# This is what bees look like at night in preparation to swarm?



## shinbone (Jul 5, 2011)

That is called "bearding", and has nothing to do with swarming.


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## TRIMMAN (Apr 15, 2012)

they do that at night to cool off


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## dynemd (Aug 27, 2013)

If they stay out all night make sure they have enough room. That will make them swarm.


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## Tenbears (May 15, 2012)

bees beard outside the hive when it is too warm inside. excessive crowding can be a cause of the increased internal temperature. So in answer to your question. It could be, but may not necessarily be. To determine weather the bearding is an indication of impending swarm, the overall picture must be examined. Is there ample room for growth within the hive? Do you see swarm cell? How old is the queen? Is there a flow on? The answers to all these can help in determining the probability of swarming.


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## msscha (Jan 4, 2014)

This is a TBH and there is still room to build comb, but it is absolutely packed with bees -- you can't see any surface anywhere on the inside that doesn't have bees! I have yet to find swarm cells, but it's been 2 weeks since I checked. The queen is from last year (from a supercedure in May or June, I believe), and last night's weather was humid, but not overly warm (for us -- we have been having a warm streak this week with temps in the mid 80s). Spring blossoming is happening, but b/c we had such a mild winter, I don't think there's really been a spring "flow" -- the maples bloomed over a 6 week period, the laurel cherries have been blooming for a month and are still going strong, redbud and dogwood are underway, etc. But stuff bloomed all winter, so there wasn't a serious slow down. I've never seen this hive beard, even when they were pretty full and it was 90 outside! There was also a "clump" of bees on the back, that looked to me like they were protecting something. This is why I thought it might be swarming.

Thank you all so much! This is the end of my first year, thus my first spring with a fully functioning colony. It's very different than last year, with a single package that arrived in early April!


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## rsderrick (May 7, 2006)

Nice TBH!


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