Bees are very grumpy

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Head and Shoulders shampoo. My bees hate it with a vengeance
Mine didn't like me mowing yesterday. Miserable weather. Some 30 ft away and I was warned off with one raider in my hair but no sting. they'll get over it when I fiddle with them today - they have to or I won't feed the nuc so there and serve 'em right!!
 
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I do not have any known buckfast-esqe lineage, but i do have a mixed bag of those with good stores and those with little who are being fed.

Fair comment... However, if, for arguments sake, you had(/have) an apiary of let's say 10 colonies; all overwintered well, ostensibly disease free, with low varroa loads, and all with good brood/stores, and expanding rapidly, and then, after an admittedly wintry 2-week snap, say 6 our of the 10 were in good condition (albeit not storing) but 4 had really significantly regressed (queen off-lay; excessive consumption vs. income), would you not start to try and find a correlation ?

There must be a reason; you can't just write it off.

Of course, in every case, it could be any number of things, but my empirical observation is only that, in my case, those most affected are those a) of recent Buckfast (as opposed to locally adapted) lineage, and b) in the main, in poly-hives.

My personal conclusion, based on the limited evidence, is that these had 1) expanded too quickly, too early, and 2) were unable to react quickly/appropriately to the conditions.

For my part, I won't be using their genetic material to rear new queens. I'm also coming to detest poly. That's another topic (i.e. Thermal Theory = Emperors New Clothes).

More widely, it has to be said that, in general, over the last two years, all my mongrels in wood have been bombproof and could be left alone, and all my colonies from bought-in progeny, kept in poly-hives, need to be constantly nursed to keep them alive. It's mid-May, for eff's sake. I shouldn't need to be trying to keep my bees alive. I steadfastly refuse to feed my bees at this time of year; though one did get a frame of stores from another colony yesterday to help it pick up. Weird times.

Oh, on and every measure, from temperament to yields etc... my best colony by far is still a mongrel colony (originally of Carniolan lineage, going way, way back to 2013). These are babes, which I have recently split, with both parts of the split doing well. Same apiary as the duffers.

Anyway, I'm straying off topic ... and it has to be said that, as of yesterday, many (except for the babes, above) were a bit pissy; irrespective of whether they were regressing colonies or not. I think it is fair to say that, at present, the forage (and, by extension, the weather) are triggering tetchy behaviours.
 
Very much the same for me - all onto double brood and added supers as the queens were on steroids, then the grotty weather caused reduced laying and reduced nectar availability when there are more mouths to feed. All bar one are using what they forage, only one is storing in two supers. It really is odd at the moment.
Oh not just me then. Phew. 8/9 frames of brood but only 3 frames filled in the super. So expanding well but dearth of nectar. Weird weather.
 
Still got the June Gap to look forward to!! But yes at the moment grumpy bees and colonies using the stores gathered a few weeks ago AND the weather cool and showery (a bad mix).
 
Dear Newbeeneil , I have a friend who keeps bee since the age of eleven. He is 86 now he only waited about 30 minutes after he has disposed of a Q. And give them a new Q. According to Barrie they know they’re Queenless very soon after loosing her. Waiting to longer would start the replacement process. ???
 
Still got the June Gap to look forward to!! But yes at the moment grumpy bees and colonies using the stores gathered a few weeks ago AND the weather cool and showery (a bad mix).
Not sure about the June gap this year, as the May shrubs and flowers are so late coming into bloom. I’m hoping the May gap we‘re having will replace it. Wishful thinking?
 
Dear Newbeeneil , I have a friend who keeps bee since the age of eleven. He is 86 now he only waited about 30 minutes after he has disposed of a Q. And give them a new Q. According to Barrie they know they’re Queenless very soon after loosing her. Waiting to longer would start the replacement process. ???
In "The Introduction of Queen Bees" Snelgrove claims you can pop one off the frame and her replacement on (LQ only) and get on with your life. I would imagine not after smoking the colony, though. Less extreme but I squished a failed Q a week or so ago and popped in a ripe cell (admittedly by definition a weak colony) and all good. Great book.
 
I have had several really nasty hives in the last few weeks and I put it down to the weather and lack of forage. This evening I had to find a queen in a hive that were starting to put up Q cells so I started the inspection and they well ballistic!! Constantly pinging off my veil and nitrile gloves.
I took one sting on my wrist which smarted but then a bee managed to find a gap in the neck zip and got into my veil. Before I had a chance to squish it had stung me on the nose and GOD DID THAT SMART!!!!!!!!
I was determined to find the queen or it would have meant another trip tomorrow and on the 10th frame on my second pass I saw her, a little slip of a queen, who I think would have got through a QX if they had one, so I grab her and squished her. I'll go back next week and make them hopelessly queenless before giving them a cell from a calm hive.
Good luck with that when you return!
 
Good luck with that when you return!
The Ozarmour suit is good as long as I make sure the Velcro is secure. If they kick off you just do it as quickly as possible and shake the bees off to check the frames.
 
The Ozarmour suit is good as long as I make sure the Velcro is secure. If they kick off you just do it as quickly as possible and shake the bees off to check the frames.

I find the zip at the neck of the Oz suit very difficult to make secure, unless I'm looking in a mirror. That's no good when in the apiary I realise I've forgotten to put on my reading specs.
 
They weren't in a great mood the other day which I put down to the weather and then I noticed a few wasps hanging around.
 
Just a passing comment really…Very interesting to read the comments about the connection of grumpy bad behaved bees possibly caused by weather conditions / lack of food. This would kinda infer that the grumpiness is not caused by the genetics of some queens and makes me wonder how many Queens may have been ‘replaced’ by bee keepers mistaking behaviour of ‘aggressive bees’ layed by queens for something as uncontrollable as the weather and stuff like that. Like I said, very useful discussion thanks all.
 
Just a passing comment really…Very interesting to read the comments about the connection of grumpy bad behaved bees possibly caused by weather conditions / lack of food. This would kinda infer that the grumpiness is not caused by the genetics of some queens and makes me wonder how many Queens may have been ‘replaced’ by bee keepers mistaking behaviour of ‘aggressive bees’ layed by queens for something as uncontrollable as the weather and stuff like that. Like I said, very useful discussion thanks all.
I have always said that there is a big difference between defensive and aggressive bees. The former are a nuisance at worst. The latter are unworkable and need sorting. The trick is to get the queen changed before they get to that stage. A new queen will rarely do any harm!
 

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