New hive behavior clustering in two spots / bearding.?

Beekeeping - Basics
1

Subject: New Hive Behavior - Clustering in Two Spot

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s & Bearding – Seeking Advice (SE Wisconsin)

Hi all,

I’m a new beekeeper in southeast Wisconsin and recently installed a 3 lb package of Italian bees into a Flow Hive 2+ on the evening of May 7. Here’s what I’ve done and observed so far:

I’m using a 1:1 sugar syrup with Honey B Healthy in an internal hive feeder.

I placed a pollen patty on top of the frames.

The queen was in a cage during installation and by May 10 she had successfully been released.

Temps between May 7–10 were below 60°F.

Bees were flying in and out carrying pollen as early as May 8.

On May 10, I did a gentle hive inspection, confirmed the queen was out, and removed the queen cage. Everything looked normal.

Then on May 12, with temps around 74°F, I noticed that most of the bees were clustering on the front of the hive starting around 8 a.m. Around 2:30 p.m., they suddenly left the front of the hive—about 90% disappeared—and then 15 minutes later, they returned. However, they now split up: about half were on the hive and the other half were clustered on a garden flag 10 feet away.

I consulted my neighbor who has 25+ years of beekeeping experience. He had never seen this behavior—two simultaneous clusters. We gently opened the hive and moved the bees back inside. Some were still bearding and some stayed on the flag overnight, even through some light rain.

This morning (May 13), some bees are still bearding and others still on the flag. I’ve since removed the entrance reducer to help airflow and allow easier access.

I plan to inspect the hive in 2 days to check for the queen and see if she’s laying. They had started building comb on one frame before all this started.

My questions:

  1. Is this normal behavior for a new package, or is this a warning sign of a queen issue or absconding?

  2. Could the warm spike on May 12 have triggered this clustering/swarming-like behavior?

  3. Should I be worried about losing the queen or part of the colony?

  4. Should I leave the entrance fully open or reinsert the reducer after a few days?

  5. Any other precautions or actions I should take during my inspection in two days?

I appreciate any advice—just trying to keep my new colony on track!

Thanks,