ok so you guys ma recognize
this beehive as the one I did a thermal test on a few days ago
bee body temps were on the oustide of the hive
we are in a heat wave here in the northeastern United States
these bees are not just "hanging'on the outside of the hive
there is lots of activity and waggle dancing
lots of movement
that's a problem
this colony is about to swarm
it's too late in the year to allow them to swarm out
they would just expire
we are at the end of the nectar flow here
in the past I just remooved the queen and the workers returned
notice the large number of drones exiting the hive
large eyes
no space between the eyes as with the workers
they want to go with the departing queen
in hopes of mating with the newly emerging replacement queens
notice the fanning
getting the queen's pheromone into the air
What would YOU do to stop this swarm?
More bees exiting than entering, they are building an aerial cloud of bees waiting for the queen
remember that above this board, there are thousands of bees waiting on the outside
this is the bearding area
see prior video with thermal tests and
I brought that camera with me this time also
this hive is in the shade of a spruce tree
here is the flir c2 camera
99.9 degrees Fahrenheit in the hottest spots
Look at all the bees massed and waiting for the old queen to fly out
we could just let them fly
and then hope to rehive the swarm
but I want these bees to remain right here and I want the queen to NOT fly out
So, how to stop the swarm and keep them inside
drones can't sting or bite
so many bees exiting
the reason for them preparing to swarm
there is a nectar flow
the population is huge
this is a bad time of year for swarming
in the past
when bees prepare to swarm
if it rains, they may change their minds and stay
suddenly it's raining
not reallyl
I'm spraying them with the garden hose
this imitates a rain storm
notice the activity stopping
the dancing is ending
the bees spreading the pheromone have stopped
the aerial cloud of bees are no longer smellling the queen
so they are also returning to the hive now
this is stopping the swarm while cooling the bees off
as far as they know, it's raining
rain keeps them from swarming for the moment
that's not enough
now we need to change something in order to prevent them from swarming after things dry off
remember it's almost 100 deg. F outside the hive body and inside it's hot and humid
here is the side view
showing the bees returning as they cancel the swarm out.
If the queen remains
if the frames are full and the queen has no space for laying eggs and expanding
we have to provide more, or she'll just go again at the direction of the workers
we have to add boxes to the top of this hive
same as if after a rain storm had passed
time to take the hive apart and expand the interior space and resources
I will put in full dran out frames of honey comb
this will allow the workers to move inside and being filling cells
it's too late in the season to put in empty frames without drawn comb
the workers just don't have time to draw out wax comb in order to keep up with the incoming nectar
If the old Queen remains, the bees inside will simply chew open the replacement queen cells
and destroy the new queens
the workers were being sprinkled and landing on me and the camera, here is a worker
recovering from the water
all drying off now
remember before
the yellow box was the top
I've replaced the top with an insulated cover
added two medium supers for expansion of resources
workers outside can now go inside
hours from now most have migrated inside
they are occupying the two upper boxes now
they have inside room and an upper vent
if the queen could not find more places to lay eggs, the workers would just drive her out again.
I think we have stopped them with the imitation rain
notice the bees are already moving IN and there
are fewer bees on the outside
they have accepted the additional space inside
and are going in gradually
it was a success
clear skies
no rain in the forcast
make fake rain and save the bees from swarming out
thanks for watching