Hi, I am new to owning a hive and got the entire hive and full of bees for a good deal.
So I joined the forum a week ago and have been reading here and there.
I'm posting because I'm trying to figure out if I have a problem, I'm still a little uneasy around my honey bees with out a suit on so please forgive me if I sound skittish.
I've got my bees near my house and I've noticed a few bees seem to be buzzing me and I can't help but kinda shew them. They haven't bumped me, but I'm a good 50-60ft away from the hive which is on my patio roof roughly 10ft off the ground to keep the flight path higher.
I'm assuming they are guard bees, but they kinda chasing me down and before I do something about it what is the level of acceptable space for them before they become like that? I'm not watering or mowing just walking around looking at my dead California front yard (central valley).
RatedMark Welcome. I would suggest ordering or buying a ventilated bee jacket and a veil. Wear the jacket until you are more comfortable around your bees. (The jackets come with an attached veil). Later you will graduate to you independent veil, as you feel more comfortable and your confidence builds. Enjoy those bees!
Phillip Hall
I have a full bee suit and a majority of what I assume I need. I have a deep 10 frame hive with a brood box and a deep honey super on top of that. I have a queen excluder to keep her in the bottom.
What I'm talking about is kinda being harassed by the bees when I'm not really doing anything to there hive. Its not many just 1 or 2 bees that kinda chase after me.
Can you move them?
If I had a hive that did that more than 10 feet from it for 3 days I would requeen it, unless you are in a drought. Then put out a water source and it will likely stop.. They may do it because of the weather, but not more than 1 or 2 days.
PS. Put your location closer than just US. We may tell you entirely wrong if we don't know the climate you are in.
Quote from: iddee on April 14, 2020, 08:23:39 PM
If I had a hive that did that more than 10 feet from it for 3 days I would requeen it, unless you are in a drought. Then put out a water source and it will likely stop.. They may do it because of the weather, but not more than 1 or 2 days.
PS. Put your location closer than just US. We may tell you entirely wrong if we don't know the climate you are in.
Iddee pretty much nailed it. If they do that for more than a day or 2, they probably have a problem. Try solving each of the following:
... they need water (always)
... they need nectar (flowers)
... they need pollen (to raise their brood)
... they are out of honey and are starving
... they have a pest or disease problem
... they are queenless
Once you find the answer and solve it, they shouldn't do that - they should be gentle and ignore you.
I have a 1,000 gallon aquaponic tank within 50 feet and there is safe access in the tank for water. I see many blossoms on trees available. I opened the hive on Saturday looking for the queen a bit, and I didn't want to have the hive opened too long. The hive I got is really populous, so I'm hoping since I just opened the hive they're a bit irritated.
I saw pollen on their legs, they came with a food tray that was empty. They have honey capped I some of the frames. Should I feed them even though I can see and smell orange blossoms in my area?
On a sunny, windless day above 70F. it doesn't hurt to keep the hive open for 20 plus minutes. It takes less than 10 to remove enough frames to see if they have brood and food. A fully capped deep frame, about 6 pounds, will last them 20 days or more. That gives you a basis to go on.
It was my first time EVER opening a hive. I took out every frame and went through the hive. But to see that many bees was a bit overwhelming for my first time. I'm gonna go full natural comb, I bought 20 deep frames without wax board and am gonna slowly cycle those in over this summer as I'd like to get them down to the natural comb size in the brood box and the honey super for cut comb. Also my smoker ran out of fuel midway through. I lifted the first box and it was glued to the frames in the first box, so I had to scrape off the burr comb. I did see some developing bees but they were along the lines of almost finished. I read taking apart a hive can cause a lot of stress on the bees and I should minimize that too every 10 days. I'd like to make sure the queen is in the bottom brood box. So I can have 2 deep supers above. I have almost all the stuff to start doing oxalic acid treatments. I'll be doing that soon. 16 of the 20 frames had bees on them, and I have one of those flow frames for a 3rd box. I have to build a box for them in the next few weeks. I'll take pictures next time, I didn't see any queen cups or cells.
One of the things everyone kept telling me about opening a hive was to be quick, so right away I was rushing, bumping frames, dropping things and generally making my bees mad. When I purposely slowed down, and stayed calm, my movement was gentle and smooth, I was able to find my queen, etc. Another thing I started doing before suiting up, and continue to do now, is review a list I keep of what I want to check for/accomplish when I open the hive.
