What the heck are they doing ???????

[BeeHopper]

I just returned from checking my colonies ( we had a nasty thunderstorm last night) for damage. On all 3 hives, workers were hanging out the entrance like they do everyday, fanning, guarding, BSing with each other, foragers coming and going when I noticed many were scratching the surface with their front legs, moving them back and forth, some with their probosis (sp) extended. The entrance is clean and dry, is this a form of housekeeping or another type of Bee behavior I do not know of :?: . By the way, all is well. :D

[KONASDAD]

I live a few miles from you and mine are doing the same. I think it might be called washboarding. Mine are on the lower deep, predominately facing downward, and doing a foot dance.

[JBird]

I live right near both of you and my bees are doing the same thing.  It's commonly referred to as "washboarding" and there is no known purpose or cause for this behavior.  It's pretty funny to watch.  When I first noticed the behavior, my first thought was that it allowed young workers a chance to smell/taste the nectar and pollen sources that mature workers were visiting before they themselves began foraging.  Now, I'm not so sure.  Perhaps only bees of a certain age and stage of life washboard, and only for a few days before they begin actively foraging.  Who knows, but that's my guess for now.

[BeeHopper]

Washboarding is indeed the perfect description of what I observed today. It is kind of funny watching dozens of workers doing it. Glad to know there are 2 Beeks nearby to help out.
keep in touch and happy 4th to all. :)

[IndianaBrown]

I see my bees washboarding when it is humid also.  

Dunno if I read this somewhere or not, but I suspect that the bees are laying down nectar and picking it up over and over again in an attempt to help evaporate the water out of it.  The more humid it is inside the hive, the more likely we are to see them doing it outside.