Can you smell it too?
I don’t have windows so I’ve always gone off the overwhelming smell of evaporating nectar wafting through my back yard lol.
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smells amazing and the girls are fanning like mad too 
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Hiya Tracey, any updates? 
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Hi, thanks all the advice.
So the following day on the thurs, they started to beard again so I made the entrance to the hive its standard size and and did an inspection, looks so good. I did find a queen cell??
I removed the Queen cell?? And added the super. They are much happier and carrying o as normal now. So much activity and the smell in the yard is divine. So so sweet.
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Also going to look into how to create some more ventilation going into summer.
Did you spot the queen? Or evidence of active lasting queen?
Queens cells are made for:
- fun (practice - not charged with larvae)
- swarming
- superseding failing queen
- emergency queen rearing due to missing queen
Hopefully your circumstance is the first one only… 
Removing queen cells won’t prevent bees from swarming… 
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Do they Fred? I think they do cups for ‘fun’, some call them play cups and remain empty?
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I think insulation is a waaaaay better option than adding vents.
I also agree with Ffffffred, without seeing the Queen, the qx should stay, who knows, the last inspection the queen may have been rolled and a replacement was in progress which was why they were bearding, hopefully this was not the case. Was the qx capped?
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So it was very soft and maybe not a queen cell after all. It looked like one from my reading, but it was very soft and empty?
Live and learn hey, thanks for the advice again.
I had not seen the Queen during inspection, still learning what things are during inspection.
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Hi there eweyfam.
Was it a queen cell?:
or queen cup?:
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Nah, definitely not. Phew!!
When I have used gabled roofs, I either mesh or block the inner cover hole (the mesh usually gets proplolised shut anyway), and add a layer of styrofoam or polyester insulation.
But I would definitely vent the gabled area of the roof as like the roof on your house, the temperature in there can easily reach 50 degrees or more.
If you look at older forms of gabled tops like those used on Warré hives, they are constructed with a second flat board under the pitched section, which forms a closed box over the inner cover but leaves the gabled area very open to ventilation.
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Totally agree with you there Stevo. That is venting the roof cavity so that it won’t overheat. I do that too on mine, which is different than venting the hive itself.
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Spotting the queen is hard, but finding ‘proof of life’ is progressively easier:
- eggs (she’s been around in last 3 days)
- larvae (was around up to 7 days ago)
- capped brood (she was there up to 2 weeks ago)
Here’s what it looks like:
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Have you tried a hive with better ventilation?
Could you post a pic of a capped qx for us so we know what to look for please.
Cheers
I have added a little more ventilation by switching the vent at the bottom back to open and opened up the entrance, next step woukd be to add a little to the roof section which I saw on the flow website?
You could try some extra ventilation by propping up the roof at one end by a few mm with a twig or a piece of wood as an experiment. Watching the bees will give you feed-back to tell you if it works… I did that to a few hives many years ago (Langstroth’s) and when I found bearding from heat an issue with my Flow Hives I did the same.
Don’t have a closed mind, be happy to experiment and possibly make life better for the colony. There isn’t a bee hive made that is perfect for all climates. Some seem to like seeing bearding like this but to my mind it is an un-productive hive that can be improved on. That pic was taken about 3pm, by sunset all the hives had much worse bearding, temp was about 33C ambient, obvious;y much hotter in the hive.
Cheers
@Peter48 have you thought about trying one of the insulated lids mentioned in this article?
Just to see if they make any difference in your climate versus venting? I know a supplier up in Qld has them available I just can’t remember at the moment.
I do strongly recommend against open bases in SHB areas as it is a recipe for disaster IMO.
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I think gabled roofs need to be designed as pictured with an inner cover under them. They have great insulating abilities in hot and cold weather, and are usually heavy enough to not need strapping.
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Is SHB an issue near your place? Since where so nearby could be relevant to me also.