Counting the stings....ouch

[thebhoy]

Have been wearing waterproof trousers and a bee suit jacket when checking my bees for past couple of months, have hives in field of long grass and others at a river overspill area, so keeps me dry.

All has been well until today.... One colony went ballistic when I took off top two supers.....bang.....and I turned black in one second flat with the bees that hit me.

Well smoker went out and bees were forcing way down into gloves, stinging suit, veil, gloves anywhere and everywhere and, as my trousers have open pockets to allow access to what is underneath, bees don't miss those opportunities :red face:
In they went, and boy, wouldn't you know, being commando in a pair of shorts doesn't offer much protection
Around 12 stings on cheeks and thighs is ok, the thought of what was going to get it next was more worrying..... as it turned out the rest of the hits were taken above the belt with the arms, stomach and neck getting it mostly through the suit so not too bad.
Had walked about 50 yards away through dense nettles, HB and trees etc trying to get rid of them took about ten minutes before they cleared from me, but, as I had the supers off I had to go back and stick them on again.... Joy oh joy the fun of it lol, the next wave travelled 150 yards with me and some were still with me as I got to my car another 50 yards away.
Will need to go back again as haven't done the inspection ... But will have full suit, trousers, jersey etc and will take their bloody honey from them to teach them a lesson

 

[MartinL]

. . . . . . . . But will have full suit, trousers, jersey etc ............................

Now you know why you have the PPE in the first place!



Put that one down to experience!

 

[pargyle]

Are they normally tetchy or was this unusual ?

If it's normally an aggressive colony and you were removing supers that hadn't been cleared of bees then it's probably what you would expect.

If they are normally docile then there's a reason why they should be quite so antagonistic ... weather ? Did you give them a bit of time to get used to what you were doing ? Too much smoke ? What fuel are you using in your smoker ? Were you a bit sweaty ? Has something disturbed them recently ? So many possibilities ... TBH as soon as they were up and at you I would have stopped immediately and put the lid back on.... walk away and think again ... there are things you can do to make life a little easier - proper bee suit might be a good start !

 

[thebhoy]

Normally ok but a little bit more protective than my other colonies but can usually work them ok.
This one had been an angry hive before and I moved them from my garden as too defensive but the colony was all but wiped out in April due to entrance being flooded and colony lost queen and bees leaving about two frames worth.

I do have the full suit but having bees that were usually ok to work generally what I was wearing has been fine ... Until today

Not the end of the world and is good reality check to not become complacent when dealing with bees and also another test on the immune system regarding reaction to bee stings. Always a positive to be found if we look lol

 

[fabindia]

I once got stung about 50 times by wasps when I disturbed a nest in a ditch I was clearing. Not pleasant is it!

Had a few bee stings this year but nothing to worry about.

Hope you feel OK as the day goes on - they can get really itchy I find.

 

[pargyle]

Normally ok but a little bit more protective than my other colonies but can usually work them ok.
This one had been an angry hive before and I moved them from my garden as too defensive but the colony was all but wiped out in April due to entrance being flooded and colony lost queen and bees leaving about two frames worth.

I do have the full suit but having bees that were usually ok to work generally what I was wearing has been fine ... Until today

Not the end of the world and is good reality check to not become complacent when dealing with bees and also another test on the immune system regarding reaction to bee stings. Always a positive to be found if we look lol

So ... what do you think was the cause of their over reaction today ? Anything you can think that was different ?

 

[thebhoy]

I think it was because I pulled both supers off at the same time....too quickly, rather than one at a time and also found they had built Comb from bottom of super frame to top of BB frame (no QE on colony)
They had all been very active and weather was a bit miserable... Just need to ensure I suit up fully and wear plenty of padding for next visit which will possibly be tomorrow to get an inspection done.

 

[Swarm]

I think it was because I pulled both supers off at the same time....too quickly, rather than one at a time and also found they had built Comb from bottom of super frame to top of BB frame (no QE on colony)
They had all been very active and weather was a bit miserable... Just need to ensure I suit up fully and wear plenty of padding for next visit which will possibly be tomorrow to get an inspection done.

Probably lifted and disrupted some brood frames. Hope you don't feel too bad.
I always work on the principle that they are much harder than me so everything done gently and smoothly.

 

[Moggett]

If I need to inspect a colony I expect to be aggressive I normally gently remove the supers and place on an upturned roof with the crown board still on. I have mesh over the holes in the crown boards which help with ventilation for the short time they are in that position. I find that traps some of the bees making it slightly less unpleasant to look through the brood, especially if also done when the foragers are out collecting.

 

[enrico]

And further to that, put the bb in another position and put the supers where the bb was. Do your inspection, flying bees return to supers. Then put it all back as it was!
But......bomb proof suit is best!
E

 

[beeno]

"Next time baby I'll be bulletproof..."

 

[pargyle]

Yep ... Sounds like you have it covered ... swarm is right about slow and gentle ... give them time and as little smoke as possible - and if you do use smoke just a puff at the entrance and then give them a few minutes before you start ... with the bomb proof suit on !

Hope the stings are not driving you mad - the day after is always the worst for me - the itching !!!!

 

[Hachi]

Why oh why wear trousers like that?

 

[charlievictorbravo]

With that many stings, I'd be taking antihistamines to try to reduce the after effects of the stings.

CVB

 

[jd101k2000]

Another thing that can help with inspections is an inspection cloth - you can just use a clean tea towel. Use it to cover the frames that you are not currently inspecting, so that bees can only launch from one or two frames that are exposed.

 

[Ben90]

But......bomb proof suit is best!
E

I'm sure there are bees that would find their way through that...

 

[Toffeesmum]

And further to that, put the bb in another position and put the supers where the bb was. Do your inspection, flying bees return to supers. Then put it all back as it was!
But......bomb proof suit is best!
E

We did exactly this, following suggestion from Enrico and it really worked wonders. Also find placing an old t-towel over the BB frames helped too. There is no pleasure in a grumpy colony!

 

[thebhoy]

Just back from another visit.... They were on me from over 30 feet from hive but luckily I was 'almost' armour plated found out before I opened them that I had forgot to put thick jersey on...2 stings on right arm through suit let me know... back to the car in double step... After that plain sailing, plenty of smoke, relaxed / calm check of each box (me, not the bees).

 

[Toffeesmum]

Just back from another visit.... They were on me from over 30 feet from hive but luckily I was 'almost' armour plated found out before I opened them that I had forgot to put thick jersey on...2 stings on right arm through suit let me know... back to the car in double step... After that plain sailing, plenty of smoke, relaxed / calm check of each box (me, not the bees).

And and and??? Did you find any reason why they were grumpy from your inspection?

Excitedly waiting!!

 

[thebhoy]

And and and??? Did you find any reason why they were grumpy from your inspection?

Excitedly waiting!!

Lol,

All seems ok in the hive and I think I need to add another box as the BB has 9 frames of mostly capped brood, 1 of capped honey and the other part open brood and stores...... So lack of laying space may be the issue.
It has two supers on and no QE with mixture of capped and uncapped stores.....had added 2nd super a week ago and is all drawn and partly filled.

Mostly an over protective colony, always heavily propolised.