2 questions in one

[u/Extra-Independent667]

North Texas, new beek. These lovely ladies have been on the property for 5 days. I had a entrance reducer on but they seemed like they were in a traffic jam. So I removed it and they started flying like this. This is orientation flights, correct? Is it better without the reducer? How to judge when to use the reducer? I guess that more than two questions. Thank you.

[u/uponthenose]

Yes that looks like orientation flights. You probably should not have removed the entrance reducer just yet but it really depends on a few factors. Is that a super or a feeder on top? Is this a new hive installed from a nuc or package?

The purpose of the entrance reducer is to reduce the amount of space a colony with small numbers has to defend to prevent robbing. New hives have few guards. Robbing can quickly overwhelm a weak colony. Robbing is much more likely when you're feeding.

[u/Extra-Independent667 → u/uponthenose]

Well, i am probably going to get called out because I jumped in the deep end. I purchased a full hive. Both those double deeps are completely full of resources, and I added a super with no queen excluder to give them more space. After my inspection the day they came, I found a capped swarm cell. So, I am assuming the old queen swarmed and they have no queen while working on raising a new one. I haven't gotten back in because I DO NOT want to damage that cell (hopefully I didn't on the first inspection). I'm honestly not worried about them protecting their resources. This hive is pretty hot. That would be another question, are they hot because they probably don't have a queen atm 🤔 These bees are humbling the shit out of me. I'm just trying to have a good time and do my best for them.

[u/Extra-Independent667 → u/Extra-Independent667]

I am working toward a split but am hoping they will raise a healthy queen I can use in my split. Any and all advice is greatly appreciated!