Seriously Angry Bees

[Vergilius]

Even when just feeding my bees they get angry! Currently, whenever I do a full inspection I get stung five or six times wearing an all-in-one suit! Another problem is that the hive is in a front yard so whenever I inspect the bees they angrily swarm around the drive attacking passers-by. This aggression started when my last queen (a nice, gentle, productive queen) swarmed, leaving behind a super-productive but super-aggresive daughter. Just wondering, could Winter knock some of the agression out of this colony?


Thanks, Ben P

 

[Hebeegeebee]

Unlikely. Sorry to be the bearer of bad news!

 

[Queens59]

Afraid not from what I have read. The best hope would be to wait until spring and requeen.

 

[tidymeup]

How old is she? Some times they can be aggressive until she has her own daughters around her. Plus some times they will be protective of they have plenty of stores.

 

[Black Comb]

Best to feed in the evening when few bees flying (still light though)

I would re-queen or move them to a remote location.

 

[jimbeekeeper]

In addtion to feedin in evening, why not change the type of feeder you are using?

Sounds like you are using a frame feeder? Why not chnage to a radpid feeder, that way you are not tecnicaly exposed to the bees, just lift roof and top up feeder.

 

[Gardenbees]

How old is she? Some times they can be aggressive until she has her own daughters around her. Plus some times they will be protective of they have plenty of stores.

So I suppose they might be a bit nicer in spring. Even so, if you keep that queen then the same conditions might result in the same behaviour again, next autumn (or whenever they're feeling defensive). So even if they're a bit quieter in spring, I'd still tell Madam to sling 'er hook.

One thing that can really help with stroppy bees is a jute or hemp sacking quilt. They're very cheap, and you can lift up just one edge to look at part of the brood box, without the bees feeling that their nest is under attack and all whizzing out at you from between the frames. Maisemore use them a lot and probably still sell them. I've got one on my long hive. You can lay the cover back onto the bees fairly sharpish without the bee-squashing risk of shoving a crown board back on in a hurry. It settles gently onto the bees and they just crawl out of the way of the edges. Preserving the darkness of the main colony seems to cut out a lot of aggro from the bees' point of view.

I use it to check how far the long hive colony has filled out their frames: I don't use smoke or anything, just lift up the jute cover and have a look without exposing the brood area at all. If they're filling up the available space I move the follower board back a bit further for them (like a top bar hive or any long style of hive). I can top up the frame feeder at the same time. The jute cover is very handy if you need to look at them in poor weather conditions when they would normally be at their least tolerant....

 

[Finman]

.
Only way is to get a new queen.

 

[birchdale]

Re-queen or kill Q and unite with well behaved colony (probably too late for this year) asap

Being stung occasionally is bad enough but several times AND the neighbours....NOT NICE

 

[Midland Beek]

whenever I do a full inspection

What point full inspections at the end of September?

 

[Midland Beek]

Take a bee nest apart on a chilly September day with wasps and robber bees on your shoulder, how they gonna react?

Thing no.1: Is there a laying queen present? You do not even have to find the queen to establish this, and it only really needs to be done once as the season tails off.

Thing no. 2: What's the food situation like? Meaning, how much more feeding do I need to do, if any.

 

[oliver90owner]

Being stung occasionally is bad enough but several times AND the neighbours....NOT NICE

I'm with Birchdale.

Not only NOT NICE, but anti-social as well. A bad beekeeper potentially giving a lot more a bad name. MOVE THEM AWAY!

This behaviour is unacceptable.

When someone is seriously affected (as in anaphalactic shock), by this negligence, and perhaps death, it may make the headlines in some of the papers. Not good and no excuse and no defence in court.

RAB

 

[Cazza]

What point full inspections at the end of September?

If you have EFB/AFB alert not too far away.
C

 

[Cazza]

Not only NOT NICE, but anti-social as well. MOVE THEM AWAY!
RAB

RAB is absolutely right. If they attack you that's your problem but not neighbours/passers by. It's not on.

Cazza

 

[Vergilius]

No, I was talking about earlier in the year.

 

[beesrus]

Being stung occasionally is bad enough but several times AND the neighbours....NOT NICE

I'm with Birchdale.

Not only NOT NICE, but anti-social as well. A bad beekeeper potentially giving a lot more a bad name. MOVE THEM AWAY!

This behaviour is unacceptable.

When someone is seriously affected (as in anaphalactic shock), by this negligence, and perhaps death, it may make the headlines in some of the papers. Not good and no excuse and no defence in court.

