Bees remember my smell

[Little John]

Do they remember certain odours ? ... well they MUST have some retained cognisant ability if they are able to react to pheremones ...QED.

An understatement ...

If we consider the so-called 'Queen-Bee substance' currently considered as being a complex mix of 'aromatic' organic acids - then each queen bee of the same sub-species will no doubt have the same array of compounds, but in differing proportions - thus there will be hundreds (if not thousands) of combinations enabling each queen bee to have her own 'signature' which the colony both discerns, recognises and identifies as being unique to just one bee.
Just try putting any old queen bee into a (queen-right) hive other than her own and see what happens ... instant recognition of an interloper ... invariably followed by death.

The world of smells must be a very strange one, with so many molecules floating around, all mixed-up, but then so is our own world of vision - but our brains have developed the ability to censor the millions of items in our visual field (say, when looking at a tree in full leaf), and focus only upon a squirrel.
The cocktail-party phenomenon is well-known to psychologists - where, amongst the deafening hubbub it's possible to isolate and thus hear one's own name being used, for example.

Maybe it's just the same with bees - having the ability to focus upon just one smell, or set of smells amongst trillions. Certainly the link I gave supports that view.

Memory ? Well, if they can remember their own queen's unique smell - why not that of the unwanted joker who keeps poking his head into their otherwise peaceful home ?

LJ

 

[Gilberdyke John]

All this started because a beek in waiting was fed a line by someone selling them a start up colony. Notwithstanding all the semantics I can honestly say my colonies stung me and followed for the first few months of my entry into the fray. As my empathy with the hives and confidence improved the aggro reduced, I changed from thick washing up gloves to surgeons and things improved even more. I could probably work barehanded but gloves stop bees getting entangled in hair on the back of my hands and gloves are easily swapped if I get blathered with propolis.
Even when removing honey supers the colonies stay calm.
If bees remember my scent as a robber why don't I suffer the problem the OP suggested? Develop calm and smooth handling techniques and stop overthinking the situation. If a colony is truly defensive grasp the nettle and requeen from calm stock.

 

[Swarm]

Do you really expect me to believe that sweat prevents bees stinging!!!!!. Come on , stop this mis-information. How we Smell has VERY little if anything to do with the bigger picture of how bees act. It really is unfair on beginners to be feeding them this hocus pocus.

My reply obviously went over your head.

 

[Jimy Dee]

Ah GJ - are you not converted yet that what you washed in the morning of opening the hive is the bee all and end all of how the bees react to you !!!! Remember to run 3 miles before opening a hive and you could go at them naked without stings !!!! All beginners please take note.

 

[user 6228]

Its proven Bees can recognise and remember human faces

 

[Jimy Dee]

But what affect has this on their behaviour ?? - this is the aspect of abilities we are thrashing out.

 

[Gilberdyke John]

Ah GJ - are you not converted yet that what you washed in the morning of opening the hive is the bee all and end all of how the bees react to you !!!! Remember to run 3 miles before opening a hive and you could go at them naked without stings !!!! All beginners please take note.

If you are suggesting being sweaty makes bees behave differently I should have noticed this over the recent inspections with the sun blazing down and sweat dripping off my brow. Sorry but it made no difference to the bees though I was drenched and my beesuit was stuck to me.
What beginners should really note is the importance of smooth and gentle but confident handling. Being clumsily handled will annoy the colony with the obvious results.

 

[Jimy Dee]

Correct and right.

 

[Little John]

Its proven Bees can recognise and remember human faces

Funny you should say that - for the last couple of days I've had 'a' bee (whether it was the same bee or not really couldn't say ... ) hovering about 18" in front of my face when working around the apiary - which appeared to be 'eye-balling' me for some reason.

No attack - just stayed there hovering. On one occasion I waved it away and it retreated, only for it to then resume it's position - so it was pretty-obviously purposeful behaviour - but exactly what, who knows ?
After about 20 minutes I got bored with this game and started working elsewhere. Thought no more about it until I read your post. Curious behaviour.

LJ

 

[Little John]

What beginners should really note is the importance of smooth and gentle but confident handling. Being clumsily handled will annoy the colony with the obvious results.

Agree on the smooth handling - but - the opposite of confident is: fearful, anxious etc.
Now you may not be able to smell anxiety, but animals can ...

The skin surrounding our bodies is an organ - one which produces an exudate, and amongst sweat (or perspiration, if you're a lady ) can be found a mix of pheromones.

Which is why young men take young girls on roller-coaster rides, and is the basis for Morris dancers holding handkerchiefs under their arms, and then mopping the brows of unsuspecting women. They're using pheromones as sexual attractants, but perhaps without knowing it - they just know that that particular behaviour 'works'.

