Hi All It has been interesting following the thread on the cluster of bees on the outside of a hive body and how to move it with that. Well, here if we move any hives we expect to pick up 100+ stings per person per 20 hives - with smoke!! (Ie they are calm) The cluster of bees at the entrance of a hive at night is a great sign if the queen in the hive is young. If she is old, it means you will lose the swarm soon, as those are surpluss bees not needed for keeping the hive warm. I try to maintain all my production hives with a thick beard at night - I call it a beard. Ideally the beard should cover the hive entrance and be about halfway up the side of the brood box (deep). Anything that tries to tamper with such a hive will be hurt and vandalism by night is minimalised. Even an experienced beekeeper (me) trying to work such a hive will be nailed by crawlers - the worst type of stining formation. If such production hives are to be moved it is adviseable to put an empty super under the lid. This gives the bees thinking space and calms them down considerable. When one gets to the new site, the supers are filled with combs. Hope this helps Keep well Garth Garth Cambray Camdini Apiaries 15 Park Road Grahamstown Apis mellifera capensis 6139 South Africa Time = Honey The Universe is not here right now, if you would like to leave a message, leave your name and number after the long silence and it will get back to you as soon as possible.