This years "Cock Up's"

[PaleoPerson]

Ok, so I made a few mistakes this year and I did say I would list them.

This is my catalogue:

1/ Got a crown board and a queen excluder swapped around.
2/ Tried to re-queen two very strong colonies instead of making nucs
3/ Believed someone who said you need two hives - Crap! you need 15 just to start.
4/ Squashed a queen cell before checking to see if colony was queen right.
5/ Forgot to zip up my veil, then opened up the ASBO hive (resulting in the comedy run across the hill with 50+ bees inside my veil).
6/ Filled two Apidea's with bees without putting wellingtons on, they soon found my ankles.
7/ Treating my best colony too gently resulting in me dropping the frame with the queen cells I wanted to keep killing the larvae.
8/ Went to an out apiary to inspect 6 colonies, remove supers of honey and do a split. When I arrived, opened boot to discover my bee-suit was at home.

And the most stupid one of all......

9/ Checking to see if my "Micro Jet" lighter still had fuel in it by putting it to my ear and depressing the button to see if I could hear the gas coming out, yup it still had fuel, but at least one ear does not have any hairs any more.


So what mistakes have you guys made this year.

 

[thurrock bees]

5/ Forgot to zip up my veil, then opened up the ASBO hive (resulting in the comedy run across the hill with 50+ bees inside my veil).

.

i can see PP running around trying not to get stung .

 

[barratt_sab]

My best (so far) this year involved climbing onto the roof of our house fully suited to spray a wasp net under our tiles.

I let loose a huge jet of the deadly insecticide foam... which the wind promptly blew straight back at me, covering my bee suit and gloves with one of the fews things on the face of the earth guaranteed to kill bees faster than I can!

My wife liked your (9) and wants to know where she can get a microjet lighter to deal with my ears, nose etc.

 

[chycarne]

I will tell you when I stop laughing (I am sorry) and crying (well with laughter)
yup we have done a couple or so but still going!!! one is aas bad as those the others less so but ... thank you!!! I know it is serious but... it is also a shame to see what can go wrong. we have had queen and colony problems and I think it will be our winter stress till the warm dry days of late or middle spring or early spring or late winter... the other two colonies will be less stressfull til we see something going wrong. Back to reading I will do our ooooops in a bit but I warn you it is a long story of greed (on my part) lost adventurer and invasions... and robbery and two grand flights (very scary)

 

[Silly Bee]

Ok, so I made a few mistakes this year and I did say I would list them.

This is my catalogue:

1/ Got a crown board and a queen excluder swapped around.
2/ Tried to re-queen two very strong colonies instead of making nucs
3/ Believed someone who said you need two hives - Crap! you need 15 just to start.
4/ Squashed a queen cell before checking to see if colony was queen right.
5/ Forgot to zip up my veil, then opened up the ASBO hive (resulting in the comedy run across the hill with 50+ bees inside my veil).
6/ Filled two Apidea's with bees without putting wellingtons on, they soon found my ankles.
7/ Treating my best colony too gently resulting in me dropping the frame with the queen cells I wanted to keep killing the larvae.
8/ Went to an out apiary to inspect 6 colonies, remove supers of honey and do a split. When I arrived, opened boot to discover my bee-suit was at home.

And the most stupid one of all......

9/ Checking to see if my "Micro Jet" lighter still had fuel in it by putting it to my ear and depressing the button to see if I could hear the gas coming out, yup it still had fuel, but at least one ear does not have any hairs any more.


So what mistakes have you guys made this year.

Do your mates call you Jonah?

 

[spikespearman]

Would have liked to see number 5...I know it's cruel to watch people suffer...but sometimes it can be real funny.

 

[the naked beekeeper]

I have done a number 5) before. I am sure I looked very funny.
Being stung on my eyelid wasn't!

 

[PaleoPerson]

Would have liked to see number 5...I know it's cruel to watch people suffer...but sometimes it can be real funny.

I imagine it was a lot like Benny Hill, but without the Totty.

