Is it me?????

Beekeeping & Apiculture Forum

Help Support Beekeeping & Apiculture Forum:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.
I would agree.

My bees do not like, in order

Old sting pheromone on gloves or suits - easily sorted by washing.

Cheap synthetic floral scents - fabric softener, hair spray etc. I have never seen anyone working bees wearing perfume, but Channel No5 is supposed to be synthetic, so they could dislike that one.

Sweat - mine are particularly anti foot odour - they literally go for my ankles, but boots sorts out that problem.

I used some old horse tack restorer with limonene fly repellent on my washed gloves - the bees ignored them, but I have heard of other colonies who hated the smell.

By the sound of it you have a combination of defensive and following traits that I find most unlovable - I would seriously look at requeening.
 
Mine don't like the smell/taste of comphrey when its been turned into fertilizer.
 
"fabric softener"

FFS. No-one should use this stuff. Especially not people who keep bees (ie who care about inappropriate use of chemicals etc.)

they contain formaldehyde - nasty stuff which may cause skin and lung problems.
 
"An observation.. many beekeeperers have beards ... strange!"

why strange? we're talking about a group of individuals for whom female attention (desired/undesired) is not dependent upon physical appearances.

Your girls will love you or loathe you according to their own whims; whether you like george clooney or wayne rooney.
 
"An observation.. many beekeeperers have beards ... strange!"

why strange? we're talking about a group of individuals for whom female attention (desired/undesired) is not dependent upon physical appearances.

:iagree:

I have proof... as a beardy of 20 years I was undesired before I was a beekeeper and that has not changed.....

However bees seem to be far more logical, understandable and even tempered than most of the women I have dated :eek:
 
George Clooney please, but minus the beard....
 
:iagree:



However bees seem to be far more logical, understandable and even tempered than most of the women I have dated :eek:

You may have made unfortunate choices: I have never dated a bad tempered woman...but then again never a logical one either :party:
 
A few things to try, I am not saying they work but give it a go, don't carry your Mobil phone, remove a digital / electric watch, don't use aftershave or perfume, use a very mild deodorant,do wash your suit and if you wear leather gloves rub them in the grass first and don't breath heavy on the bees.
 
We found 'lemon source' shampoo made ours very cross. They even came across the allotment to attack. They are so mild mannered normally and its just this shampoo that sets them off.
 
.
Change the queens. You need not stand such houligans.

Hi Finman. I have had a question on my mind a while about this. Could you raise a new queen from the colony or would you have to buy a new one in?
 
Hi Finman. I have had a question on my mind a while about this. Could you raise a new queen from the colony or would you have to buy a new one in?

I am far from an expert but I would have thought raising a Queen from the colony would just give the same angry bees. A new queen will introduce new genes which should (if the queen has been chosen correctly) be of a more docile nature.
 
ok dokeyI thought a queen mates with multiple drones and has mixed genes to fertilise eggs?
 
I am far from an expert but I would have thought raising a Queen from the colony would just give the same angry bees. A new queen will introduce new genes which should (if the queen has been chosen correctly) be of a more docile nature.

Probably but not certain by any means.
From memory the behaviour traits are from the drones but someone far more knowledgeable will be along to confirm or deny.

Mendelian genetics is above my pay grade.
 
Probably but not certain by any means.
From memory the behaviour traits are from the drones but someone far more knowledgeable will be along to confirm or deny.

Mendelian genetics is above my pay grade.

If you rear a queen from the colony to me it would seem it will have the same genetics as the previous queen or very nearly. The drones which mated with the original queen being from local colonies. They have probably got the same traits in their genetics as those which the original mated with.

That is how it would appear to me, in my inexperience. If not why is there such a trade in queens? Why are people advised to get a queen from a local with known docile bees, rather than just rear one from the colony?

Thinking about it with the queen mating with many drones why is the whole colony bad tempered. If the queen mates with say 15 drones surely only 1/15 of the offspring should be bad tempered. Or all the bees for a period of time should be from the one drone and and then the trait should disappear when sperm from a new drone is used.

I know somebody will soon point out my theories aren't correct but if they could explain what does happen it would be very useful.
 
Last edited:
I agree with what you post. Galtee bees are an obvious example.
But sometimes you get a really quiet queen from a nasty mother.
I have one at the moment, and guess what. I will try and breed from her this coming year.

I would still like to see someone with some breeding experience post more about this.
 

Latest posts

Back
Top