And no amount of deodorant, after-shave or perfume is a defence, for humans are still animals and (albeit unconsciously) both emit and respond to pheromones.

LJ

 

[Swarm]

If you are suggesting being sweaty makes bees behave differently I should have noticed this over the recent inspections with the sun blazing down and sweat dripping off my brow. Sorry but it made no difference to the bees though I was drenched and my beesuit was stuck to me.

I think I said something similar a little earlier so if this is, according to you ..

Correct and right.

What are you saying here?

Well I have never laughed as much as reading this thread. Absolutely hilarious. Bees remembering a persons smell is total horse ****. Stop leading beginners astray. Bees get protective at various times of the year (autumn is notorious) and if you go too near them smelling of roses or man smell you get nailed - full stop. Some smells will aggrevate them but there is nothing like them personally remembering your "smell". Thanks for the entertainment.

Seems a bit contradictory to say the least

 

[victor meldrew]

Funny you should say that - for the last couple of days I've had 'a' bee (whether it was the same bee or not really couldn't say ... ) hovering about 18" in front of my face when working around the apiary - which appeared to be 'eye-balling' me for some reason.



No attack - just stayed there hovering. On one occasion I waved it away and it retreated, only for it to then resume it's position - so it was pretty-obviously purposeful behaviour - but exactly what, who knows ?

After about 20 minutes I got bored with this game and started working elsewhere. Thought no more about it until I read your post. Curious behaviour.



LJ

Could be a hover fly , they patrol an area which they claim , should you invade it they behave just as you describe . Face on it's hard to distinguish , they really do confront you face on ,and persist !
VM


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[Headnavigator]

Funny you should say that - for the last couple of days I've had 'a' bee (whether it was the same bee or not really couldn't say ... ) hovering about 18" in front of my face when working around the apiary - which appeared to be 'eye-balling' me for some reason.

No attack - just stayed there hovering. On one occasion I waved it away and it retreated, only for it to then resume it's position - so it was pretty-obviously purposeful behaviour - but exactly what, who knows ?
After about 20 minutes I got bored with this game and started working elsewhere. Thought no more about it until I read your post. Curious behaviour.

LJ

That's Belinda. A beek friend of mine has a Belinda too, so have I.
Belinda reappears every year.
While my Belinda seems reasonably harmless I do take it as a warning-off, as in 'I've got my eye on you.'

 

[kazmcc]

Could be a hover fly , they patrol an area which they claim , should you invade it they behave just as you describe . Face on it's hard to distinguish , they really do confront you face on ,and persist !

I was thinking hoverfly too. The one that visits my garden every year does exactly this, swings out in an arc, and flies back to the exact same place and just ' hangs there ', but then I thought, I'm sure Little John knows the difference.

 

[Rahere]

Working in the apiary putting excluder boards in last night, I had a select group focused uniquely on me. Not aggressively, just there in the centre of my field of vision. Look left, they shifted left. Right, they went right. They know what gives, all right: do they get it from us? I don't know. But if after all these years of training they don't have some kind of race memory, much as they know to kick the drones out soon and start making fat bees, then I'd be surprised.

 

[Little John]

I was thinking hoverfly too. The one that visits my garden every year does exactly this, swings out in an arc, and flies back to the exact same place and just ' hangs there ', but then I thought, I'm sure Little John knows the difference.

No - this was a bee all right ...

But talking about strange insect behaviour - I've noticed for the first time this year flies which have very long tails - about 3 or 4 times the length of their bodies, and with snouts to match. They look for all the world like flying high-jump poles - only with a set of wings in the middle. Weird or what ?

LJ

 

[Teemore]

No - this was a bee all right ...

But talking about strange insect behaviour - I've noticed for the first time this year flies which have very long tails - about 3 or 4 times the length of their bodies, and with snouts to match. They look for all the world like flying high-jump poles - only with a set of wings in the middle. Weird or what ?

LJ

Wood wasp perhaps?

 

[enrico]

Or pigs if they have snouts!
If bees can remember faces I am doomed after knocking two of their hives over!
Omg
E

 

[Rahere]

First came across those long-snouted oojits in Switzerland about 8 years back. They bite like fury, if they're the same! Some kind of fly...

 

[Edwardking]

No - this was a bee all right ...

But talking about strange insect behaviour - I've noticed for the first time this year flies which have very long tails - about 3 or 4 times the length of their bodies, and with snouts to match. They look for all the world like flying high-jump poles - only with a set of wings in the middle. Weird or what ?

LJ

Could be the humming bird fly - actually quite rare.