 

[Somerford]

perhaps a candidate for this years Darwin award - I dread to think how you check your gas BBQ !!!!!

didn't you use to work at Buncefield ??!

silly mistake here .... thinking I could get by with normal amount of kit, then having to find the cash to buy more !

regards

S

 

[Queens59]

Forgot about the Queen excluder and lifted the super to place on table to my right...the QE chose that moment to let go of the super and plunged to the floor. Bees clinging to said QE decided to teach me a lesson by targeting my left foot...6 stings later I picked up the QE (no bees killed) and replaced it - then hid in the greenhouse until the bees forgave me and went home...

Also didn't realise that the hive was Q- and checked it weekly - they were not best pleased...

 

[PaleoPerson]

perhaps a candidate for this years Darwin award - I dread to think how you check your gas BBQ !!!!!

S

Same way I read my gas meter, by candle-light.

 

[spikespearman]

Yes, the totty would have at least taken your mind off the pain... to be honest it happened to me but only two got in, I managed to flush 1 out and I had to squash the second into my shoulder before he locked on to the carbon dioxide coming from mouth and nose..prefer the shoulder than on on the lip...although bee stung lips are quite popular these days.

 

[BKF Admin]

My worst has to be the car with blacked out windows I parked at the petrol station when moving a hive one evening.


The problem was I never had tinted windows when I filled up with petrol,only when I came back to the car to find I had not done the straps up tight enough.

I had to be brave and drive with the bees all going towards the back window.

I even sang a little song aloud on the way to dropping them off,I cant remember the song I sang now but I am sure it must of had "oh sh*t" in the chorus a few times.

 

[drstitson]

Speed 3 - Angry Bees!

Admin - so what is the critical speed that one must not drop below if one wishes to keep loose bees firmly pressed against the rear window of the car?

 

[the naked beekeeper]

I know of a friend who left a super of honey in his car one summers day...........
..................

yep, you guessed it, the heat melted the wax cappings and the honey oozed all over the car.

So he parked it by one of his apiaries with the windows down, came back a day later and all the honey was gone!!

 

[Rosti]

9/ Checking to see if my "Micro Jet" lighter still had fuel in it by putting it to my ear and depressing the button to see if I could hear the gas coming out, yup it still had fuel, but at least one ear does not have any hairs any more.

I bought one of these this year, like a blow torch in your pocket, brilliant, they light under any conditions and light anything ..... they are very good at lighting marigold gloves, which burn with a pretty yellow flame and black smoke, quickly followed by the smell of roast pork - only of course if you were stupid enough to be wearing them when lighting a smoker with a blow torch lighter (and who would do that!).

I now light the smoker without the gloves on, I find hand protection last longer and works better this way, although the first option would still have allowed at least one hive to be smoked! oh, and my career as a cat burgular who never leaves finger prints has really taken off.

 

[BKF Admin]

oh, and my career as a cat burglar who never leaves finger prints has really taken off.

 

[MuswellMetro]

i went to the apiary to replace a warped crown board i lifted it off and [place it on a empty super taken off another hive

put the fresh spare crown board on and took the super with crown board on to to the car

drove off and 1 mile, down the road a bee apeared on the windscreen, a further mile half dozen appeared , pulled over and bumped up the curb to pull of the road, hundreds of bees buzzed

i have forgotten to shake the bees off the underside of the crown board, hundreds of them clustered on it

put me siut back on and drove them back with the hood up waving to a group of school childen pointing at this strange spaceman driving a car passed their school

 

[Skyhook]

Nothing as entertaining as the above, I'm afraid- hopefully haven't had time to make any biggies yet. Probably

1) General clumsiness when handling the bees- hopefully I'm getting there.

2) Complacency about mites. Was thinking the bees were doing great, turns out they were heading for collapse. I was monitoring but not doing it right.

3) Laughing out loud at Paleopersons post when my wife was at a tense moment in the film she's watching.

 

[Lois]

I think it would be easier to say what I have done right!




I've still got my bees.



but winter is coming