We went in today and we were taken aback.
It was a lot of bees. More than we expected.
A lot of brood and quite honestly a true test of our matrimonial vows due to the volume of bees.
(he's the lifter and cool head..I'm the helper)
The breathing technique given on an earlier post was kept in mind. Espicially after about 6 of them flew directly at my veil and bounced off of it after my spouse pulled out a bee filled frame.
This was at noon.
We were pondering hours later and way too many glasses of wine and cans of beer later...
What does the hive look like on the inside when they all are in there?
Do they rest at night?
Do they actually remember what we did to them? Smoke...pushing them around...and such.
(BTW...smoke just seems to quiet them down for like a minute...then they are all at the top bars again.)
How does one beekeeper actually do all of this by themselves?
Still have yet to be stung...and to this day that's not our first fear.
Our first fear is killing bees and then getting stung by the rest.
Happy 4th everyone.
I truly hope that you have a fantastic weekend.
Sarita
>What is the most bees you have ever seen on a frame?
9731 ;)
>What does the hive look like on the inside when they all are in there?
dark :) and crowded
>Do they rest at night?
Some do. Some don't.
>Do they actually remember what we did to them?
No doubt.
> Smoke...pushing them around...and such.
(BTW...smoke just seems to quiet them down for like a minute...then they are all at the top bars again.)
The object of the smoke is to keep them from sounding a general alarm and all attacking at once. It masks the alarm pheromone for several minutes. The object is not to run them off or keep them off the top bars...
>How does one beekeeper actually do all of this by themselves?
All of what? I run 200 hives all by myself... and raise queens... and raise horses... and keep a full time job...
They do have some memory, but it also depends on the bees. In the last few years I've improved a lot as far as how I handle them (gloveless has helped with that!) but before then when I was more clumsy and knocked them around a bit more for a day or so some of the hives would send out a scout or two to patrol the yard and they would try to attack me if they smelled/saw me.
"All of what? I run 200 hives all by myself... and raise queens... and raise horses... and keep a full time job...
"
200 hives! Wow. What I meant was it would seem to us by far easier if you have a helper. I'm the photo taker, burr comb scraper, move things around person and "ooops...can ya get that?" kinda helper.
Oh...and I'm also the stupid question asker. ;-)
Horses would be fun however we are limited to our property in our subdivision.
Sarita
I have done all of my beekeeping by myself since 2006. Sometimes I really had wished I had someone to help me.
Just the logistics of it would overwhelm me alone.
My hats off to you that don't have a spare set of hands.
Gives me courage though..in case I need to that other folks manage.
The more knowledge and experience you gain the easier and more enjoyable it gets.
Sarita, you make me laugh.
I've seen frames just literally covered in bees. I tried to count all their little feet and divide by six but they wouldn't stop moving. I have no idea how many bees can fit on a frame.
Breathing on the bees. I'm so glad you mentioned that. I don't see many beeks talking about how the bees react to your breath without getting the obligatory wise remark. I discovered this by accident along with my son. We couldn't get the bees to move out of the way, on a frame one time and we simply blew really hard on them...through our veils. Instant reaction. They moved alright but they were sure agitated. I was asked to do a cutout and found the bees over the door jamb of an old abandoned house. The guard bees were easy enough to spot, having their wings raised up, like little jet fighters. I tried it out by stepping just a hair closer (no reaction) and blew on them in a long continuous breath. Count one mississippi, two mississippi and then BAM, instantly the gaurd bees were on my veil bumping aggressively. Just like you, I put it all toghether.
Told my wife about it and she was with me the last time I inspected my hives...she stayed in the truck and watched with binoculars. I was trying to reset the frame and push them together but the girls were all crowded up on one side and wouldn't bet out of the way...so I blew on them through my veil. They moved alright, got it done but they just exploded out of the hive. I got back in the truck and my wife instantly asks "did you blow on them, cause they sure came up into your veil". LOL
"I've seen frames just literally covered in bees. I tried to count all their little feet and divide by six but they wouldn't stop moving. I have no idea how many bees can fit on a frame."
It's food for thought. I guess if you figure how many cells is on a frame and you see bees covering most of the cells and maybe divide by 3 you might get a number.
What I find interesting is keeping bees this summer has definitely made me less squeamish about bugs.
Quote from: annette on July 02, 2010, 04:12:30 PM
I have done all of my beekeeping by myself since 2006. Sometimes I really had wished I had someone to help me.
What size honey supers are you using Annette? We use eight frame mediums, and they are HEAVY !
10 frame mediums. Wish I had started with all size 8. But I am going to try to transition to TBH's. Slowly, very slowly.
Quote from: saritacoleman on July 07, 2010, 03:37:55 PM
"I've seen frames just literally covered in bees. I tried to count all their little feet and divide by six but they wouldn't stop moving. I have no idea how many bees can fit on a frame."
It's food for thought. I guess if you figure how many cells is on a frame and you see bees covering most of the cells and maybe divide by 3 you might get a number.
What I find interesting is keeping bees this summer has definitely made me less squeamish about bugs.
Oh, goodness. Nobody is allowed to call them bugs on a beekeeping forum!!!
Sarita--I love your enthusiasm. I can tell you that going from year 1 to year 2 alone made a big difference in my comfort level and ability to move in and out of a hive quickly. Like anything, I assume it gets easier and faster with the more experience a person gets.
Good luck! Wish I had bees left to watch--I just need to enjoy them through you all until next spring. Boo hoo. :'(