First Sting - angry bees - my fault

[Moel]

Bit of a nightmare afternoon
After a 2 1/2 gap since last inspection went into my top bar hive to check on stores, start the feeding with 2:1 mix and to put in an insulated dummy/divider board at the entrance end.

Good news, they were lowish on stores a couple of weeks ago,but now have started replacing brood with lovely heather honey...lots off it.
Quite a lots less brood than a month ago, but still larvae, some eggs and capped brood. Queen looked fine.

Hive packed to bursting full of bees, which seemed odd as it was 1600, 19 degrees c and they have been still coming in from the heather at 1900 ish........

Still carried on, had some difficulty getting the 50mm insulated board in, may have squashed a couple as the hive was so packed.

Then all of a sudden hive goes crazy, bees pouring out of gaps between the bars I was replacing, whole hive roaring.
Thousands in the air, pinging me, hundreds plastered around the entrance holes.
Couldn't work out what the issue was (usually very sedate bees) until realised the insulation was blocking both entrance holes.....then I couldn't get it out without squashing bees...

So ran up to barn, got a drill and a 25mm spade bit and put a 3rd hole in, plus pushed a thinner bit through the insulation blocking the second hole.
Problem solved but 2 stings through the facemask as thanks!

Hope they will be OK, only 50 or so still milling around the entrance now and the 2:1 should make them happy.

 

[MartinL]

. . . . . . . had some difficulty getting the 50mm insulated board in, may have squashed a couple as the hive was so packed.

. . . . . . realised the insulation was blocking both entrance holes.....then I couldn't get it out without squashing bees...

So ran up to barn, got a drill and a 25mm spade bit and put a 3rd hole in, plus pushed a thinner bit through the insulation blocking the second hole.
Problem solved . . . . . . 50 or so still milling around the entrance now and the 2:1 should make them happy.

I would have expected a spade bit to be sure to P!55 them off.

However, just a few questions really;
How were they able to sting through your PPE?
Do you have a mentor?
Why are you insulating already, are they high up??

 

[MartinL]

Do you look like the Elephant man yet?

 

[Poly Hive]

At 2 stings over that performance you certainly seem to have placid bees.

Just to give you a perspective some colonies would have hammered you so hard you probably would still be in an ice bath or A&E getting a couple of thousand taken out of you.

The lesson here is to think things through before opening up. Like putting a dummy over the entrance with no entrance???????? Err..... got off very lightly indeed.

PH

 

[Moel]

Yes they are very placid, and I got off very lightly........first time I've been stung in 18 months, get more injuries sheep shearing than from the bees.

Had thought it through, but had measured incorrectly having forgotten to subtract the end wall thickness, hence the insulation obscured both entrance holes rather than the one which I was happy to cover over given the number of wasps in the orchard....very stupid thing to do and Poly Hives perspective RE aggressive colonies is a sobering thought.

More shrek than elephant man and had all gone down by this morning.

Putting insulation in the ends of the top bar hive now as fairly high in the welsh hills and don't want to disturb them closer to winter. Kingspan hat and bubble wrap will go in in October I think.

Stung through the face veil where my face was against it to see where I was drilling.

Oddly they didn't seem too bothered by the spade bit at all, they calmed down after I'd poked a hole through the existing obscured entrance so they could get in and out.

 

[Moel]

I suppose the other lesson learnt is that having seen the hive the was heaving with very few bees out flying I should have just popped the feeders in an left it at that to come back another day.

 

[Millet]

Don't worry about it doo doo happens to us beginners and you definitely do not want shooting down in flames with a newbie mistake like that, at least you have come on here and told your story, many more out there will do far worse and not say anything and the bees will suffer for it, have you considered changing from a top bar hive to a more manageable framed hive that for me are easier to work with, just wondering with no malice intended.

 

[Erichalfbee]

Agree with Millet.
Top bars are difficult to manage (perhaps the idea is that you don't ? )
You can put a bendy willow "frame" from the top bar so that you actually have a frame.
Or you could make a long deep hive?

 

[Moel]

Thanks
Haven't really had a problem managing the top bar hives...until now!
That said my friend's framed hives are much quicker to inspect.....so have made an insulated hybrid nuc which will allow me to transfer 3 top bars of brood next year and hopefully they will move across onto 5 national brood frames which makes up the other side of the nuc.

So hopefully will eventually move onto a national poly hive with my calm queens offspring next year.

Went down to the hive to take a look (externally) this afternoon and all seemed well with laden bees coming and going, seemed back to their placid selves and pretty much ignored me.

 

[Moel]

Agree with Millet.
Top bars are difficult to manage (perhaps the idea is that you don't ? )
You can put a bendy willow "frame" from the top bar so that you actually have a frame.
Or you could make a long deep hive?

Thanks the willow frame idea is one I might try with the bars going into hybrid nuc in the spring.

The biggest challenge is stopping the bees from trying to come up through the gaps between the bars when replacing them together, Hoffman frames look much less hassle.

 

[Poly Hive]

I hope I expressed no malice as certainly none intended.

TBH is a vogue at the moment and TBH (to be honest) are not really the way for beginners to start with despite the blandishments of some.

PH

 

[Moel]

No malice taken at all.
All just sensible advice as I see it.
Just lucky I have very calm bees!
Thanks
Paul

 

[Quis Custodiet]

Something along the lines of a Warre hive, would I think be superior to a TBH. Though a TBH can certainly help in understanding and getting a feeling for bees.