Bees outside at night

I know that someone will probably asm to see the clearer I made so here it is.
Sorry for the blurry picture, but you can still see the swinging door inside - just a bit of mesh hanging on a loose staple - but it’s working…

Cheers, Ian

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Reminds me of trying to get into a difficult nightclub :scream:

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That’s my intention @Faroe … And it seems to be working LOL

I entrance in, manned by a huge bee with ink ‘sleeves’ on the rope chain, and a backdoor that locks as you leave…

They still wander round in the night, but I suspect it is them just cleaning up after the ‘riff-raff’ have gone home. Could it be the ‘wash boarding’ behaviour I have seen mentioned elsewhere?

Cheers, Ian

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Thanks for the videos Ian and that confirms robbing going on from what you have there. I like the idea of the smaller screened entrance.
Wash boarding at night is more often at night from a very big colony for the size of the hive and all the bees ‘in for the night’ and in hot weather. Bees don’t fly at night, so I doubt it is a defensive posture.
Cheers.

Thanks so much @Peter48,

This is a really steep learning curve! Thanks for the praise on my design work - studying architecture at the moment, so implemented some of the skills learned lol. The smaller escape has helped greatly with clearing out any robbers that do get through the first entrance.

I was at my wits end before this, now I am hoping for a good storm to drive my girls all inside. Then I plan to close them in for a day or so with a wet cloth rolled up against the bottom of the screen so they have water while I deal harshly with any bees that turn up on the outside.

My suspicions are that they are from a swarm somewhere, as I went for a walk around the block today and it’s easy to spot my girls, who quietly go about their business on the local crepe myrtles, while there are other bees dashing around and acting defensively when you approach the bush - getting right in your face if you get to close (but not real close for domesticated bee standards).

Anyway, thanks for taking the time to help a newbie - greatly appreciated.

Cheers, Ian

PS. I found out what wash boarding actually is today - and yes I was way off lol.

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I put a camera up in my backyard (mostly to watch my kids be animals) but also to watch the actual animals and bees and I have noticed A LOT of bees on the front of the FH2 at night. By 8AM they are all pretty much all gone, maybe just 15-20 still hanging out. I think probably out foraging but maybe they go inside at some point too. Current picture below at 9:20PM, weather is partly cloudy, 80ºF 54% humidity.

Any commentary or advice??

I’m thinking that with 80F at 9:20 at night the bees have moved outside, not just for the cooler air for them but to help in lowering the hive internal temperature especially for the brood.
I have added vents at each end of my gabled roof to allow the excessive heat to escape and doing that will be a big help.
During the day there will be less bees in the hive, most will be out foraging for nectar. Some will be flying to bring water back to the hive to cool it down inside so a good water supply is needed.
Cheers

Thanks, Peter. That really what I was thinking but 80°F (26.7°C) doesn’t seem that warm… anyway, here are pics from 3:50AM, 6AM (just before first light) and 7:15AM. I did notice this morning a few bees scattered around the yard on the house and garage just hanging out, maybe it was too crowded at the inn.

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80F is not that hot but what about the inside temp of the hive?? Consider a few days in a row of hot weather and resulting in a higher inside temp. Too many bees in the hive in warm weather and it is common to see what your photos show.
That said a quick fix would be to add a traditional super for more room for the colony and put a vent in each end of the gable to allow the hot air to escape. When I set up my Flow Hives adding vents was one of the first thing I did with an instant good result. In my climate all my wooden hives have vents in the roofs.
A source of water is a must for the bees to help in cooling the hive and in the longer term shade from the sun is a positive if you can come up with a ‘best option’ around it.
Cheers