RAB

Ben

I don't agree that you are being irresponsible in the slightest, being part of the forum and asking for help demonstrates the complete opposite.

There are some good suggestions above. There is little point inspecting this time of year unless you are worried about something in particular such as disease. Change to a rapid feeder as well (an old tupaware box with some fine holes drilled in the lid inverted over the hole in the crown board will suffice). Your priority in spring time is to start the season with a new queen so u should start to prepare for this and read up if u are unsure how to requeen. If in spring she is settled then resume your normal routine.

Oliver90owner is right that you should not be putting the public at risk so think about the timing of your inspections, and maybe think about some netting around the hive u can put up and take down easily (just a thought, a beek at my local allotment has one)

People and nature are going to get closer and closer in the future and in order for our bees to be helped back to good numbers we need to work together and sometimes this means bees are closer to people than some feel appropriate.

Good luck

Beesrus

 

[Vergilius]

Being stung occasionally is bad enough but several times AND the neighbours....NOT NICE

I'm with Birchdale.

Not only NOT NICE, but anti-social as well. A bad beekeeper potentially giving a lot more a bad name. MOVE THEM AWAY!

This behaviour is unacceptable.

When someone is seriously affected (as in anaphalactic shock), by this negligence, and perhaps death, it may make the headlines in some of the papers. Not good and no excuse and no defence in court.

RAB

Sorry RAB, I used the wrong word in "passers-by" what I meant was members of my family going through the yard to the car. No-one outside my family has even been hindered (let alone stung) by the bees and none of my family are allergic. I may only be a young, inexperienced beekeeper but I do know that if neighbours are getting stung it is a massive problem. Plus, I have not done a "full inspection" since early August- I was talking about experiences from earlier in the Summer!

 

[JamesB]

Personnally i think ben is being responsible seeking advice,

Its always important to get on with neighbours etc using scare tactics like 'no defense in court' is rather worrying,

There is always a defense in court and tbh for case to get there regardless of whether someone got stung and went into shock i would think the court would have to show quite strongly that the beekeeper was negligent,

Now if year in year out everyone complained about being stung by angry bees and the beekeeper wasnt doing enough or wasnt looking after his bees (ie letting them swarm or basically not doing any preventative measures) and was basically the neighbour from hell then in that extreme example civil proceedings could start,

In my considered opinion the op has identified a problem asked for advice and advice has been given, slating him isnt helpful or constructive,

To the op;
Hope they calm down for you m8, not much you can do about it this time of year as i wouldnt as others have said disturb them too much at this time of,
also mentioned isto keep on your toes this month/period of the yr;

As always at this time of year beware of strong colonies robbing weaker ones since disease can be spread in this way. If a colony looks as if it’s being robbed then close the entrance down to just a few bee spaces. If that doesn’t work think seriously about uniting it with a stronger colony since a weak colony may well not survive the winter.



Be aware of wasps which become a real pest and will rob out and destroy a colony if given half a chance. Again, close down the entrance to just a few bee spaces. If you know the site of a wasps’ nest whose occupants are robbing then it’s not a bad idea to destroy it before they get a taste for your honey and for your bees.



Wasps and wax moth can destroy a colony in a week.



August is a month to be on your toes!

taken from my local assoc webby, Hives have a lot to contend with at the moment so i believe it would be natural for colonies to show some agression,

good luck m8

 

[oliver90owner]

Funny the word usage of some. Possibly written with a view to ambiguity later?

Ben wrote: Even when just feeding my bees they get angry! Currently, whenever I do a full inspection I get stung five or six times wearing an all-in-one suit! Another problem is that the hive is in a front yard so whenever I inspect the bees they angrily swarm around the drive attacking passers-by.

'currently, whenever' as others have interpreted, usually means NOW and on-going.

'attacking passers-by' one would associate 'passers-by' with people passing by the yard, not through it! The dictionary refers to those passing by as 'casual', not 'due to chance' or 'regular'.

If one is to write like that, and expect anyone to understand it differently, one needs to consult a dictionary from time to time to ascrertain the correct word is being used in that particular context.

So, I will stick with my initial interpretation of the text and therefore not change my view. Changing evidence mid-stream is usually motivated in two ways and only results to muddy a previous, perfectly understandable statement.

RAB

 

[Vergilius]

Sorry once again about my y11 level English, knew I had written it badly when I posted it.


Thanks, Ben P