your priority now should be the parent hive. It is likely that there will be more swarms from it, and if allowed could seriously weaken it. Have you checked for queen cells and if so are they open or closed etc?
Please read this and it should help you analyse your situation.
Why are you ordering a new hive? If you want to grow a swarm the best thing is a nucleus box. Then, if all goes well you can transfer them into a full hive when they are established and strong enough.
Thanks for the info. I will check tomorrow.
I just thought i should move them into a bigger brood box. How long should i wait? Thanks for the info.