BOOTS... trowswes in or out?

[For want of a better word]

Should the beesuit trousers be tucked inside the wellies or over the outside?

Myttin da

 

[Tremyfro]

Oooo.....inside...unless you want some little visitors to the upper trouser region!

 

[thorn]

Bees tend to crawl up, so if the trousers are outside, you may find you have a friend. They're less likely to go down a boot to find the hem of your trousers.
I never used to wear boots until that fateful day I reported in a thread last year. I 've learnt my lesson.

 

[philipm]

Its a myth that bees won't go down your boots I've had stings through my socks before now. On saying that if the elastic on the suit bottoms is good no problem having them over the boot ,if not I just make sure that where the suit leg goes into the boot there is a good overhang around the top of the boot which helps.

 

[Little John]

At the risk of stating the bloomin' obvious - if you REALLY need to wear boots to inspect bees, then for goodness sake change 'em ! (the bees that is, not the boots)

I used to wear wellies and a full suit when there were AMM or AMM-mongrels on the premises - but now it's open sandals, jeans, and maybe just a veil over the face - with even that normally left untied.

Beekeeping CAN be fun - it doesn't have to be an endurance test.
LJ

 

[Amari]

Under-trousers inside the boot, beesuit trousers over the boot = never been stung. May depend on the quality of the bee suit - my BB legs have zips at the lower end which when done up grip the boot tightly.

 

[Fatbee]

I used to find with trousers inside the welly they would fly on to the back of your calf if you were bent down, then standing up would squash or agitate them to sting through the suit. Definitely an over the welly man. But saying that agree about nice bees. But there is always the odd colony who test the suit!

 

[MartinL]

At the risk of stating the bloomin' obvious - if you REALLY need to wear boots to inspect bees, then for goodness sake change 'em ! (the bees that is, not the boots)

What breed of bees cuts the grass, or lays a path?

Are they freely available or is it an East coast thing?

 

[alldigging]

At the risk of stating the bloomin' obvious - if you REALLY need to wear boots to inspect bees, then for goodness sake change 'em ! (the bees that is, not the boots)

LJ

Bees crawl upwards and end up going up trouser legs until they run out of space and then they sting.

It's not a sign of aggression imo - just something that bees do and if humans are foolish enough not to tuck socks into trousers then they can get stung when the bees has nowhere else to go!

 

[pargyle]

Always trousers in ... my wellies are the 'muck boot' type with stretchy vinyl tops that I keep for beekeeping ... I just have a jacket these days and it's my jeans that I tuck in. My bees are pretty good natured and don't seem to be the sort that deliberately try and enter every orifice on the suit so not too much of a problem. I can't say that I'm able to inspect without some protection but I'm not worried by them and that's the key to happy beekeeping.

BUT ... I had to deal with a colony last season (not mine !) that were the bees from hell and on that occasion I not only had two layers but duct tape around cuffs and trouser bottoms - and towelling scarf around my neck as those little beggars were just awful ..

They were followers and just when I thought I was safe and 50 yards away, pushed back the veil and took two stings to the eyelid and eyebrow .... requeen... oh yes - not nice and a very stressful situation for the beekeeper whose bees they were.

 

[Little John]

Little John: At the risk of stating the bloomin' obvious - if you REALLY need to wear boots to inspect bees, then for goodness sake change 'em ! (the bees that is, not the boots)

What breed of bees cuts the grass, or lays a path?
Are they freely available or is it an East coast thing?

Methinks somebody's been smoking those wacky cigarettes again ...
LJ

 

[Millet]

With the bees i have at the moment my first pair of trousers go in my wellies and my second pair of thick water proof type trousers go over my wellies, the outer trousers have press stud fasteners that hold tight around my ankles, i am yet to be stung wearing them but it is pretty uncomfortable in warm weather.

 

[madasafish]

At home I wear steel capped workers boots in case I drop anything on my toes.(been there many years ago, broken nail and toes).
Never tuck anything in.. cannot.

At Association apiary, ditto.

Have had occasional bees up trousers - 2-3 times a year. Amusing for onlookers..

 

[philipm]

At the risk of stating the bloomin' obvious - if you REALLY need to wear boots to inspect bees, then for goodness sake change 'em ! (the bees that is, not the boots)

I used to wear wellies and a full suit when there were AMM or AMM-mongrels on the premises - but now it's open sandals, jeans, and maybe just a veil over the face - with even that normally left untied.

Beekeeping CAN be fun - it doesn't have to be an endurance test.
LJ

Oh how nice to live in a perfect world a bit boring though.I can't always gaurantee my bees are going to be well behaved and the local A and E is already busy enough.

 

[Little John]

Just in case anyone's interested - for me it's not a question of foolishness as already suggested, and it's certainly not a case of living in a perfect world ...

