Grumpy Bees

[Derry Hill]

Evening All,

One of my two hives have been a little cantankerous all year, they have been slow to expand (other colony have done quiet well) and I believe they were trying to supercede the queen last August (silly first year mistake, I thwarted their attempts).

These last few weeks they have been having a go at me in the garden within about 10 metres of the hive (they don't seem to have a go at the female element of my family, has anyone come across this before?) and were very aggressive when I opened them on Friday despite the good weather.

I only have a small plot and have concerns that neighbours may be under threat, although no complaints yet.

I have thought of replacing the queen to see if this improves things but have concerns about timing. If I remove the queen and force emergency cells is there enough time/drones left to get the job done or should I be buying one in?

Any advice would be greatly received.

 

[enrico]

I take it you still have the stroppy queen in there. In your circumstances on a small plot I would consider requeening or combining with your good queen, having first removed the bad queen. As for stinging you, you will find bees can be picky, they will 'recognise' you as the person who goes into the hive and zap you. Frequently in early days when i had a hive near my house, my family never got bothered but if I put my head out of the back door i would get zapped!

 

[oliver90owner]

Is there any particular reason why this queen's daughters will be any better?

Requeen from a better stock would be my advice.

 

[Poly Hive]

I agree and its getting late for starting from scratch not to mention buying in better genes


PH

 

[Derry Hill]

Ok, thanks for the responses. If merging, should I do so immediately after doing away with the queen, or do I need to let them 'know' that they are queenless?

 

[richardbees]

and have concerns that neighbours may be under threat

Derry, that says it all!

As you've only got the two hives I suggest you re-queen with a mated Q.

richard

 

[sandysman]

Derry,

It may also be a consideration for you to try and find an out apiary for your hives. I know its not as convenient but it could be safer for your family and neighbours in the long term. I don't know how far away your hives are from domestic activity but there are several threads on the forum which detail some rather unpleasant incidents with neighbours and family members getting stung.

Regards

Andy

 

[MandF]

I would say investigate the options for an out apiary, in case you need to move stroppy hive(s) urgently or until/unless a stroppy hive calms down.

Most of us with hives in our gardens do not have any issues at all with neighbours, or stroppy bees for that matter.

Even if my bees were in the middle of nowhere, I wouldnt put up with bees that are stroppy.

But, as I said, it is worth identifying somewhere just in case or for temporary relocation.

 

[susbees]

As you've only got the two hives I suggest you re-queen with a mated Q.

richard

Merging down to one hive doesn't make sense - two hives are always better than one.

 

[Derry Hill]

Thanks everyone for all your advice.

 

[Andy Duff]

If the hives are stuffed full of bees and you are on single brood box, convert to double brood ASAP, it can calm them down in hours.
Do not merge the two hives, as two hives are better than one.
Back garden beekeeping can and eventually does end up in disaster

 

[MandF]

Back garden beekeeping can and eventually does end up in disaster

Guess my local association, founded in 1919, who keep bees in a back garden (backs onto residential gardens too) better get ready for the eventual disaster.

They have had 12+ colonies for getting on 100 years, so disaster clearly overdue.

Mind you, the asteroid strike in the meantime, killing all life on earth, might make the issue a moot point.

 

[Essexgary]

Guess my local association, founded in 1919, who keep bees in a back garden (backs onto residential gardens too) better get ready for the eventual disaster.

They have had 12+ colonies for getting on 100 years, so disaster clearly overdue.

Mind you, the asteroid strike in the meantime, killing all life on earth, might make the issue a moot point.

MandF, thats the whole point I think "local association" - with lots of intuition and experience - they probably keep their bees calm by using lots of knowledge. I've been beekeeping for 3 seasons now (in the garden) and this year has been terrible, the garden is a no-go zone, have to mow grass with protective clothing, neighbours getting chased etc - erratic flying and pinging themselves at the back door when I've finished an inspection. They are going to be moved to an out-apiary. I want to have my garden back.

The issue is, this year, bee behaviour has been unusal due to the weather and few queens available to re-queen. Very quickly i developed a 'fear' of the bees which is not pleasant. Whilst association beekeepers have years of experience, novice beekeepers can quickly be overwhelmed putting people at risk.

So, whilst I like to think i'm pretty competent, I got away with it for a couple of seasons - but my strong advice to anyone is - DONT keep bees in the garden - you might think they are under control, but I can assure you, it can soon go sour.

sorry to be the voice of doom! but all i ask is that back-garden-beekeepers give it a moments thought.

My bees are now getting ready for their lovely new home on a farm (oh, and if you do move them, remember the 3 mile rule, otherwise you'll have 30,000 angry bees flying around the garden looking for their hive..)

Gary

 

[MandF]

Actually the association bees are a lot worse than mine - as a result of lots of in-breeding and also being handled by clumsy beginners every week, and sometimes school visits during the week.

As for your bees, are you going to put up with their behaviour on this farm?

One of my colonies is currently too fiesty for my liking - they arent following but are incredibly jittery. I will be re-queening them.