Beekeeping, Gardening and Quilting in Eastern Wake County, North Carolina









Thursday, May 28, 2009

The Swarm Hive - Earthquake


When I added the new bottom board to the Swarm Hive, I evidently messed up the inner workings of the hive. This is the hive that has 5 shallow frames and 5 regular frames. The bees filled in the space for the shallow building their own comb without the regular foundation on the frame (hope this makes sense). Anyhow, the foundation must have gotten shaken loose or torn when moving the hive back and forth - maybe like an earthquake. So I'll give them a little more time to get everything back in shape and then check to see how they're doing. I know they have plenty of room with the empty super I added.

There's lots of bees hanging out in the front and that's not the norm till it gets much, much hotter. This photo was taken about 8:00 yesterday morning and it was not hot enough for them to be on the porch. None of the other bees are hanging out in the front of their hives.
They won't be moved around again that's for sure - as I've said before, everytime I open a hive, it's a different learning experience.