# Does this look like they are swarming?



## mfranzosa (Apr 17, 2012)

I hope the video is viewable. Sorry if it's sideways, apparently I don't know how to hold my video camera. I went out to my hive today and saw alot of activity. Never seen that many bees in the air at one time in front of my hive. It was cold and rainy yesterday and earlier today it was cold. 

I checked the hive after this video was made and things quieted down. The hive still had a ton of bees in it, more than it had last time I checked. I didn't see the queen but saw eggs. No swarm cells, found one cell on the bottom of a frame that I guess might've been a cell, but it wasn't even capped. Were they swarming, or just big bathroom break? Anyone know what they might've been doing?


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## Lburou (May 13, 2012)

Orientation flights.


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## Vance G (Jan 6, 2011)

Get them into a bigger living quarter or they will swarm. That is a good bunch of bees orienting and everyday the same number are emerging. You need to at least double the size of the hive.


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## Mtn. Bee (Nov 10, 2009)

They do have a lot of activity when the sun comes out after a rainy period!
But I agree with Vance, give them the room! Also I would take out that entrance reducer unless it is a weak colony, but it don't look weak!


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## Ozarks Honey Company (Apr 18, 2012)

Looks like orientation flights to me... My bees do it all the time. the first time I saw it, I thought Oh, no... They are swarming. When did you hive the bees? 

Just take a quick check and be sure they are not too crowded. But with 2 deeps unless this is a year old hive, I am doubting that they are ready to swarm, especially since you didn't see queen cells last week. They can build out queen cells quick when they need to, but it still takes 16 days for the queen to emerge. So unless it has been 2 weeks since you last checked and they got busy building a queen the moment after you checked it is not likely they are getting ready to swarm.

Again, it sure looks like orientation flights to me. I agree with Mtn. Bee, unless you put them in the hive in the last week, get rid of that entrance reducer. The hive is plenty strong enough.

Good luck, looks like you're off to a great start.


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## mfranzosa (Apr 17, 2012)

The hive was started from a package that I installed on April 15 this year. There are still 4-5 empty frames in the top deep, so they have room to expand still. I will remove the entrance reducer and see how that works. Thanks for the input.


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## wadehump (Sep 30, 2007)

In the heat we had and the heat that will be coming take the reducer out and when it starts to get hot again prop the lid open with a small stick or gravel to get an air flow going. Raising brood makes a lot of heat.


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