Seriously hacked off moody grumpy stingy things!!!

[Mike a]

don't you cover the holes in the crown board?
I cover the holes in the summer, to help the bees control the air-flow, and open them in the winter for ventilation.

No I always leave them fully open, unless I use two porter bee escapes.

 

[george]

Merylvingien .
Smoke each hive through the entrance a couple of times then move on to the next one and do the same . I have mine in groups of 6 or 8 at each apiary , by the time I have done the last one the first is too busy dealing with the smoke to take notice of me . Give it a few minutes between smoking and you going in , it doesnt work instantly , give it a bit of time .

That said with conditions as they are at present , almost any hive can turn nasty . End of the Rape flow and not much else to find . Robbing weak nucs will be the next problem ! Theres always something .
G

 

[merylvingien]

Thanks for all the advise!

It would seem others are having the same sorts of problems at the moment, so i wont hold it against the bees lol

Hopefully next time i go to inspect, they will be a different kettle of fish!

 

[Mike a]

Hopefully next time i go to inspect, they will be a different kettle of fish!

No you don't want fish... !
They won't do well in a hive, trust me I'm a pretend doctor !

 

[merylvingien]

To be honest, ANYTHING would be better than the foul tempered female horror of yesterday!

But i checked at dinner time today, MUCH calmer after a feed!

So i think i get this beekeeping lark now, just think of them like human females and you wont go far wrong. At least bees cant swear at you...

 

[thedeaddiplomat]

To be honest, ANYTHING would be better than the foul tempered female horror of yesterday!

But i checked at dinner time today, MUCH calmer after a feed!

So i think i get this beekeeping lark now, just think of them like human females and you wont go far wrong. At least bees cant swear at you...

Aaaahhhhhh!!!! Is that a hostage to fortune or what??

For what it is worth, last week I had three thoroughily bad tempered hives, and was seriously wondering whether I could tolerate them. This afternoon, two of the hives were behaving like little lambs (must be because I have moved them into the field with the sheep). Only the third lot seriously wanted to kill me. Perhaps next time they will like me a bit better too... or then again...

 

[susbees]

Dived into a full colony today to see if their QC had hatched. They were very relaxed and laid back. No smoke, a bit of sugar water, and a water spray for emergencies (not needed). And she has . Then sorted out their super.

There were a dozen of our sheep in the apiary when I arrived (bl**dy things - firmly shut out again). There was a tractor baling silage in the field nearby (vibration). It was a bit breezy....

Bees are SO unpredictable, plenty excuse for grumpiness.

 

[VEG]

Why go into a hive without smoking first?

Its the first lesson to be taught. Cant understand why you wouldnt smoke a hive then use the spray if that didnt work. Too late to try the smoke if they are a bit grumpy.

 

[merylvingien]

This is no good at all, just went to top up feeder, ended up in the forest with bees following and trying to sting again.

I am in two minds whether to kill this lot off once and for good. A quick puff in the entrance, so easy!!!

They aint hungry, its just pure aggression, worse than wasps!

 

[merylvingien]

They just signed thier death warrant!

Tonight!!!!

 

[hoomin_erra]

Can you not find the queen, and abdicate her, and then wait for a new queen to emerge?

 

[winmag270]

Can you not find the queen, and abdicate her, and then wait for a new queen to emerge?

I'd try and buy in a new queen, or source one from a known strain of calm bee's, try to re-queen the hive, rather than lose the colony completely.....

Surely a queen raised from the original stock stands a good chance of carrying the aggressive genes (or skirts, I guess, seeing as they are female.....) on from the old Q?

 

[jimbeekeeper]

Well! I just popped up to have a quick check on a swarm i picked up a couple of weeks ago, and it was like WTF?

I assume this was not the first time you inspected since collecting the swarm 2 weeks ago?

 

[merylvingien]

When i hived them they were great, nice and calm, but over the last week they have turned increasingly aggressive, so much so, i dont even want to take the lid off.
But! I have just suited up, chainsaw trousers the lot, and re-housed them into a full size hive.

They were fairly well packed into the half size box, so could it be lack of space? I dunno, but i will give them a second chance, i will look again on monday and if thier still shitty then they go.

I counted over 20 stings in the leather gauntlets just on one hand.

It really is no joke, when the others are such a pleasure to deal with.

 

[Black Comb]

I tried leather gauntlets for my aggressive hive and they were worse. Over 50 in one hand (none went through). I think they don't like leather.

Try yellow marigolds with thinner ones underneath. it may just help.

 

[tonybloke]

two weeks,being fed, in a half-size box (nuc) ??
I wonder why they were aggressive? Hmmmmm

 

[Poly Hive]

FWIW

the first swarm I had are trying to tell me they are pretty agressive too.

They came out last night in stinging mood as I have the new swarm.

However if they want to play that game I have another version.

Called "Chrunchy chrunchy"



PH

 

[merylvingien]

two weeks,being fed, in a half-size box (nuc) ??
I wonder why they were aggressive? Hmmmmm

Thats so helpfull, you solved my problem and saved this colony with your wise words of wisdom!!

 

[BobsBees]

Merylvingien,
After reading through this thread, I get the immpression that you are inspecting too often, and you now say your going in again on Monday. Can I ask why you want to look so often?
Optimum inspection times are 7/8 days to check for queen cells at this time of year.
Also on another track, not sure where you are in the UK but the weather plays a VERY large influence in bee behavior, and our summer (sic) has not even come yet and its the longest day in three days time.
You should try and remember what the weather was like on the days you looked inside or even went near the hives.
I make a note of temperature in c, and what cloud cover there is, in my records.
Rule of thumb for me is, if the barometer is falling rapidly stay away from the girls, they know more about the weather than we will ever know.
Just my thoughts.
Oh and one other thing. I never smoke the entrance.
Best of luck Bob.

 

[susbees]

The weather is a HUGE influence....today was a really don't bother day. Whoever recommended "At the Hive Entrance", thanks....we all need to learn to observe and understand off days.

Saying that we did straighten a hive jostled a little by sheep last week...yes ours, they can't read and they were not amused. Would no way have inspected. Did make up a nuc from a TBH and added a new queen to that this evening. They are the most amazing bees...no smoke, no stings, but even they were slightly edgy with the weather.

Earlier in the week we did an inspection on a commercial without even lighting the smoker. A little sugar water to keep them smiling. Right weather, all the hives were happy.

And it really IS worth carrying a clove oil spray to mask the first stinger. Who wants to be counting? I don't think bees think, ooh let's get one over on him/her, but really we don't lose face with anyone by coming back another day.