IDIOTS' CORNER - Newbee, out and proud!

[tonybloke]

Another question for the old hands: I was stung on the left side of my nose yesterday- one sneaky little b*gger was lying in wait for me to take off veil.
I took a precautionary antihistamine and there was nothing very dramatic last night. However woke this morning to find eyelids puffed right up, particularly the left which is uncomfortable to keep open for more than a few seconds. Is this a 'normal' local reaction according to others' experience?

Thanks in advance!

try to take antihistamine BEFORE you get stung. ( I take 1 before hive inspections)

 

[REDWOOD]

Another daft question.


It's going to be piddling down today in Manchester.
Doubt of any of my girls will be out foraging.

Will those bees have a day off - put their feet up and twiddle their antennae?

Or will they revert to more 'adolescent' task such as tending young, comb- building?

Dusty?

QC building

 

[MattC]

Thanks for the advice, I suspect I'll be doing the same from now on. I was stung several times last year but nothing like this (but they were never this close to the eyes)

 

[REDWOOD]

Another question for the old hands: I was stung on the left side of my nose yesterday- one sneaky little b*gger was lying in wait for me to take off veil.
I took a precautionary antihistamine and there was nothing very dramatic last night. However woke this morning to find eyelids puffed right up, particularly the left which is uncomfortable to keep open for more than a few seconds. Is this a 'normal' local reaction according to others' experience?

Thanks in advance!

How many people have said "did you win"

 

[Swarm]

Yes, it's a normal reaction with facial stings, my right ear was literally twice it's size a couple of weeks back, that got a few strange looks.

 

[Rob55]

Might as well chip in here having just hived my first nuc!

I put on the entrance block on the new hive to help the bees defend their new home against robbers until they draw out the new foundation. Is this ok, it won't be too detrimental to them finding the entrance?

Also the holes in my crown board are open, is there much chance of the bees building wild comb up in the roof space? I have a super on to allow me fit in a jamjar of 1:1 syrup.

Thanks in advance..

 

[tonybloke]

Might as well chip in here having just hived my first nuc!

I put on the entrance block on the new hive to help the bees defend their new home against robbers until they draw out the new foundation. Is this ok, it won't be too detrimental to them finding the entrance?

Also the holes in my crown board are open, is there much chance of the bees building wild comb up in the roof space? I have a super on to allow me fit in a jamjar of 1:1 syrup.

Thanks in advance..

close all holes in the crownboard!!
if you need to feed, use a rapid feeder over one of the feeder holes.

 

[oliver90owner]

Entrance block is prolly OK, but holes in the ceiling are a no-no, especially if on an OMF.

A decent nuc will not be bothered at this time of the year - usually - so an entrance full-height and say 50-60mm wide should be OK. The nuc should have a couple frames with stores (pollen and honey) which should be more than enough at this time of the year (well, any other year than this one!), well at least enough until the next inspection. I find I am often needing to remove stores from nucs before transferring the bees to a full size hive.

You need new bees, not excessive stores, for a nuc to expand to a full colony. They need it cosy to build wax quickly and efficiently. It is, after all, regarded as a small viable colony, not an invalid case.

 

[village girl]

thank you dustyroads well said as a new b myself i have read many poasts just to gain knolage, and have often thought some of the comment were unkind and unnessasery i think its best to remember thear is no such thing as a stupid question only a stupid answer and if you ask 10 beekeepers the same question you will get 10 differant answers..... each one correct

 

[REDWOOD]

Might as well chip in here having just hived my first nuc!

I put on the entrance block on the new hive to help the bees defend their new home against robbers until they draw out the new foundation. Is this ok, it won't be too detrimental to them finding the entrance?

Also the holes in my crown board are open, is there much chance of the bees building wild comb up in the roof space? I have a super on to allow me fit in a jamjar of 1:1 syrup.

Thanks in advance..

Entrance block is fine, block the holes in the crown board with a bit of wood or slate to keep the heat in except the one for your feed obviously

 

[Rob55]

Ok thanks for the advice. My crown board holes are bigger than the jamjar feeder which is a nuisance, need to concoct something to close them in. Off to do this now

 

[Polyanwood]

You can use anything to block of the holes; a bit of wood or a tile or stone or bit of correx. Personally I always leave a small bee spaceon one of the holes so the bees have access to the roof. This means that there is hardly any draft, but if there are bees in the roof after an inspection, they can get back downstairs, so won't die and also if colony expands quickly they go up into the roof as if it is an extension.

 

[AnotherNewBee]

try to take antihistamine BEFORE you get stung. ( I take 1 before hive inspections)

How do I know when I'm going to get stung?

 

[tonybloke]

How do I know when I'm going to get stung?

that's the clever bit, this is idiots corner, after all

 

[VEG]

How do I know when I'm going to get stung?

you will know when they sting you

 

[Phayze]

if you are smoking one of those before an inspection you may be a little lax and probably get stung

 

[Luminos]

...but probably won't care...

 

[iand]

Another daft question.

Will those bees have a day off - put their feet up and twiddle their antennae?

Or will they revert to more 'adolescent' task such as tending young, comb- building?

Dusty?

I often think they are a bit like children with nothing to do.
They will find something, probably mischief.
1/ a stinging contest with extra points for where they land the sting
( I have a cartoon showing a contest at a bee meeting incl scoreboard)
2/ Q c's certainly if the weather is a bit variable

 

[Nellie]

try to take antihistamine BEFORE you get stung. ( I take 1 before hive inspections)

I think I react worse to the antihistamine than the sting, these days I prefer, if you can call it that, to just get stung.

 

[Rob55]

Next question - just been out to my hive and there is loads of activity around the entrance, easily 50-100 bees flying around and landing at the entrance. It's a lovely sunny morning here and the entrance is facing straight into the sun. I have the entrance block still in place to limit the gap and help defend against robbers. Is this normal enough to have so many bees congregating around the front of the hive and should I take the block out?

Rob