# Bees bearding in rain?



## Harley Craig (Sep 18, 2012)

mine are doing it too, it was 58 deg today. they almost look like little shingles covering the entrance 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zimERk6gMps


----------



## rookie2531 (Jul 28, 2014)

I had a mating nuc do that. I ended up scooping them up and throwing them in a nuc box. It might have been a swarm or maybe she couldn't get back in, but they were building comb under the box.


----------



## Harley Craig (Sep 18, 2012)

definitely not building comb out there, there is plenty of room inside, when I checked last weekend, there were 4-5 frames of brood in top deep and 1.5 frames in bottom and the bottom has empty comb. They started pulling a super about 3 weeks ago, but haven't gotten past 2 frames. Mine was a package hive on may 1 of this yr. it's my only hive bearding.


----------



## ladybug (Jun 27, 2015)

How strange! Can't wait to see what happens next!


----------



## Harley Craig (Sep 18, 2012)

If a flow hits they'll probably swarm lol


----------



## beestudent (Jun 10, 2015)

my largest hive does this at night the day before it rains, i believe they do it to collect water when it rains.


----------



## Acebird (Mar 17, 2011)

I suspect they are doing what they have to do to control the atmosphere in the hive. Imagine 30 people standing in your living room on a hot muggy rainy day with no air conditioning. The bees can fan but they can't evaporate water when it is raining. They can go outside and get soaked by the cooler water and bring it in the hive to absorb heat and then go back outside to dissipate it.


----------



## Ravenseye (Apr 2, 2006)

Bearding in very humid and hot weather is common...rain included. I believe that in very humid weather the air is quite heavy and it's far more difficult for the bees to move it through the colony. Rain brings the foragers home resulting in a hot colony, stuffed full of bees. As a result, you see the bearding. I sometimes see it near the end of a hot and humid day an hour or so before the rain begins and I always think the bearding bees are like a weather forecast.


----------



## Rader Sidetrack (Nov 30, 2011)

Acebird said:


> The bees can fan but they can't evaporate water when it is raining. They can go outside and get soaked by the cooler water and bring it in the hive to absorb heat and then go back outside to dissipate it.



Ace, how can the water evaporate off the bees _outside _when it is raining? :scratch:


----------



## Harley Craig (Sep 18, 2012)

It was 58 deg we couldn't go outside for very long without a sweatshirt


----------



## Acebird (Mar 17, 2011)

Rader Sidetrack said:


> Ace, how can the water evaporate off the bees _outside _when it is raining? :scratch:


:scratch:Who said it did?


----------



## Rader Sidetrack (Nov 30, 2011)

>> Ace, how can the water evaporate off the bees outside when it is raining?


Acebird said:


> Who said it did?


Well, the word you used was "dissipate". But exactly how does water "dissipate" from a bee _outside _in the rain. :scratch: Remember, *you *specified that it was raining. And now you say you weren't talking about evaporation.




Acebird said:


> The bees can fan but they can't evaporate water when it is raining. They can go outside and get soaked by the cooler water and bring it in the hive to absorb heat and then [HIGHLIGHT]go back outside to dissipate it.[/HIGHLIGHT]


If "dissipate" (in this context) isn't referring to evaporation, then what kind of "dissipate" of water from a bee occurs in the rain?



:gh:


----------



## Acebird (Mar 17, 2011)

Acebird said:


> to absorb heat and then go back outside to dissipate it.


Last chance on reading lesson Rayder... absorb heat and dissipate it. Just like an air conditioner only bee powered.


----------



## Rader Sidetrack (Nov 30, 2011)

"Bee powered air conditioner"??:s 

If you are referring to evaporative cooling (swamp cooler), you already specified that it was raining. How can a swamp cooler be effective in 99% humidity?

Or are you now are claiming that the bees carry hot water outside the hive and dump it?

Do you have any actual references for this claim, Ace? :scratch: 

opcorn:


----------



## funwithbees (Mar 27, 2010)

I love beesource just for the entertainment value!
opcorn:

Things would be really dull without you two!! 
Nick
gridleyhollow.com


----------



## Acebird (Mar 17, 2011)

funwithbees said:


> Things would be really dull without you two!!


Nope I am done. I knew it was a mistake.


----------



## suzyq (Jun 30, 2014)

Our Wisconsin weather we've had a lot of rain and lower than normal temperatures. I have Canolian honeybees that love being outside no matter the weather. I checked on them once when it was pouring out and there was about 50-60 of them clumped outside in the rain on the hive. I scooped them up and put them in the bee box container I picked them up in this spring and put them in my house. Put them near a heat lamp and watched while they slowly layer by layer came back to life flying around.  When it stopped raining I put the box near the hive so they could fly out. Yeah, I know the bees would have eventually dried out on their own but it was cool watching them and they looked so miserable outside.


----------



## Rader Sidetrack (Nov 30, 2011)

The study linked below shows that bees start to lose muscle control when their thorax temperature falls below about 50 degrees F. 

http://jeb.biologists.org/content/206/2/353.full.pdf

Cold rain is capable of quickly cooling exposed (outside a hive) bee bodies to the point that they may no longer be able to move on their own to go inside and rejoin the cluster.


----------



## suzyq (Jun 30, 2014)

Interesting read Rader  It was both cold and pouring out when I took the bees inside. They looked like they were in the same position for hours! Once inside it took a few minutes till the top bees started moving. That explains it.


----------

