Temperment and comeing weather

[Jerrymac]

Yesterday I went out to check a hive. I drove up as I always do and instantly a bee is buzzing the drivers window. They never have done that. I checked one of the hives. They got a little testy as I was finishing up.

Today I go to check another hive. Again the bees were buzzing me before I got started. I got suited up and smoked the hive. Took the top off and the inner cover. All was fair. A few buzzers around. Then I messed up trying to get the first frame out. It slipped about three times before I could get a good grip on it. Each time it slipped more bees would start buzzing/bumping me.

As I went on through the hive it gradually got worse. I had a cloud of bees all around me. One managed to sting me on the shoulder, right through the suit and a denim shirt.

I finally finished up and went to the Durango. There was a cloud of bees all around it and they were flying all around the inside. I finally got on the highway that runs in front of the house and drove down a ways with the windows down. Then came to the house. Had to remain in full gear until I got inside. Now the house is a good 100 yards from the hives. One bee came in with me.

A little later I went out and the dog went out also. The dog got stung. Even later I went back out and one buzzed me and got caught in my hair. Got her before she got me. Even later I went out and there were a few still buzzing the Durango.

I finished checking that hive about noon. Many hours later, about 7 pm, I was a good thirty yards from the hives loading something onto my trailer. By the time I was done I had about 4 bees buzzing me.

Now tonight it appears it is about to rain. It actually has rained in spots around here since about 5 or 6. But now it is cloudy and lightening all over the place. I wonder if it was the weather that had the girls so tempermental, or just my bumbling around.

[Michael Bush]

It's probably a combination of several things.

o  The population of the hive is peaking about this time of year and there are far more bees than there used to be.
o  The weather was changing and more bees were home.
o  The weather was changing and the bees were grouchier.
o  You fumbled enough to get some alarm pheromone going.
o  The alam pheromone got more bees excited and they put out more alarm pheromone.

Now, you've been well marked.  Unless (and until) you wash the suit and have a bath you will be marked for a while.

My theory when I find a hive in that kind of mood is to just close it up and come back another day, unless there is something very critical that needs to be done now.

[Chad S]

I have gotten stung a few times lately working in the garden and mowing the lawn.  Getting stung on the back of the neck was not made any better by the fact that I basically punched myself in the back of the head trying to kill what ever it was that was stinging me. O.k so maybe I shouldn't have taken the second pass by the hives with the mower shoot facing the hives (duh).  The next day one came out afer me I was 50' away with the roto tiller, but I was kind of in their flight path.  In addition to Michaels list my bees have a ton of honey in the hives, and I think they are defending it a little more aggresively.

[Jerrymac]

Yep. They do have honey.

And I didn't expect to get any.

Took three frames of honey out of the first hive I mentioned. These were old brood combs cut out of walls where I caught the bees. The bees had emerged. They filled in the rest of the frame with comb and filled'er up.

Sure is good stuff.

[Finsky]

I have calm bees because I eliminate evil ones.

But If I go to hive when sun is going down, they are  evil. At morning they are really different.

When sun is falled bees are very bad, often furious.

[Michael Bush]

I put a red push pin in the lid of any hive that is hot.  If I open one with a red pin and they are nice, I remove the pin.  If I open one with a red pin and they are still hot I put another red pin in and check for evidence of skunks etc.  If I don't find any, I requeen as soon as I can.  I don't want to wait until they are unmanagable.  If they ARE unmanagable, I divide them up into a lot of nucs, wait a little while to figure out what is queenless  and put queens in those and requeen the one with the queen.