So I hived my 3 4lb packages on 2pm friday. It was about 75 degrees and sunny. No problems, 2 hives at my yard, 1 at a yard a few miles away. About an hour later I'm working on my truck about 30 yards away from the 1st two hives and a bee stings my hand, I wasn't too worried cause I figured they were still getting settled. I left town until last night but my dad said he stopped by (twice, friday at 4ish and saturday morning) to work on some landscaping about 50 yards from the hives and both times he had 2 bees keep trying to sting him until he killed them (4 bees in total). This morning I went out to check and everything appear normal except for over crowding (it was already in the high 80 degrees) so I went to take the entrance reducers off and as soon I reach down a bee comes flying out chasing after me until I kill it. I haven't checked on the 3rd hive yet. Is this normal (I've hived packages before and I don't remember behavior like this)? Or should I be concerned until the queens start laying? Anything I can do?
Contact the person you got the packages from and question them about the queens. Are they one and of the same or from another source?
If the queens were purchased from another supplier and queens are from known gentle stock, the new crop of bees that will be replacing the package bees should be much gentler, thus resolving this issue.
If from same stock, you may need to requeen.
In a nut shell, generally speaking, a package should not be aggressive unless they were from aggressive stock, hungry, or weather conditions have really disrupted their dispositions, mainly heavy winds.
Contact the supplier asap.
...JP
The workers in a package are quite likely unrelated to the queen in the package. Her offspring won't be running the hive for four to six weeks.
Quote from: JP on April 26, 2009, 01:14:32 PM
or weather conditions have really disrupted their dispositions, mainly heavy winds.
It has been high 80s and windy the last couple days. Would this be a factor?
Heat isn't usually a problem. Wind, cold, rain will put them in a bad mood.
Temps are fine. We have had bouts of heavy winds here at Bud's and there has been a noticeable difference in hive attitude when the winds have picked up.
For the most part Bud's bees are puppies but the few times we've been around the hives in heavy winds they've been no ticably more aggressive, for puppy dog bees.
Even so, I would contact the supplier about where the queens have come from, yes they are usually purchased from a breeder and supplied with the package so their offspring should be different, but ask anyway.
...JP