Melissa's Beard

We have noticed that Melissa is bearding much more than the other colonies.  She doesn't have a Slatted Rack and that definitely contributes to bearding.  However, she is bearding down into the 60°F range we are now seeing at night.

Post Combination Melissa

What i wonder is if she has too many bees.  Since the TWO colonies next to her were combined she may have gotten all the drift.  One of those went into her so the only extra drift she would have gotten was from Nuc #2.  Who had a ton of bees.

There is nothing wrong with bearding.  As a matter of fact it is both natural and helpful the the bees.  I'm not trying to tone down the bearding.  I do, however, look at Melissa's unique bearding as an indicator there may be a population or ventilation issue. 

I'll try to check Melissa this weekend; depending on the hurricane.  Until then we added to her an undrawn super filled with foundation.  That will give any extra bees a place to hang out.  It will allow the bees more space for heat regulation.  Plus, if they draw it out some, good!

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