Shake Out? Really mad Bee's

[harvey]

Ok I have two new packages really do well.  My hive from last year was queenless for almost 8 weeks.  I had been told that they wouldn't take a queen now if I gave them one so I decided after all i have read here to shake the bees out near the other two hives and maybe they would join them.  Now these bee's have been very gentle all last year and not bad this year even without a queen.  Today things changed.  There were at least five full frames of bees,  both sides of the frames.  I took a frame over about six feet from the first new hive and kinda bumped the frame on the ground. It worked all the bees came off.  I did that with the rest of the frames and so far so good.  Now I carried the frames and the two boxes up to the barn.  Took off my veil and gloves then remembered I needed to pick up the bottom board and covers.  I went back down to get them.  I got the bottom board and had to nock off maybe a thousand bee's.  They acted like they were swarming!!!   AT ME!!!!  Can't blame them I guess.  I got one sting in the neck and one on my knee.  I left the covers down there for now!   Do yall think they will join the other two hives?

[Kathyp]

after you get the rest of the hive.....or maybe by night.   :evil:

[riverrat]

if you had five frames of bees and no laying worker i would have put a frame of eggs and brood in there and let them make a new queen or better yet order a new queen and requeen. five frames of bees dumped on the ground is enough bees when they try to rejoin the other hives there is going to be fighting

[Michael Bach]

I just did a shake out on a couple laying worker hives and they never got too mad suprisingly.  They didn't know what hit them.  Confused to say the least.  I had about 3-4 frames of bees left from a package install.  I requeened and things are progressing nicely.

[Michael Bush]

If you don't have every bee in the hive in the air when doing a shakeout, you're not doing it right.  :)