the bees are hot

This is all the bees hanging out on the outside of the hive. I don't know much about bees, but I know that is not right.

When I realized this, I started freaking out. The bees are sick! I killed the bees! I called the guy I got the bees from, Butch, in a panic. Butch was very kind. No, they are not sick, he said, probably just hot. He said I needed to open them up more. Prop the top open a little and remove the entrance reducer.

How am I supposed to remove the entrance reducer? That's the piece of wood in their door to make it smaller! They're all over the door! That's where they fly in and out, where they are most defensive!! They're not going to like me sticking my hand into their door!

Butch said, very gently, just suit up and do it.

So that's what I did. It was so cool!!

Here is Scooter and I all suited up and ready to go.

This is what the entrance reducer looks like.

And it totally helped. Butch was so right!!

Here's before

and after -- about 30 minutes later (the sun was going down).

The other thing that Butch said to try was to add another super, which is another wooden box full of wax comb. It will give them more room inside, like an addition on their house. My neighbor Libby very kindly said that she'd come over this weekend and show me how to do it, so we'll see if that gets the rest of them inside.