Evening gatherings.

The last couple of days have been lovely weather.  The bees have been very busy, brining in pollen and presumably nectar, and they've not been taking a whole lot of the food since I last gave them some, some 5 days ago.  I think this is partly because I upset them somewhat putting in the 'Apiguard', and partly that the food is now on top of the empty super - they need to work harder to find it. - They are still taking some, but whilst the weather is good, and they can get their own nectar, that's got to be better for them than sugar water anyhow.

So - a behaviour I've noticed is that when the evening begins to darken, the bees stop flying but there can be a large cluster of them outside the hive around the entrance, even until it's quite 'cold' and dark. - I've no idea why they would do this - the wasps don't seem to be a problem at this time of night - it's almost like they are just tired and having a little chat and relax before retiring for the evening - the old women of the hive gathering for a glass of sherry and a chat before bed.

Not so many in this shot, but there can be many more. - If you have any ideas, let me know!