Do honey bees learn behaviour ?

[Wingy]

Reason I ask is from my observations this season with 2 quite nasty hives. I put some nasty colonies out on 2 farms this season for the OSR, with the intention of re queening and to keep them out of the way of people. So did well on the OSR, re queening was a disaster (another story) but every time I went to inspect 1 colony at one farm always attacked the neck zip area of my suit on mass occasionally resulting in a few bees getting in until I started sealing with Gaffa tape over the zip. Another colony on the other farm always attacked the top of my wellingtons pushing in on mass and eventually forcing multiple stings to the ankle area. Again Gaffa tape to the rescue.
Just seems strange that 2 different colonies have their own preferred area of attack

 

[jeff33]

Seems to me that you had 1 colony wanting to make a difference by going for the jugular and the other one is an ankle biter.... I wouldn't know but I guess you always have older bees present which follow previous attack trends and the pheromones will dictate where the attack takes place .

 

[user 20297]

Reason I ask is from my observations this season with 2 quite nasty hives. I put some nasty colonies out on 2 farms this season for the OSR, with the intention of re queening and to keep them out of the way of people. So did well on the OSR, re queening was a disaster (another story) but every time I went to inspect 1 colony at one farm always attacked the neck zip area of my suit on mass occasionally resulting in a few bees getting in until I started sealing with Gaffa tape over the zip. Another colony on the other farm always attacked the top of my wellingtons pushing in on mass and eventually forcing multiple stings to the ankle area. Again Gaffa tape to the rescue.
Just seems strange that 2 different colonies have their own preferred area of attack

I didn't think bees were as aware of us in the way that mammals, birds, reptiles and even fish can become conditioned to us and our habits (I have no experience of amphibians). So I would have thought it unlikely that they could use that familiarity and knowledge to their own benefit. But the bees in my own garden, which on most days, see me bumbling around many times, seem to have got used to and mainly accept my close presence.
But my colony of the same lineage in a friend's garden, only a quarter of a mile away, looking out on the same fields, sees me less, and has always been much less keen on my relatively rare visits, usually harassing me when I do, (admittedly in a fairly half-hearted way).
I know there are lots of plausible explanations and I'm not being at all scientific, but I think the home bees know that the fat, ugly, hailrless bear who they see every day, is a hapless beast who won't harm them.

 

[Nige.Coll]

yes is the simple answer, they do learn behaviour.

 

[Amari]

Reason I ask is from my observations this season with 2 quite nasty hives. I put some nasty colonies out on 2 farms this season for the OSR, with the intention of re queening and to keep them out of the way of people. So did well on the OSR, re queening was a disaster (another story) but every time I went to inspect 1 colony at one farm always attacked the neck zip area of my suit on mass occasionally resulting in a few bees getting in until I started sealing with Gaffa tape over the zip. Another colony on the other farm always attacked the top of my wellingtons pushing in on mass and eventually forcing multiple stings to the ankle area. Again Gaffa tape to the rescue.
Just seems strange that 2 different colonies have their own preferred area of attack

1. Getting through neck zip area: we've all been careless and failed to close the zip correctly but this should not happen with a good bee suit with a zip properly closed and then covered with a Velcro flap

2. I tuck my trousers within my wellies and then zip the elasticated trousers of the bee suit over the wellies.

Never get stung by those two routes if properly applied.

 

[Brown Beek]

Was your suit washed between visits? If not, the bees may just be honing in on the pheromone from earlier attacks. Just a thought!

 

[Wingy]

Was your suit washed between visits? If not, the bees may just be honing in on the pheromone from earlier attacks. Just a thought!

Suit was not washed between sites visited on the same day so I would have thought site 1 bees attack neck area and would leave the sting pheromones in that region so surprising at site 2 about 30 minutes later bees ignore the neck and go for the wellington route.
Suit always washed when inspections complete then same routine next visit and this occurred all summer

 

[Wingy]

1. Getting through neck zip area: we've all been careless and failed to close the zip correctly but this should not happen with a good bee suit with a zip properly closed and then covered with a Velcro flap

2. I tuck my trousers within my wellies and then zip the elasticated trousers of the bee suit over the wellies.

Never get stung by those two routes if properly applied.

1) suit is only a cheap one and the Velcro tab is a bit worn, zips do cross over each other and to gain access the bees need to almost burrow their way through which they do.
2) always tucked suit into my wellingtons, hadn’t really thought about putting it over the top so will try that next time

 

[Brown Beek]

Suit was not washed between sites visited on the same day so I would have thought site 1 bees attack neck area and would leave the sting pheromones in that region so surprising at site 2 about 30 minutes later bees ignore the neck and go for the wellington route.
Suit always washed when inspections complete then same routine next visit and this occurred all summer

In that case, the quandary remains and Perhaps you should consider Nige.Coll’s view.

 

[Amari]

1) suit is only a cheap one and the Velcro tab is a bit worn, zips do cross over each other and to gain access the bees need to almost burrow their way through which they do.
2) always tucked suit into my wellingtons, hadn’t really thought about putting it over the top so will try that next time

Some time ago I had a suit where the two neck zips crossed over each other. I found them very difficult to manipulate and be certain that they were both closed - indeed I could only be certain if I zipped in front of a mirror. The zips of my current BBWear and Old Castle Farm suits meet in the middle which I can check if I look downwards. I then apply the Velcro flap. Bee proof!