Can putting wet super on hives make bees bad tempered?

[bobba]

I put wet supers on my hives that had been over wintered for the first tie this year.

I have 4 hives in my garden, and bees are normally well tempered.

I had taken a Friday off work and popped on supers. Then that weekend my bees were a bit nutty, one neighbor got stung when mowing her lawn. Anyone in my garden got chased. And my bees were generally unpleasant for a week or so. I remember this in particular because my neighbor got stung.

I noticed some other aggressive behavior that come and went through the early season. Looking back, once my supply of wet supers was used bees were chilled again.

When unpacking my supers they stank of alcoholic fermenting honey. So like when wasps get drunk on fermenting apples and get aggressive, could the same have happened to my bees?

 

[Boston Bees]

I put wet supers on my hives that had been over wintered for the first tie this year.

I have 4 hives in my garden, and bees are normally well tempered.

I had taken a Friday off work and popped on supers. Then that weekend my bees were a bit nutty, one neighbor got stung when mowing her lawn. Anyone in my garden got chased. And my bees were generally unpleasant for a week or so. I remember this in particular because my neighbor got stung.

I noticed some other aggressive behavior that come and went through the early season. Looking back, once my supply of wet supers was used bees were chilled again.

When unpacking my supers they stank of alcoholic fermenting honey. So like when wasps get drunk on fermenting apples and get aggressive, could the same have happened to my bees?

There was a very similar thread recently.

It's possible that putting wet supers on triggered a bit of robbing, and thus triggered defensive behaviour?

 

[bobba]

There was a very similar thread recently.

It's possible that putting wet supers on triggered a bit of robbing, and thus triggered defensive behaviour?

Sorry, missed the other thread. I will see if I can find it.

Supers went on all 4 hives at the same time, I did not see any robbing. But a lot of bees were coming out and just flying in circles the day they wet on.

 

[Boston Bees]

Sorry, missed the other thread. I will see if I can find it.

Supers went on all 4 hives at the same time, I did not see any robbing. But a lot of bees were coming out and just flying in circles the day they wet on.

Wasn't a criticism, just thought you'd be interested in the other person having a similar experience

Here it is

Advice Please - What am I looking at? | Beekeeping & Apiculture Forum (beekeepingforum.co.uk)

 

[WoodenBeam]

Entrance blocks in place? Can help defensive colonies which will quieten things down.

 

[bobba]

Wasn't a criticism, just thought you'd be interested in the other person having a similar experience

Here it is

Advice Please - What am I looking at? | Beekeeping & Apiculture Forum (beekeepingforum.co.uk)

Thanks.

So you guys suspect its smell attracting wasps/bees and triggering defensive behavior. Rather than them getting drunk and aggressive.

I did remove a large wasp nest from my neighbors house witch was very close to my hives. I cannot recall exactly when it was, but that may also have coincided with my bees chilling out.

So interesting reading. I will try blocks when the supers go on, and keep an extra close eye out for robbing.

 

[Boston Bees]

I will try blocks when the supers go on

Definitely

Entrance blocks should be on now regardless of supers, IMHO.

 

[victor meldrew]

Definitely

Entrance blocks should be on now regardless of supers, IMHO.

I always put supers back on for cleansing ( I have some on now ! )
I place them over the crown boards leaving feeder holes open. I place a spare crown board on top of the supers.
I do this at the end of the day when flying is almost over! .
I take the roof off then bring the supers to the hive , put them on the upturned roof, whip the cover ( I use bits of slate ) off the feed hole and plonk the supers on
The spare crown board is already on the supers! Roof back on .
no fuss .
pratice makes perfect .
I never use entrance blocks Winter or Summer, having under floor entrances .
PS. I’ve just had a stroll around the apiary . Bees all happily working .
the odd Jasper sniffing around the supers where I’ve been handling them with sticky fingers .
they’ve all been cleaning over night as there’s a layer of wax bits under each mesh floor .
surprisingly neither bees nor jaspers showing any interest in these . The bees must have completely cleaned them of honey before dropping them through the mesh !

 

[jenkinsbrynmair]

So you guys suspect its smell attracting wasps/bees and triggering defensive behavior. Rather than them getting drunk and aggressive.

Definitely - I often put supers on that have some fermented stores in. Never had bees getting drunk and starting fights - it seems that's a trait peculiar to us brits

 

[bobba]

I always put supers back on for cleansing ( I have some on now ! )
I place them over the crown boards leaving feeder holes open. I place a spare crown board on top of the supers.
I do this at the end of the day when flying is almost over! .
I take the roof off then bring the supers to the hive , put them on the upturned roof, whip the cover ( I use bits of slate ) off the feed hole and plonk the supers on
The spare crown board is already on the supers! Roof back on .
no fuss .
pratice makes perfect .
I never use entrance blocks Winter or Summer, having under floor entrances .
PS. I’ve just had a stroll around the apiary . Bees all happily working .
the odd Jasper sniffing around the supers where I’ve been handling them with sticky fingers .
they’ve all been cleaning over night as there’s a layer of wax bits under each mesh floor .
surprisingly neither bees nor jaspers showing any interest in these . The bees must have completely cleaned them of honey before dropping them through the mesh !

I may go dry storage next year if I have problems putting wets on again.

But wet storage just seems easier to me, so would like to stick with it if I can.

 

[gmoore01]

Mine did exactly this for the first time last week...put freshly-extracted, wet supers on and a couple of minutes later they were going mad with no sign of robbing. It was also dusk and my other hives weren't flying. They were aggressively circling around and chased me back to the car! Fine the next day, no idea what the cause was...

 

[victor meldrew]

Mine did exactly this for the first time last week...put freshly-extracted, wet supers on and a couple of minutes later they were going mad with no sign of robbing. It was also dusk and my other hives weren't flying. They were aggressively circling around and chased me back to the car! Fine the next day, no idea what the cause was...

Maybe you weren’t in stealth mode as I was . Strong smell of honey at this time of year .
clumsy around hive . Sometimes something has upset the bees before you arrived .
your arrival just acted as a catalyst!
It happens .