Uploaded April 2014 | Updated September 2026, 3 days ago

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The observation hive on my desk is larger than a normal observation hive. See this page for a photo, bees-on-the-net.com/observation-hive/. It's basically a 6 frame nuc with an adapted lid containing another frame. This means that they can occupy the box all year quite well.

The queen had been piping for a few days, so I knew it would be swarming soon.Click the link to a 4 sec recording of her piping. sandiegobees.com/video/queen-piping.mp3

It's not often you actually see inside a hive which is swarming and see them in the air, usually you only see the cluster in a tree or somewhere.