Many bees near the hive's entrance?

During a strong nectar flow, beekeepers always need to worry about swarming. Bees are such sneaky little things! :smile:

The only way I know of is to upload your video to YouTube, then link it in your post here.

Please donā€™t criticize yourself, you are doing your best and asking questions. We will also do our best to help you. One deep and 2 mediums sounds like a good setup for winter. However, they probably donā€™t need feeding at this point. :blush:

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I would not read too much into bearding or not bearding. It is a combination of things that causes it and a combination of things that seems to stop it. My point is that it is normal. I neither means that they are going to swarm, nor does it mean they are not going to swarm. Certainly a hive strong enough to beard is more likely to be swarming than one that is not. But bearding is neither a symptom of swarming, nor a cause. If I had a hive that on a warm day had no bearding I would probably be more worried than if it did, and I would probably take a look inside to see whatā€™s going on. I would not assume anything bad, but it would be enough to make me wonder why it isnā€™t strongerā€¦

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Hi. I have 2 new nuc hives. Iā€™m a little concerned about my white hive as it is cool still here 15ā€™ C. Iā€™m not sure why my bees are hanging out the front of the hive. They just sit there and are making it difficult for foraging bees to land and enter the hive. I hope to check on Saturday when itā€™s sunny and a little warmer. I received this 5 frame nuc on 30th Aug. itā€™s going slow but growing. Last checked 1 Oct. queen present 6 frames full of brood, pollen and some honey. Iā€™m thinking its time to put a super on top.

I also am concerned whether the wooden hives are insulated enough and do they need a different lid as we get a lot of rain down here I live north east of Albany WA Australia :blush: All thoughts appreciated

When did you last do a brood inspection? Iā€™m guessing your brood box is full and you should really be putting a super on.

15degC isnā€™t that cold. Also, ignore almost everything you will read about insulation in my opinion. Here in Oz there are only a few places that might need it, and Albany isnā€™t going to be one of them. Most concerns regarding insulation are for places that literally freeze in winter, not figuratively.

Your bigger concern will be locating your hives out of the prevailing winds in my opinion.

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Hi Snowflake. I did an inspection on the 1st October. There was still 2 full frames and one side of another one did not have any wax or anything drawn on it. Itā€™s meant the 20ā€™ on Friday nod 22ā€™ Saturday so I will inspect again. And put super on. Iā€™m excited and apprehensive all in one. Thanks.

Hi. I checked on my bees yesterday. All is well. The brood box was full! Spotted the queen, seven drones, brood, eggs, rainbow coloured pollen (white, yellow, orange, red and purplešŸ˜Š). I have put a queen excluder and a super on. I still have lots of bees at the hive entrance. They donā€™t even all fix on the landing board. Iā€™m hoping they will move in soon. Itā€™s night time and they are still out. Thanks for your help Snow flake honey

@Creativepuddle no problems. As for ā€˜moving inā€™, the only time I have no bees outside the hive is winter. As soon as spring settles in Iā€™ll have bees clustered around the entrance, outside, all night. On the warmer nights they beard around, and on, the hive. Itā€™s alot of bees outside but itā€™s normal. Keep up your inspections and you should be fine.

Thanks. Appreciate your advice snowflake honey