Bearding Bees

What do bees do when it gets all hot in the hive?  Why, they go outside, of course!  It has been consistently hot here.  The plastic frame hive has had a population boom and they're really feeling the heat.

 
When the bees come out like this and gather on the outside of the hive, it is called bearding.  This is a pretty mild case.







The other problem the poor bees are having in this climate is the humidity.  They process the honey, then leave it to dry some before capping it.  We are seeing a lot of honey in both hives, but not so much capped as the honey is taking longer to dry in this heavy humidity: