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Swarming

  Tuesday, July 19 2022
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Hello! I am very new to beekeeping and have a top bar style bee hive. The bees have been very busy since I got them in may. They have built out most of the box and I have a very serious cross comb situation that I am unsure of how to correct as well as the bees have been swarming. One day it appeared as though another hive swarmed to join our hive ... not sure if that is even a possibility but that is what it seemed like because all the bees were still in the hive while we saw the other swarm. After the big cloud of bees landed they made a giant cluster under the entrance of the hive and after they all made their way in it seemed like the amount of bees in my hive doubled. Since then we have seen them swarm and move around as a giant cloud a few times. I have no idea what to make of all of this! I am open to all the advice/help I can get! I also sent a submission to have a bee mentor but haven't heard anything back. I am in the Huntington area and would LOVE a mentor if anyone has time or is willing to help me get on track. I have read a ton of books and watched a ton of YouTube videos but nothing is quite like learning in person from someone with expertise! THANK YOU!
I believe what you witnessed was a queen returning from her mating flight. Means the colony actually swarmed two to three weeks ago and this is a new queen. If she was well mated you'll see eggs in less than a week.

You correct cross comb by cutting it out. Move your comb closer together. The top bars should be touching one another. The sooner you do this as it is occurs the less time and effort it takes you and is wasted of the bees.
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