HelenHP16
New Bee
- Joined
- Jul 24, 2012
- Messages
- 63
- Reaction score
- 8
- Location
- Great Missenden
- Hive Type
- National
- Number of Hives
- 7
Hello
One of my hives is up to something and I would be gratefully for advice.
The hive in question is the result of a combination made at the end of August. We combined a hive where the queen had stopped laying (no eggs or brood for weeks and wall to wall stores in the brood frames). Both hives were strong in numbers so we gave them an additional empty super when the combination was complete to make sure they had enough room - they then had 3 supers.
Yesterday it looked as though they had swarmed under the hive, lots and lots of bees hanging down in a cluster. We managed to get them into a spare hive but today they were back under the original hive. Collected them again and did an inspection to try and see what was going on and the queen was in there! And no signs of any swarm cells.
So. I'm now thinking that it was not a swarm but why are they all out there? They are all back together again and now on double brood.
Does anyone have any thoughts as to what might be going on?
One of my hives is up to something and I would be gratefully for advice.
The hive in question is the result of a combination made at the end of August. We combined a hive where the queen had stopped laying (no eggs or brood for weeks and wall to wall stores in the brood frames). Both hives were strong in numbers so we gave them an additional empty super when the combination was complete to make sure they had enough room - they then had 3 supers.
Yesterday it looked as though they had swarmed under the hive, lots and lots of bees hanging down in a cluster. We managed to get them into a spare hive but today they were back under the original hive. Collected them again and did an inspection to try and see what was going on and the queen was in there! And no signs of any swarm cells.
So. I'm now thinking that it was not a swarm but why are they all out there? They are all back together again and now on double brood.
Does anyone have any thoughts as to what might be going on?