This is a late published post…didn’t realize it hadn’t been posted.
The package has been in the hive for 12 days.
Each afternoon I notice a lot of activity around the entrance. I am always worried about robber bees since this is a hive just getting started and doesn’t have the numbers they need to really defend it.
I have the entrance reduced….I hope it is small enough so they are able to successfully defend it. If I need to reduce it more let me know, but they did manage to keep the big red ants out.
Whenever I notice this activity I go sit in the chair and watch them. So far, I have not noticed any signs of fighting, and there always seems to be several Drones in the mix. That is the only time I see Drones.
You can see how much bigger the drone is compared to the worker on the R. They also have a much louder buzz when they dive bomb you, but they don’t sting. Once they mate with a Queen they die. That is their only job.
I took a video of the coming and going. After 15 minutes or so it was one way traffic back into the hive until just the normal foragers were leaving and returning.
While all this was going on the workers were still bringing in pollen.
Sometimes it was like a traffic jam….but no fighting.
From my reading I understand that as bees mature they have different jobs. When they are old enough to become foragers they start doing orienting flights.
If you beekeepers can see something else in the video…please let me know. Just a beginner here, I need all the help I can get. I want this hive to survive.
good luck! bees need all the helpthey can get at the mo
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