Content
Any beekeeper, regardless of whether he is constantly in the apiary or is there from time to time, tries whenever possible to observe his charges. To determine the condition of the colonies based on the behavior of the bees and whether they need additional help. Therefore, the condition when bees huddle near the entrance cannot go unnoticed. The article makes an attempt to understand the many reasons that can lead to such a condition. Recommendations for preventing heaping are also given.
How a “beard” is formed and why its formation is dangerous
It is very unusual for a novice beekeeper to observe even small clusters of bees on the front wall of the hive. After all, these insects must constantly be at work. And here it turns out that they are sitting and resting.And when their number increases significantly in just a few days, and the bees form some kind of thick formation that from the outside really resembles a “beard” hanging from the entrance, it’s time to think seriously.
Typically, such a “beard” forms in the hot summer in the afternoon, late afternoon and at night, and in the early morning many bees still fly away to carry out their daily duties of collecting nectar and maintaining the hive. But in any case, this causes legitimate concern for the apiary owner. After all, the bees lose their working rhythm, they do not behave quite naturally (especially from the outside), and most importantly, the amount of commercial honey produced decreases and the beekeeper suffers losses. The condition when the bees are huddled under the arrival board indicates, first of all, some kind of trouble inside the hive. In addition, insects outside the hive become more vulnerable and may be attacked by predators.
Finally, if bees are actively foraging near the tray, this can serve as the main sign of incipient swarming. And any experienced beekeeper knows that frequent swarming and large volumes of honey produced are incompatible with each other. Either one or the other can happen. Therefore, if a beekeeper aims to make a profit from his bees, primarily in the form of honey, then swarming must be prevented at all costs. Among other things, the beekeeper may simply not be ready for the appearance of a new swarm (there are no suitable hives and other auxiliary materials and tools for populating a bee colony).
Why do bees hang their beards on the hive?
Bees can huddle near the entrance and form “beards” for various reasons.
Weather
The most common reason for bees to bury themselves is when the weather becomes hot. The fact is that bees warm the brood with their bodies, maintaining a constant air temperature in the immediate vicinity of the brood frames at + 32-34 ° C. If the temperature rises to + 38 °C, the brood may die.
Such temperatures can be dangerous for the entire hive as a whole. The wax may begin to melt, which means there is a real risk of the honeycomb breaking. When the temperature rises to + 40 °C and above, a direct threat is created to the death of the entire bee colony.
But they may not cope with the task. Therefore, bees, free from work, are simply forced to leave the hive and huddle outside so that the heat from their bodies does not provide additional heating in the nest.
Moreover, insects, being on the landing board, try to actively ventilate the hive using the work of their wings. At the same time, thanks to the additional air flow, excess heat is removed from the hive through the upper ventilation holes.
In any case, this situation does not bring anything good, including for the beekeeper. Because bees, when they huddle, are distracted from their immediate task of obtaining pollen and nectar.
For different Russian regions, depending on their climatic and weather conditions, the timing of such a problem may vary. But most often, bees begin to bury themselves from the end of May, and the problem may remain relevant until the end of June.
Intensive honey collection
Another equally common reason that bees build “tongues” from their bodies is the usual crowding of the hive. It can be formed:
- From too abundant honey harvest, when the bribe was so intense that all the free cells in the combs were already filled with honey. In this case, the queen has nowhere to lay her eggs, and worker bees, accordingly, are also left without work.
- Because the hive did not have time to expand in time with dry or wax, and the expanded family managed to occupy all the free frames and the rest simply do not have enough space and (or) work in the nest.
In fact, these two reasons are usually closely related, since due to the crowded conditions in the bee’s home, the temperature in the hive often increases. This may be especially true at night, when all the bees are forced to gather together to spend the night and huddled together so as not to overheat their nest.
Swarming
In general, if bees are simply sitting in small numbers on the arrival board, this is not yet a cause for concern. If this happens closer to lunch or in the afternoon, insects may also periodically fly over the hive, as if inspecting it and not moving away from it at a great distance. This is how very young bees behave, getting to know the surrounding area and the location of the hive in order to begin work in the coming days.
If bees gather near the entrance in large numbers or their number inexorably grows every day, then this may already be the first sign of the beginning of swarming. Other signs of swarming are:
- Excited state of bees - they often gnaw on the landing board.
- Insects practically do not fly to obtain nectar and pollen.
- Bees do not build honeycombs at all.Sheets of foundation placed in a nest remain completely unchanged for several days.
- The queens lay fresh eggs in the future queen cells.
If a beekeeper is interested in the emergence of a swarm to create a new bee colony, then you can try to roughly calculate its date.
If hives are not prepared for new families, and there are generally no suitable conditions for increasing the number of bee families, then it is necessary to take a number of measures against swarming. Although, as the experience of some beekeepers shows, it is almost pointless to fight swarming. It is better to prevent even the very possibility of its occurrence from the very beginning.
Diseases
Some novice beekeepers are so frightened by the sight of bees clinging to the hive that they begin to suspect the worst - the presence of all kinds of diseases in their charges.
