Contents
Any beekeeper, regardless of whether he is constantly in the apiary or visits there from time to time, tries to observe his wards whenever possible. To determine the condition of the families by the behavior of the bees and whether they need additional help. Therefore, the state when the bees are pumping out near the notch cannot go unnoticed. The article attempts to understand the many reasons that can lead to such a state. Recommendations are also given to prevent scaling.
How a “beard” is formed and why its formation is dangerous
It is very unusual for a beginner beekeeper to observe even small clusters of bees on the front wall of the hive. After all, these insects must be constantly at work. And then it turns out that they sit and rest. And when their number literally increases several times in a few days, and the bees form some kind of dense formation out of themselves, from the outside it really resembles a “beard” hanging from the notch, it’s time to seriously think about it.
Usually such a “beard” is formed in the hot summer time in the afternoon, in the late afternoon and at night, and from early morning many bees still fly away to perform their daily duties of collecting nectar and maintaining the hive. But in any case, this causes legitimate concern for the owner of the apiary. After all, the working rhythm of the bees goes astray, they behave not quite naturally (especially from the outside), and most importantly, the amount of marketable honey produced decreases and the beekeeper suffers losses. The state when the bees are evacuated under the arrival board indicates, first of all, some kind of trouble inside the hive. In addition, insects outside the hive become more vulnerable and can be attacked by predators.
Finally, if the bees are actively swarming around the tray, this may be the main sign of the beginning swarming. And any experienced beekeeper knows that frequent swarming and large volumes of honey produced are incompatible with each other. Either one or the other can happen. Therefore, if the beekeeper aims to make a profit from his bees, primarily in the form of honey, then swarming must be prevented at all costs. Among other things, the beekeeper may simply not be ready for the emergence of a new swarm (there are no suitable hives and other auxiliary materials and tools for settling a bee colony).
Why do bees hang on the hive with a “beard”
Bees can hover near the entrance and form “beards” for various reasons.
Weather
The most common reason for bees to leave is when the weather is hot. The fact is that the bees warm the brood with their bodies, maintaining a constant air temperature in the immediate vicinity of the brood frames at + 32-34 °C. If the temperature rises to + 38 ° C, the brood may die.
Such temperatures can be dangerous for the entire hive as a whole. The wax may begin to melt, which means that there is a real risk of breaking the honeycomb. When the temperature rises to + 40 ° C and above, a direct threat is created for the death of the entire bee colony.
But they may not be up to the task. Therefore, the bees, free from work, are simply forced to leave the hive and move outside, so that the heat from their bodies does not provide additional heating in the nest.
Moreover, the insects, being on the landing board, try to actively ventilate the hive with the help of their wings. At the same time, due to the additional air flow, excess heat is removed from the hive through the upper ventilation openings.
In any case, this situation does not bring anything good, including for the beekeeper. Because bees, when bored out, are distracted from their immediate task of obtaining pollen and nectar.
For different regions, depending on their climatic and weather conditions, the timing of the occurrence of such a problem may vary. But most often, bees begin to be bored from the end of May, and the problem may remain relevant until the end of June.
Intensive honey collection
Another equally common reason that bees build “tongues” from their bodies is the usual tightness in the hive. It can form:
- From too abundant honey flow, when the bribe was so intense that all the free cells in the combs were already filled with honey. In this case, the uterus has nowhere to lay eggs, and the worker bees, respectively, also remain without work.
- Because the hive did not have time to expand with dry land or foundation, and the overgrown family managed to take all the free frames and the rest simply do not have enough space and (or) work in the nest.
In fact, these two reasons are usually closely related, since due to the tightness in the bee dwelling, the temperature in the hive often also rises. This can be especially true at night, when all the bees are forced to gather together for the night and get out so as not to overheat their nest.
swarming
In general, if the bees just sit in small numbers on the arrival board, this is not a cause for concern. If this happens closer to dinner or in the afternoon, insects can also periodically take off above the hive, as if examining it and not moving away from it for a long distance. This is how very young bees behave, getting acquainted with the surrounding area and the location of the hive, in order to start work in the coming days.
If the bees gather near the notch in large numbers, or their number grows inexorably every day, then this may already be the first sign of the beginning swarming. Other signs of swarming are:
- The excited state of the bees – they often gnaw on the arrival board.
- Insects practically do not fly for the extraction of nectar and pollen.
- Bees do not build honeycombs at all. Foundation sheets placed in the nest remain completely unchanged for several days.
- The uterus lays fresh testicles in future queen cells.
If the beekeeper is interested in the release of a swarm to create a new bee colony, then you can try to roughly calculate its date.
