Help, i think they're a bit aggressive

[The Poot in Somerset]

Hi Griff
You’ve clearly started on a very long learning curve!
Well done for asking.
My lot are all really active around mid afternoon orienting in front of the hive like yours are in the video. Once you get them to fill two brood boxes it REALLY gets interesting!
In the meantime, I hope you enjoy your beekeeping. Good luck.

 

[BugsInABox]

yes, perfectly normal - you wait until there's a flow on!

I wonder if it’s worth moving the hive so it faces a fence or hedge - might encourage them the fly up a bit and cause less of a distraction in the rest of the garden. I’ve grown a willow fedge round mine - does work.

 

[BugsInABox]

Had the bees a week now, they're still flying around like crazy all day! Is this normal?

I've put a video on YouTube so you can see

https://youtu.be/qXVnEmEcelU

BTW thanks phillip really appreciate the thought

I wonder if it’s worth moving the hive so it faces a fence or hedge - might encourage them the fly up a bit and cause less of a distraction in the rest of the garden. I’ve grown a willow fedge round mine - does work.

 

[E&MBees]

I wonder if it’s worth moving the hive so it faces a fence or hedge - might encourage them the fly up a bit and cause less of a distraction in the rest of the garden. I’ve grown a willow fedge round mine - does work.

I have a fence around mine too. It does make a difference, encourages them up and over rather than straight out.

 

[jenkinsbrynmair]

I wonder if it’s worth moving the hive so it faces a fence or hedge - might encourage them the fly up a bit and cause less of a distraction in the rest of the garden. I’ve grown a willow fedge round mine - does work.

Didn't realise the OP had expressed a concern on that account.
It's more the fact that he doesn't know what to expect on a normal day

 

[Griffiths]

Thanks poot !


Glad it's normal that's what I was hoping you'd all say lol. The entrance is about 6 feet from a wall, only on one side though.

Is it normal for us not to be able to get within 15 meters from them without getting stung ?

 

[jenkinsbrynmair]

Is it normal for us not to be able to get within 15 meters from them without getting stung ?

not really

 

[drdrday]

The entrance is about 6 feet from a wall, only on one side though.

Is it normal for us not to be able to get within 15 meters from them without getting stung ?

You do need to carefully consider exactly where you place hives, especially if they are in your own garden. Make the most of the topography of the land and other features so that you can position them to avoid you disturbing each other.

My garden is terraced, and the bees are on the top level which is only shared by the chickens, garden sheds, greenhouse etc. We sit out and entertain on the lower levels so the bees are well above everyone's heads as they fly in that direction. The hives are also positioned facing a large apple tree (3m from the trunk), with an olive tree 3m to one side, a greenhouse 3m to the other and a shed 2m behind them. All of this means that they fly up as they leave the hive no matter which direction they're going in, and we don't interfere with their flight paths.


Having said that, I certainly wouldn't put up with aggressive bees in my back garden. I can stand directly beside, or even in front of my hives, being completely ignored by the bees. The bees haven't yet stung anyone in the garden but me (through my own fault), but I think it's always worth considering what you might be able to do to limit you and the bees crossing paths.

 

[BugsInABox]

Thanks poot !


Glad it's normal that's what I was hoping you'd all say lol. The entrance is about 6 feet from a wall, only on one side though.

Is it normal for us not to be able to get within 15 meters from them without getting stung ?

To give you an idea I can sit about 5ft from mine - slightly to one side and out of the flight paths - and assuming I’ve not just inspected or otherwise wound them up, they’ll leave me alone. If they do pay attention they’ll generally warn me away with some (quite intimidating) buzzing in-front of my face rather than just going straight in for the sting.

 

[enrico]

Remember you have 60,000 bees in there of which at least a third are coming and going!
Read this page of my blog
https://beekeepingforum.co.uk/blog.php?b=13359
E

 

[pargyle]

To give you an idea I can sit about 5ft from mine - slightly to one side and out of the flight paths - and assuming I’ve not just inspected or otherwise wound them up, they’ll leave me alone. If they do pay attention they’ll generally warn me away with some (quite intimidating) buzzing in-front of my face rather than just going straight in for the sting.

