The hive on the left is the package I installed on 6 April. The newly emerged bees were doing play flight this afternoon. It was just too cool. The air was full of bees in a 25 yard sphere around the hive. I went through the whole hive on Monday and there were no queen cells, so this new field force should be packing in the honey soon. The small hive on the right is the virgin swarm I hived one week ago. I put them on a shallow box of empty comb. Opened them for the first time today and the new queen has just started laying. There are eggs on two of the frames and no hatched brood.
Orienting flights by the new bees? So cool to watch!
ReplyDeleteOne of my hives went nutso one afternoon last week. The air was thick with swirling, swirling, swirling bees. I'm pretty sure they were just doing orienting flights but I guess, since I didn't look too closely, they could have been being robbed. *crossing fingers* It was a madhouse, whatever they were doing.
With robbing, you will get stings when you get near the hives as the bees are angry.
ReplyDelete