Good luck!
In what part of the US are you located?
Hey, Phillip, guess where he's at.
""I'm not watering or mowing just walking around looking at my dead California front yard (central valley).""
Yeah, it was wet the last several days. But they had syrup in the hive. Plus I have an outdoor fish tank with a gravel water fall that is very accessible for water. There is a huge orange tree in full blossom next to it and its in the mid 70s all week, some days in the low 80s.
(https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20200415/9e5d389351e930afc86c159fb7e0c7f3.jpg)
Mark,
Welcome to Beemaster.
I updated your location in your profile for you. The US has a wide variety of climates.
I suspect that the bees are reacting to rough handling. As mentioned, when you go in your hive have a plan, go slow, wear blue nitrate gloves so that you can feel the bees before you crush them. Your goal should not bee to see the queen. Just look for signs of the queen being present, look for eggs and wet larvae. I recommend you remove the queen excluder. Your queen will probably need more space at some point and if she does not have it, they will probably swarm.
Jim Altmiller
Quote from: Seeb on April 14, 2020, 09:47:22 PM
One of the things everyone kept telling me about opening a hive was to be quick, so right away I was rushing, bumping frames, dropping things and generally making my bees mad. When I purposely slowed down, and stayed calm, my movement was gentle and smooth, I was able to find my queen, etc. Another thing I started doing before suiting up, and continue to do now, is review a list I keep of what I want to check for/accomplish when I open the hive.
Good luck!
This is spot on. Conventional wisdom says "get into and out of the hive as quickly as possible", which puts the beekeeper under enormous pressure to complete inspections. Especially a new beekeeper. If you slow down, move in a highly controlled and deliberate manner, and avoid jostling the bees any more than is necessary, you will find them to be much easier to work with. Bees are highly sensitive to vibrations and scents. They are less worried about light and locomotion.
You don't have to find the queen. Just look for brood in all stages, particularly eggs and capped brood. Eggs mean your queen was on that frame within the last 3 days. Smooth capped brood means your hive is relatively healthy and producing worker bees (something only a queen can do). Bullet shaped caps are drones, which are normal as long as you also have worker brood.
When you're first starting out, I find it's helpful to identify the purpose of your inspection. "I am opening this hive to: (assess colony health? check for swarm cells? evaluate the need for a super?)"
As to your harassing bees, there could be any number of reasons they would bother you. I recently had a thread on the subject of defensive bees and tied some of the feedback I got to other incidents of being harassed similar to your situation. 50-75' away watering plants and getting bumped, etc. I like wearing black clothing. That apparently can send the bees into a defensive mode. I don't know if a darker complexion can do the same, but I would assume so. Others have provided a sound list of reasons why the colony might be defensive. I'll add to that list:
-hot hive (temperature, not temperament)
-over crowding
Being in California, you cannot ignore the possibility that you have a hive with Africanized genetics as well. Such a colony may be more defensive than a purely European colony. (This is where the recommendation to re-queen comes into play)
Jim's suggestion to work with nitrile gloves (or even sans-gloves completely) is a good one. It certainly makes you much more aware of where your stubby appendages are and when they're about to crush bees. If you want to see a hive get excited really fast, crush 5 or 6 bees. Be sure to smoke your hands thoroughly to mask your scent. Since I started working gloveless, I have taken no stings to the hands, but have noticed that even my most excitable colony can be calm during inspections.
love your turtle!
> Iddee. PS. Put your location closer than just US. We may tell you entirely wrong if we don't know the climate you are in.
> Ben Framed. In what part of the US are you located?
>Iddee. Hey, Phillip, guess where he's at. ""I'm not watering or mowing just walking around looking at my dead California
front yard (central valley).""
Haa haa That was funny. Looks like me and my buddy both missed that one lol. But iddee, I was wanting to know which direction he was facing! lol
Phillip :grin:
Mr. Mark, welcome for sure, welcome I say. As Ms. Seeb texted, I agree I like the turtle and the fish.
My dead California yard,,, I enjoy the humor.
Van
That turtle is my pride and joy. He's a hybrid red ear slider mixed with a local western pond turtle.