Most of the time I can stand in front of my hives and the bees will fly round me - certainly standing a couple of feet to one side is not an issue. I occasionally get just an odd rogue guard who will pay me more attention than I would like but walking slowly away usually sees an end to it. I would agree, after inspections they can be a bit more defensive but the only times I've been stung when stood watching them is when I've done something stupid like trying to flick something off the landing board or stuck my head in front of the entrance to get a closer look at something ... asking for trouble and I've learned to be a little less cavalier.

Without getting too anthropormorphic I wonder whether they get to recognise the beekeeper or their smell and are more relaxed as a result ?

 

[Niv]

Had the bees a week now, they're still flying around like crazy all day! Is this normal?

I've put a video on YouTube so you can see

https://youtu.be/qXVnEmEcelU

BTW thanks phillip really appreciate the thought

You think that's crazy? You should assist me inspecting my 'naughty' hive!

 

[philipm]

I think there are a few problems here. When we first get bees we all want to watch them whenever we can so put the hive in a area that isn't always the best. There may be a good reason that the bees are a bit stroppy they have just lost a lot of their stores and are trying to defend what is left and with the way that the weather has been in the last week or so doesn't help. It could of course just be that they are grumpy old bees and the previous owner if he lived in the middle of nowhere didn't mind that .I think you are in for a fast learning curve here but by just asking for advice your going in the right direction.

 

[Niv]

I can stand fairly close too (a metre or so). Even to my most aggressive hive. The only times I have been stung outside of beekeeping activities is

- when I was putting a new roof on the shed which is situated right next to the hive and I was up a ladder in their flight path for a while, or

- When I was doing gardening around the hive (clearing nettles and the like)

I once got stung while mowing near to the hives but I think that was just one bee i disturbed which may have been on a flower close by rather than a defense of the hive type activity as it has not happened since.

 

[Antipodes]

I don't think they are popular in the UK, but I bought Italian queens from a reputable breeder here in Aus and I've found that they have produced very well behaved workers, so I'm very pleased with that aspect. A very yellow bee. There are issues with them however which are quite well documented. From what I've read, they were first introduced to the USA and the UK around the mid 1800's, then Australia, Finland and New Zealand.

 

[The Poot in Somerset]

Thanks poot !


Glad it's normal that's what I was hoping you'd all say lol. The entrance is about 6 feet from a wall, only on one side though.

Is it normal for us not to be able to get within 15 meters from them without getting stung ?

As others have said, it’s not normal and not acceptable if they don’t settle down. Garden bees need to be non aggressive or you’ll always be on edge.

My garden bees have so far been good and all from local mongrel stocks, but recently when gardening within six feet of a currently queenless colony, I was chased by one, past my own garden, down the road to the boundary of my neighbours garden before it gave up. (An impressive turn of speed for a retiree by the way).
Since then no further issues - I think I must have disturbed it in the weeding process.

If your bees have been disturbed a lot recently, I would give them time to settle in, but you’ll need to requeen if they remain stingy.

 

[Erichalfbee]

From the sublime to the ridiculous

Stupidly I left a bait hive on the potting shed roof after we caught a swarm.
It’s now in a full size box with two supers on.
They don’t bother us and Stan re clad and replaced the soffits last week



These however are a different matter

 

[drdrday]

I do wonder - at the risk of anthropomorphising the bees - whether a colony 'gets used' to a particular type of environment?

For instance, if you have bees in a quiet undisturbed out apiary, and they're then moved to a suburban back garden with all of the noise and activity that goes with it, should you expect some irritability from them?

 

[thorn]

I'm a garden beekeeper, and have strongly defended keeping bees in the garden on several occasions, but I was disturbed by the hive's apparent position, well out in the middle of a lawn. I would suggest moving it by stages to the side or end of the garden, with the entrance facing away from the house.
Perhaps the OP could post a few shots of his garden, and we could see where the best place might be, bearing in mind the neighbours as well as the OP's family
We can then also advise on how best to move the hive to its new position.

 

[Griffiths]

Hope this helps (not to scale lol)

The only other place we could think to put the hive is at the X right at the top of the drawing. the trouble is we get quite a lot of tractors on the field along our fence line I thought that might upset the bees ??

Most of the back garden is it's north facing so doesn't get the morning sun

And then we've got to figure out how on earth to get them there 3 feet at a time !!

We we're thinking we could take them to a friend's land a 5 miles away for a week or two and then bring them back to the new spot ?


Thanks for so many responses btw!!