Yesterday we did a hive check on B2.1 and removed the Queen cage, I added my Ross Round Super to Club Fergie and pulled a frame of honey. Just a quick check and run. Noticed what appeared to be swarm cells on the bottom bar of a couple of frames in the top super. Could they be swarm cells? The cell placement on the frame is correct, but the location in the hive is incorrect being in the top super rather than near the entrance.
One odd thing I noticed was that foragers were returning to the rear of the hive in the space for my screened bottom board. It was odd to see that but then I thought maybe the dance floor at the front was crowded so they had began using the screen under the hive to transfer nectar to the house bees. I changed the entrance space to a larger opening to give them more room to return hoping that would help with traffic.
Today I looked in on them and there appears to be just as many foragers returning to the rear of the hive as to the front. I wanted to know what it looked like under the hive so I took this picture.
Not what I expected to see. I was expecting maybe a a few hundred bees but mostly the screen bottom. Instead my pictures revealed a large mass of bees that may be a swam that didn't get too far. If they are all foragers they will either return home or age will catch up to them.
Tuesday, May 10, 2011
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