As the days are getting hotter and the hives are all brooding up for the nectar flows, it’s the time of year that you’ll see large clumps of bees hanging on and around the entrance of the hive to keep cool and let more circulation of airflow into the hive. It’s totally normal and occurs when the hives are all brooded up in the spring and summer as the weather gets hotter both night and day.
During this time of year and into the hot summer months, be sure to check that there is adequate airflow around your hives, your hives are well shaded for a good portion of the day and be sure to keep replenishing the source of water for the bees as they can go through a lot of water on those hot summer days!
www.BackYardHive.com Honeybee Guardianship using Top Bar Hives 
Fantastic , timely information!!! Thank you so much…I have just that situation and was worried that I was mismanaging my beautiful new top bar hive. Thanks again for getting this information to us “newbees” with a photo that matches my prediciment exactly.
Thanks
Sure thing, that is great to hear it’s helpful!
Claire
That’s exactly what my hive did a few days ago as well.
Thanks
My husband is currently building a top bar hive for what we hope to have as a second hive. Our first hive is a traditional stacked version with two deep supers and one shallow (at the moment). We are hoping that as the first hive grows, the bees will want to expand to the second hive…..what is the best way to get them to start the split?
Oh, thank goodness, that’s just what my girls are doing, and I was worried they were getting ready to leave! I know I have to rig up more shade for them–I miscalculated placement of the hive and it is in full sun later in the day than I thought. Now that the hive is full of comb, I’m sure it’s much hotter in their hive. I’m rigging up shade, and they have water nearby.