I wear sandals - without socks - 365 days a year. It's not that I'm some kind of 70-year-old hippy, but as a result of medical necessity. If you were to see my blue toes in February, then you'd quickly realise there's nothing remotely perfect about this particular mode of dress.

By sheer coincidence, my change-over of bee-type came at the same time as the medical emergency which caused the 'permanent need for sandals'. But what I've now discovered is that dressing-up like the proverbial medieval knight is no longer necessary, and that there are some bees which stick to their combs like velcro. From time to time during an inspection one or two might take to the air, but they don't attack, and they don't follow.

My favourite strain is a Buckfast/Carniolan cross which are now on their 6th generation (always open-mated) with behaviour being reasonably consistent. Those few colonies which have deviated even slightly, are re-queened automatically.

I'm left with the distinct impression that those people who keep crap bees (which used to be me, btw - when I knew no better, by not having had experience of gentle bees with which to make a comparison) are unwittingly contributing their crap drones to the gene pool, and so the problem of crap bees persists.

But it really doesn't have to be like this - there are solutions available if people will only consider them, rather than dismissing the problem as being one which is unsolvable.
LJ

 

[Into the lions den]

OP's point and LJ's point are not mutually exclusive.

Bees that crawl about and find their way into the dark recesses that you would rather they did not is not a trait necessarily linked to aggression. I often work the nucs we raise (from nice stock) in spring devoid of any protective gear, just use the smoker properly and don't get rough with them, but crawlers do end up walking around inside the clothing. There are certain parts it is very unsettling to have them walking on. So, in normal work, where we have to go at pace, its ALWAYS full suits boots and gloves. House rule (which I only disobey myself when they are not around to see it!). I shudder at the thought of a claim if a staff member took an allergic reaction and we had not insisted on them wearing the full gear provided. Suit legs in or out? I always tuck them in, but for those who prefer outside we provide BBWear chaps. 6 and 2 threes.

As for gentle bees? Well with that I am largely in agreement with LJ. Many who claim to have gentle bees really don't know what that means. I also agree with him about open mated crosses. We will now be at the point of having seen upwards of 20,000 crosses between carnica and local black type bees over the years and they are NOT savage beasts. With very few exceptions they are either gentle or intermediate in every way. It also only takes one drone from a nasty line to make you think the whole colony is nasty, when its often only one sub family.

Some of the older bee books, still referred to in reverence by many as definitive, are little more than bee racism. I have binned some of those books, and do not regret it. One in particular actually made me angry and it hit the bin from a distance.

 

[B+.]

One in particular actually made me angry and it hit the bin from a distance.

Do tell....which book?

 

[Beefriendly]

My favourite strain is a Buckfast/Carniolan cross which are now on their 6th generation (always open-mated) with behaviour being reasonably consistent. Those few colonies which have deviated even slightly, are re-queened automatically.

I've heard good things about this cross, a friend of mine swears by them. But I'm slightly puzzled by your 6th generation open mated. If the predominant drones in your area are from local mongrel black bees (I'm just presuming this), 6 generations downstream there will be few genes left from the original imported cross.
If they retain the same characteristics as the original founders after this degree of gene dilution I'm even more interested.

 

[Beefriendly]

We will now be at the point of having seen upwards of 20,000 crosses between carnica and local black type bees over the years and they are NOT savage beasts. With very few exceptions they are either gentle or intermediate in every way. It also only takes one drone from a nasty line to make you think the whole colony is nasty, when its often only one sub family.

Are these first generation crosses? Or further down stream?
If first generation, I see similar with Island mated Buckfast I use, the first crosses with the locals gives excellent bees (as it should), but taking it further can result in more defensive behaviour in some cases, but nowhere near as defensive as the natives in my neck of the woods. They lie in ambush at a considerable distance from the hives......

 

[Into the lions den]

Are these first generation crosses? Or further down stream?
If first generation, I see similar with Island mated Buckfast I use, the first crosses with the locals gives excellent bees (as it should), but taking it further can result in more defensive behaviour in some cases, but nowhere near as defensive as the natives in my neck of the woods. They lie in ambush at a considerable distance from the hives......

They will be first to third crosses......after third they are virtually indistinguishable from the local gene pool. Really aggressive colonies are rare.

I find it rather amusing to hear those to whom a certain type of bee (which can apparently walk on water, so to speak) is invariably angelic, but in reality is very variable tempered, and especially in marginal conditions and is then crossed with a type of bee which is very rarely nasty but happens to commit the cardinal sin of not being of the correct geographical origin and when the progeny are a bit nasty that the conclusion is that the nastiness comes from the imported or non local stock. Yeah right!