If hives are not prepared for new colonies, and there are generally no suitable conditions for increasing the number of bee colonies, then it is necessary to take a number of measures against swarming. Although, as the experience of some beekeepers shows, it is almost pointless to deal with swarming. It is better to prevent even the very possibility of its occurrence from the very beginning.
disease
Some beginner beekeepers are so intimidated by the sight of bees all over the hive that they begin to suspect the worst – the presence of all sorts of diseases in their wards.
It should be understood that the bees are pumped out from abnormal air exchange inside the hive or not quite correct and timely care for them. But diseases of any nature have nothing to do with it.
What measures should be taken when the bees cluster on the arrival board
Since there may be several reasons why bees cluster near the notch, the measures taken may vary. Sometimes a few days or even hours are enough to eliminate possible problems by improving the living conditions of the bees. In other cases, it is better to use preventive measures in order to prevent the very occurrence of a problem situation.
Temperature recovery
For a novice beekeeper, it is important to take a closer look at the location of the hives themselves. Due to inexperience, he could place them in direct sunlight, which, of course, can be one of the main reasons for overheating inside the nests on a hot sunny day.
If even a shadow does not save you from overheating or the hives cannot be placed in a cooler place for any reason, then you should:
- repaint the top of the hives white;
- cover them with green grass on top or use any other artificial shading;
- fix foam sheets instead of the ceiling;
- to improve ventilation, open all available entrances or make additional ventilation holes.
If the bees are forced out on the front wall of the hive due to disturbed heat exchange, then the measures taken should have the necessary effect quite soon and the normal mode of operation is restored in the colonies.
Elimination of crowding of bees
The most effective way to eliminate the situation when bees are pumped out due to overcrowding or abundant bribes is to pump out honey.
True, sometimes the placement of the evacuated frames back into the hive, on the contrary, causes the termination of flights and the bees pumping out under the arrival board. This can be explained by the fact that the remaining traces of honey, due to their hygroscopicity, dry out the air inside the nest. And the bees are forced to switch all their attention to humidifying the air in the hive. In order to prevent the occurrence of this problem, immediately after pumping out the honey, the combs are sprayed with water using an ordinary sprayer, and only after this procedure is placed in the hive.
To eliminate crowding in the nest, any expansion of it will be effective:
- by installing extra foundations;
- addition of cases or stores with honeycombs.
It is best to place them at the very bottom of the hive in order to improve ventilation at the same time and to encourage the bees, which are bored out under the notch, to immediately start building combs.
Anti-swarm measures
If the formation of additional swarms is not necessary, then a variety of anti-swarm measures should be used. In most cases, they consist in the constant loading of bees with work.
- Nests are expanded by placing additional frames with foundation and magazines or cases in them.
- Make layering with the fetal uterus.
- Constantly monitor the ratio of open brood of different ages in relation to sealed. It is necessary that the first is at least half of the total.
- From the very beginning of the season, old queens are replaced with new, young ones, thereby ensuring almost 100% impossibility of swarming.
A few more “whys” and answers to them
There is also a situation in a young family, when many bees not only sit on the arrival board, but also anxiously move along it. This may be a sign that the uterus flew out in the daytime for mating and for some reason did not return back (died).
In this case, in other hives, it is necessary to find a mature mother liquor and put it together with the frame in a destitute family. Usually, after a few hours, the bees calm down, and the front wall with the arrival board is empty. The situation is getting back to normal.
Bees are also culled during the period of theft, when for various reasons the bribe is not enough. In this situation, the insects also do not sit (or hang) calmly, but move anxiously along the arrival board and the front wall of the hive. Here, too, the bees need help to provide them with supportive nectar.
Why do bees gnaw on the board
The situation when bees sit or crawl on the arrival board, gnaw it and do not enter the hive is quite common at the beginning of swarming.
Sometimes they gnaw not so much on the landing board as on the entrance hole, thereby trying to expand it and create additional conditions for ventilation.
Therefore, in such a case, it is necessary to create all of the above conditions to prevent swarming, and at the same time create a favorable microclimate inside the hive.
Why do bees sit on the board in the evening and at night
If the bees sit on the notch at night or late in the evening, this means that, most likely, they will soon begin to swarm.
Again, another reason may be a violation of suitable temperature conditions inside the hive. Therefore, all the methods outlined above are quite suitable to deal with this problem.
Conclusion
Bees are pumped out near the notch, usually due to non-observance by the beekeeper of some conditions for placing hives and caring for their pets. This problem is not so difficult to deal with, and even easier to take appropriate measures so that it does not arise at all.
