The hive's arrival board is not only an important part of the house for keeping bees. The way insects behave in this place can tell a lot and become a signal for urgent actions of the beekeeper.
If the bees are sitting on the flight board and are not doing anything, this could be a sign of the start of honey collection, an omen of swarming, and an indication of the disease of the bees.
Active honey collection
If a large number of buzzing insects gather on the arrival board, and each of them tries to get into the hive, pushing with each other - it means that the bee family is strong and is actively engaged in collecting honey. Bees move slowly due to a full abdomen and cannot promptly deliver nectar inside.
Swarm
If the bees sit on the arrival board and do nothing, do not fly away and do not fly, the collection of nectar is almost stopped, this should immediately alert the beekeeper. Such behavior always accompanies the swarming process.
In addition, additional status indicators are as follows:
- the mistress of the hive dramatically reduces productivity, egg laying practically stops;
- no new cells are created in the hive;
- from the evening in the bee’s house the “song of the queens” is heard, preceding the battle between the current and young mistresses;
- silence inside the hive in the early morning. Insects, as if waiting, are trampling on the arrival board.
Most likely, as soon as the sun rises above the horizon and the air warms up, the swarm will leave the apiary.
Disease
It happens that field workers begin to crawl aimlessly on a board with spread wings. Even if they want to take off, they immediately fall down. Around the bee house it is easy to notice a lot of dead larvae and already adult insects. This is a clear sign that the family is affected by the disease. Perhaps the trouble came due to improper care or dampness inside the hive, parasite invasion or infection.
Portent of the rains
It happens that in the early sunny morning a buzzing family changes its habits dramatically: the bees sit on the arrival board and do nothing. There are no visible changes, life is boiling in the hive, and no one is in a hurry in the field for nectar. Most often, this behavior indicates that soon clouds will appear in the sky and rain will come. As beekeepers explain, in this case, due to the increased humidity, the nectar in the flowers has cooled and swollen with moisture, the bees do not take it.
On the other hand, bees can linger on the arrival board and in the evenings. By diligently working their wings, they remove thus accumulated moisture from the hive. Such "ventilation" portends warm weather for the coming days.
Uterine loss
If the bees do not leave the flight board and crawl outside the hive, the uterus may have disappeared. Working insects diligently “air” the streets, buzz loudly and lingeringly. Angry, tense and active, they hustle on the board and do not strive on the field. They do not accumulate in the place of brood, but are evenly distributed inside and outside the house.
Thus, the strange behavior of bees on the arrival board is not accidental. If you pay attention to the nuances of such a sudden collective walk of insects in time, you can prevent major troubles in the bee family.
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