Worldwide Beekeeping
Beekeeping => Raising Queens => Topic started by: Barbarian on July 23, 2014, 01:57:00 am
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Not strictly the right topic --- sorry.
I set up a 3 frame Q mating nuc and noticed the following after a few days.
(https://worldwidebeekeeping.com/forum/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fs4.postimg.cc%2Fyqfh4d3vd%2FDSC00202.jpg&hash=c507ba3a2a1d1aff1acdf0a901f1c3596574a4a3) (http://postimg.cc/image/yqfh4d3vd/)
(https://worldwidebeekeeping.com/forum/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fs4.postimg.cc%2Fof34bpc61%2FDSC00203.jpg&hash=adbeba1fa69ae6c92b777bc846063af27a120eae) (http://postimg.cc/image/of34bpc61/)
There is a flow on at the moment and temperatures are in the low to mid 20s C. The nuc is in an apiary with several full strength hives. I suspect this was an anti-robbing response.
Any other thoughts ?
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Either it's real windy there, or I suspect you hit the nail on the head.
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Something similar here. I was adding 1.5 inch round, screened vents to my upper supers for ventilation last year. Over winter, they closed them off just like you show in your picture. Only these were completely sealed with propolis, leaving only the kerf in the inner cover for top ventilation.
In the wild, I feel sure the bees regulate their inside space by manipulating their entrance. Hard to say they did it because of SHB, wax moths, robbing, other bugs, mice, or even too much ventilation.....They are being bees, I wouldn't read too much into it...Certainly nothing to be alarmed over. :)
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I would think that they know that they have a large opening and not that there is a screen blocking the majority of it. It is easier to defend a small opening so they manufactured one.
Could excessive light getting into the hive have had any part to play in them blocking off the entrance?
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It is mostly the bee genetics some bring in lots of propolis and place it everywhere other hives collect very little.
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I think the honey flow is the basic cause of it all. The blockage in the picture seems to be all of freshly produced wax. Bees tend to plug up small holes and that's what yours did---they produced wax because of the flow and that went to plugging up the small holes in the screen.
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barbarian, the bees are just 'adjusting' the entrance to their liking.....for whatever reason. if you removed it, they would just build it back again..... ;)