Reasons why my hive is swarming?

[Seeb]

It would have to be in a PM reply or a new thread

HP, I [and I'm sure others] would be grateful if you would make it a new thread instead of a PM

[FloridaGardener]

Many thanks.  My beek friends here suggested splitting the hive 4 ways and making nucs; and if any nucs aren't queenright in a month, then move the non-QR nuc's frames back to the QR nucs.  Great if a beek wants more nucs and has the equipment.  But I'm trying to keep them as a production hive held just before the tipping point of swarming.

BTW, the excluder is steel/wood frame.  I didn't use one last year, and these didn't swarm last year; they're from a split done on May 22, 2019.

[Bob Wilson]

Guys, the original hive I went through at the beginning of this thread, in which I culled the queen cells, is now bearding up each day. I know its not much, but none of my other colonies is bearding at all.
I rearragnged that hive (pollen, brood, empties, honey, and then more empties) and on top of that, they have the whole back of the empty horizontal box. I was waiting till this coming Saturday) two weeks afterwards to inspect them.
Is it that they are waiting till she gets laying? Maybe she didn't make the mating flight and they are queenless? I thought they would be packing in honey while they wait.

[TheHoneyPump]

Looks to me like they are waiting for something. For example, waiting for an actively mating queen to return. This is assuming the entrance is along the bottom where the bees are. Other times, they may just want to get some air away from their sisters and are just hanging out on the porch enjoying the day.   What is the red thingy in the upper right.

[Bob Wilson]

That is a top entrance "Guardian" beetle entrance. There is another thin rectangular version of the Guardian at the bottom, where they are bearding, which is their main entrance. Before they started bearding, they had become loud and agitated coming in and out. I observed carefully, and it was not robbing or fighting. I wondered if it was congestion, and since they were also beginning to beard in 80 degree whether, when none of the other hives were, I opened the top red entrance also.