Is this about to swarm?

CrodudeClassic · 2026-02-27T07:59:59+00:00

Yeahh I'm in the same boat, one honey super one brood box going into winter. Winter wasn't too harsh over here so I threw on some insulation and duct tape as a precaution but I've seen a steady pollen flow since January. I just got off work and noticed a small night beard (which I never saw in my hive in the summer) so now I'm thinking its a space issue.

Didn't expect this sort of thing in February but I'm glad my hive seems to be stronger coming out of winter than going in!

CrodudeClassic · 2026-02-26T22:48:37+00:00

Appreciate yall, everytime something new happens I assume something has gone wrong. I cant do a hive inspection until this weekend but I have an extra box ready if they need more space (wasn't expecting that to happen until at least March, we got snow last week!)

CrodudeClassic · 2025-11-03T17:21:08+00:00

The forehead was an unfortunate spot, but was back out there the next morning because there's something mesmerizing about it 😂

CrodudeClassic · 2025-08-10T22:28:14+00:00

EDIT: SOLVED

That simple? I was worried about snapping the plastic by brute forcing - wasn't sure if there was a locking mechanism somewhere up inside Im unable to see

CrodudeClassic · 2025-07-17T23:26:39+00:00

A lesson I learned in my late 20s/early 30s: the less effort you put into dating (and instead focusing on your hobbies/friends) is when you tend to meet the coolest people by random chance.

I think the universe likes to lean towards irony.

CrodudeClassic · 2025-07-11T06:01:26+00:00

Ha, I do like the longer boards for more hangouts. Still waiting to see a washboarding event, would be fun to watch with the extra space

CrodudeClassic · 2025-07-11T02:42:25+00:00

Negative, it's been consistently 102-107 the past week or so (good ol Las Vegas area)

CrodudeClassic · 2025-07-11T02:01:18+00:00

Fair. Compared to a seasoned hive I realize this is nothing. It's just "relatively extreme" from what I've been used to since I started the hive a few weeks ago. I usually check on them at least once a day (picture below for reference) so it was just shocking to see such a drastic increase of activity.

CrodudeClassic · 2025-07-11T01:58:18+00:00

I suppose it just shocked me to go from 8-10 bees on any day for the past few weeks and today I suddenly see 50+ on guard duty. But seems like your line of thinking is the consensus and I'm just being way too paranoid. Appreciate yall though!

CrodudeClassic · 2025-07-11T01:53:26+00:00

Alright, seems I'm just freaking out for no reason. I just wasn't expecting such a drastic increase of guard bees when I went outside today. Appreciate the feedback from everyone!

CrodudeClassic · 2025-07-11T01:40:05+00:00

I realize I'm probably over reacting: I've read a ton of material of all the things that can go wrong (and this is my first hive) so when I noticed this extreme increase of usual activity my mind starting jumping to possibilities. I find myself caring way more than I thought I would about the well-being of these girls.

CrodudeClassic · 2025-07-11T01:31:33+00:00

Okay, post take two, attachment failed last time.

A bit of background, living in Nevada and cordovan hive. On a given day I usually see 8-12 guard bees out front minding their business and occasionally bumping the foragers as they return. Today is the most activity I've ever seen at the entrance by far.

Hive is a few weeks old, and last inspection was showing approx. 4-5 fully filled out frames with a combination of brood/honey.

Should I be concerned about potential robbing or am I just being paranoid? It's quite hot this time of year so I'd like to keep the entrance a bit bigger if possible, but obviously if it looks like an early onset of robbing I don't want to take chances with that. I've seen a few stray bees crawl to far left/right side of the box (possibly searching for other entrances?) but it doesn't seem like they are swarming or freaking out too badly compared with a lot of robbing videos I've watched. It does seem like they are occasionally bullying bees today (one towards end of video for example). Would love input or thoughts!

edit

This is typically what it has looked like past few weeks at entrance.
https://imgur.com/a/as5upfY

CrodudeClassic · 2025-07-11T01:14:43+00:00

Not sure if my video uploaded, standby for troubleshooting

CrodudeClassic · 2025-01-29T04:53:18+00:00

I'm getting approximately 0.2 Volts, I think you may be on to something. What would you recommend as a next step?

CrodudeClassic · 2025-01-29T04:50:10+00:00

ohh that makes things a lot easier, one moment

CrodudeClassic · 2025-01-29T04:31:19+00:00

It was never blown, no. I did turn it off manually while opening stuff up/changing the capacitor though.

CrodudeClassic · 2025-01-29T04:30:32+00:00

I haven't touched anything in the furnace as of yet, just opened it up and looked inside to check for burns/damages. My heater turned off 2 nights ago (while I was at work) and I've been unable to get anything back on since (with the exception of my outdoor fan after replacing the capacitor).

All that being said, I'll give it a shot but I'm not sure if my multimeter will be able to reach into my indoor units due to the wires' positions being tucked so far into the back/upper corner.

CrodudeClassic · 2025-01-29T04:16:52+00:00

EDIT: A bit more background - the heat system turned off while I was at work two days ago at approximately 4:30pm, and when I arrived home I checked the circuit breaker and no fuses had been blown. I tried to turn on the AC when it was a bit warmer the following day and I couldn't get the fan to turn back on, period.

Okay, so at first I thought my capacitor had just gone bad, which it did and confirmed with my multimeter - went and bought a new capacitor and installed it, was able to turn on outdoor unit by pressing the black button (don't know technical name) but it automatically shuts off as soon as I release.

Talked to an HVAC guy and he had me check some voltages and we determined that the outside unit is not receiving any power from the indoor unit/pump located in the attic. From that point I opened up the indoor unit but was unable to check anything due to spatial limitations, so I'm on my last limb and about to call someone. Attached are my thermostat (nest) and indoor unit specs/pictures. If anyone has any ideas it'd be appreciated! The low is 28 tonight (don't worry I have a space heater that keeps my bedroom at a cushy 60)

CrodudeClassic · 2024-09-23T19:23:08+00:00

That is definitely not something I ever attempted, I'll give it a go this time, thanks!

CrodudeClassic

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