I doubt they're africinzed bees, only cause this guy sells a lot of hives on a regular basis. This is his business I guess, as he was offering discounts on 100 hives or more.
Either way I was asking because I like the idea of switching over to a hybrid carniolan hive only if the queen needs to be switched, but I've also read about getting the colony to accept her. Was reading this variety is more mite resistant and a better honey producer.
Quote from: RatedMark on April 15, 2020, 05:53:14 PM
That turtle is my pride and joy. He's a hybrid red ear slider mixed with a local western pond turtle.
He is awesome! Does he have a name?
I haven't given him a name, but maybe Ash or Noir to go with his color. He's pretty dang friendly, he comes up to the top of the water to check what's going on and allows me to pick him up pretty quickly. Got 3 red ear sliders in the tank and 1 western pond turtle. Those turtles run as soon as they see me.
And learn the Altmiller smoking method. Puff two or three puffs of some cool smoke right close into the entrance hole. Wait 10 minutes. Puff a second time. Wait 30 seconds, then open the hive and begin your inspection, smoking as needed. It really calms the bees more. HiNT: pack your smoker really full/tight so you don't run out in the middle of inspection like you did. Once it is lit well, you can even put put in damp/wet material and it will smoke longer.
And learn the Altmiller smoking method
Thats a new one for me to Bob, I'll give it a try
He's a hybrid red ear slider mixed with a local western pond turtle
that is very cool, just sent your pic to a friend of mine that has a small goldfish pond
Quote from: Seeb on April 16, 2020, 09:26:05 AM
And learn the Altmiller smoking method
Thats a new one for me to Bob, I'll give it a try
I've been using it since Beefest. It seems to work quite well. I find myself smoking the bees a lot less (if at all) during the inspection, and their overall disposition is quite calm.
When I say Jim Atlmiller smoking, I mean the Sawdstmakr method. Like Stich, I found I was not smoking early enough before inspection (when possible), nor packing my smoker tight enough. The most obvious thing I learned from Jim was using the hive tool to pack in material, instead of my singed fingers. I didn't say anything then, but that moment made me feel dumb.
I saw a YouTube video where someone was using bedding for rabbits and hamster for smoking. I've got a lot of dead leaves but they produce some funky smelling smoke. I bought a new bottom board for the hive and am gonna swap that in pretty soon. I wanted a screen and sticky board to start working on mite counts.
Use pine needles. Rake up a bag of dry brown ones from a friend's yard. It makes a good, cool smoke.
Quote from: Bob Wilson on April 16, 2020, 11:10:06 PM
Use pine needles. Rake up a bag of dry brown ones from a friend's yard. It makes a good, cool smoke.
Pine needles are free and extremely effective for smoker fuel. I've tried several things from cotton to pellets and wood shavings, but nothing beats the simplicity of pine needles. You want to use dry brown for starting, but you can also use green pine needles for slower burn and added moisture, which keeps the temperature down. Treat it like a campfire. Build a small fire in the can, get a coal going with enough heat to keep things rolling, then choke out the oxygen on the top of the fuel stack with tightly packed fuel.
I find the best way to get nothing but pine needles is to find a broken branch or a dead tree that still has brown needles on it and collect them. It is fast and you don?t end up with leaves and sticker branches in your pine needles.
Jim Altmiller
When I use to use pine needles, I did as Bob, I RAKED them up in a small pile and placed them in a sealed bucket. I did not mind an occasional pine cone as I found they would burn and smoke also lol
Phillip Hall
Jim. Once you are above the gnat line (Fla and south Ga), it seems the sandspurs and stickers tend to dissappear from lawns and open places. We invite you to move northward into God's green country. :wink:
When I say Jim Atlmiller smoking, I mean the Sawdstmakr method
I predict the Altmiller smoking method will now be a part of bee keeping history
I find the best way to get nothing but pine needles is to find a broken branch or a dead tree that still has brown needles on it and collect them
great idea!
I still got my dead xmas tree. Was gonna throw it in my garden, guess ill use it for smoke. I don't live super close to the mountains, I'm trying to think of some pine needles locally I can grab.
I wonder if cedar/fir might burn too hot. I know it likes to pop embers everywhere when I put them in the burn pile