It should be understood that bees are exhausted from abnormal air exchange inside the hive or from not entirely proper and timely care for them. But illness of any kind has nothing to do with it.
What measures should be taken when bees cluster on the arrival board?
Since there may be several reasons why bees cluster near the entrance, the measures taken may vary. Sometimes a few days or even hours are enough to eliminate possible problems by improving the living conditions of the bees. In other cases, it is better to use preventive measures to prevent the very occurrence of a problem situation.
Restoring the temperature regime
For a novice beekeeper, it is important to take an even closer look at the location of the hives themselves.Due to his inexperience, he could place them in direct sunlight, which, of course, can be one of the main reasons for overheating inside the nests on a hot sunny day.
If even the shade does not save you from overheating or the hives cannot be placed in a cooler place for some reason, then you should:
- repaint the top of the hives white;
- cover them with green grass on top or use any other artificial shading;
- fix foam sheets instead of the ceiling;
- To improve ventilation, open all existing entrances or make additional ventilation holes.
If the bees are huddled on the front wall of the hive due to impaired heat exchange, then the measures taken should quickly have the necessary effect and normal operation will be restored in the colonies.
Eliminating bee crowding
The most effective way to eliminate the situation when bees are weaned due to cramped conditions or abundant honey is pumping out honey.
True, sometimes placing the evacuated frames back into the hive, on the contrary, causes the cessation of flights and the bees being huddled under the arrival board. This can be explained by the fact that the remaining traces of honey, due to its hygroscopicity, dry out the air inside the nest. And the bees are forced to switch all their attention to humidifying the air in the hive. In order to prevent this problem from occurring, immediately after pumping out the honey, the honeycombs are sprayed with water using an ordinary sprayer and only after this procedure are placed in the hive.
To eliminate crowding in the nest, any expansion of it will be effective:
- by installing excess wax;
- adding cases or magazines with foundations.
It is best to place them at the very bottom of the hive in order to simultaneously improve ventilation and encourage the bees that are huddled under the entrance to begin immediately building up the combs.
Anti-swarm measures
If the formation of additional swarms is not necessary, then a variety of anti-swarm measures should be used. In most cases, they consist of constantly loading the bees with work.
- The nests are expanded by placing additional frames with foundation and magazines or cases in them.
- They make layering with the fetal uterus.
- The ratio of open brood of different ages to sealed brood is constantly monitored. It is necessary that the first one constitutes at least half of the total amount.
- From the very beginning of the season, old queens are replaced with new, young ones, thereby ensuring almost 100% impossibility of swarming.
A few more “whys” and answers to them
There is also a situation in a young colony when many bees not only sit on the flight board, but also anxiously move around it. This may be a sign that the queen flew out during the day to mate and for some reason did not return (died).
In this case, it is necessary to find a mature queen cell in other hives and place it, along with the frame, in a disadvantaged colony. Usually after a few hours the bees calm down, and the front wall with the flight board is empty. The situation is returning to normal.
Bees are also extorted during the period of theft, when for various reasons the bribe is not enough. In this situation, insects also do not sit (or hang) calmly, but move anxiously along the landing board and the front wall of the hive. Here the bees also need help to provide them with a supporting bribe.
Why do bees chew the flight board?
The situation when bees sit or crawl on the flight board, gnaw it and do not enter the hive, is quite common at the beginning of swarming.
Sometimes they gnaw not so much on the landing board as on the opening of the entrance, thereby trying to expand it and create additional conditions for ventilation.
Therefore, in such a case, it is necessary to create all of the above conditions to prevent swarming, and at the same time create a favorable microclimate inside the hive.
Why do bees sit on the flight board in the evening and at night?
If bees sit on the entrance at night or late in the evening, this means that, most likely, they will soon begin to swarm.
Again, another reason may be a violation of suitable temperature conditions inside the hive. Therefore, all the methods outlined above are quite suitable to deal with this problem.
Conclusion
Bees are huddled near the entrance usually due to the beekeeper’s failure to comply with certain conditions for placing the hives and caring for their pets. This problem is not so difficult to deal with, and it is even easier to take appropriate measures to ensure that it does not arise in the first place.
Why have the bees stopped being active since five o'clock in the evening, then they fly out, then they are completely gone, what does this mean?
Good afternoon.
It is difficult to answer your question unambiguously. How can you tell if bees are inactive? They don't fly out of the hive? Or do they fly out and their activity is reduced? Or do they sit on the arrival board? Or do they fly out, but are in no hurry to collect honey?
There can be many reasons. We list the main ones:
• Before rain, in very hot weather, the activity of bees noticeably decreases.
• Diseases, pests.
• Deterioration of living conditions (high humidity in the hive, poor care).
• Poisoning. During this period, gardeners and summer residents actively use various preparations for treating soil, plants, and pest control. And some drugs are very dangerous for bees.
• Weak family.
To determine a more precise reason, you need to observe the bees and check if anyone is carrying out processing near the apiary. Pay special attention to bee colonies and the condition of the hives.