I may have to find a new lunch spot. . .

[David Stokely]

Every day I go home for lunch.  I let the dog out and sit in a swing chair next to my backyard pond and watch the bee hive as I eat my lunch.  Friday and Saturday I went deep into the hive to inspect and then shuffle the brood chamber in an attempt to forestall what looked like swarm preparations.

Over the past few weeks as the hive has grown stronger, I've noticed increasing attention by the guard bees, sometimes buzzing me pretty good, but today one went past buzzing and got me good on my left eyebrow.  I was sitting somewhere between 10 and 15 feet away.  The entrance faces due east and I sit about 45° off the entrance at the northeast compass point.  The place where I sit is not normally on a flight path of theirs, so I do not think this was a case of a bee just inadvertantly getting tangled up in my hair (which is all of maybe 1/2" long. . .)

I was surprised.  I'm not sure that it may not be from the upset from Friday and Saturday (this being Monday), but in any case I got stung on the right eyebrow two weeks ago at my other hive when during an inspection my veil was touched my face and a bee found my vulnerable spot.

The results of that sting was an eye that was swelled shut the following morning when I arose.  Only a little puffiness remained by that night, but still it made for an inconvenient day of monocular vision. . .LOL

I don't know.  I surely don't want to go through this every day. . .I might have to move the swing chair a little further away from the hive and use binoculars to watch them. . .

 :) :) :) :) :)

[annette]

I think you are sitting sort of close, which would probably not matter with very gentle hives, but you never know what gets into their little minds.

[iddee]

I think the honey flow is over and you will have to move your chair back until the flowers bloom again. They get testy during a dearth.

[David Stokely]

That very well could be it.  The in and out activity was greatly reduced today. . .(except for in my direction) . . .LOL!

[Hethen57]

David, I hear you...my gentle, marshmellow bees are getting much more testy these days as well. 

They are still bringing in loads of pollen.  Is it the lack of nectar which signifies dearth...or does bringing in pollen mean they are not in a dearth?
-Mike

[iddee]

When less than 60% of the available foragers are flying, there is a dearth.
If there are 20,000 foragers in the hive, 12,000 bringing stuff in seems to the beek like a flow. Not so to the 8,000 staying home getting madder by the day.

[Tucker1]

I have a buddy that keeps a hive near mine.  When I check my hives, I check his  ..... at his request.  Well, he seems to have just 1  (I'm assuming the same bee) girl that just doesn't like me. This 1 bee will buck by veil and follow me for a good 40 yards before it gives up.   I can be close to my friend's hive with several other people present, and it's just this 1 bee that is determine to "get me".  It leaves everyone else alone.  It seems to have a grudge against me. Go figger.....

Regards,
Tucker1

[David Stokely]

That's kind of the way I've felt the past couple of weeks or so.  I would just be sitting eating my lunch and 1 bee would come over and start giving me the dickens, really buzz in my face, etc.  Usually I would just ignore her, but today she did more than buzz.  Probably isn't the same bee, but it makes for interesting thinking about.

My eye is now completely swollen shut. . .

I'll attach a picture:

[Hethen57]

David...I hate to be the one to break it to you...but I think you need to find a new lunch place  :-D

My son got tagged like that on the eyelid about a month ago (I think it was just an accidental eye in the flight path collision), but he hasn't really been dying to check the bees with me since. 

[Tucker1]

OUCH !!!!

[RyanB]

Yikes! That does not look like fun for sure.   :shock:

[wharfrat]

Nice eye!!!

Look...keep eating your lunch there...it was just that one nasty girl giving you trouble...and now she is history..no more worries!! :mrgreen: :mrgreen: :mrgreen:

[David Stokely]

I did once again eat my lunch in the back yard today. . . but!!! I went to the other end of the pond, about 25 feet away from the hive and ate my lunch from there.  I can't afford another sting over my other eye before the swelling of this sting goes down else I wouldn't be able to work or drive. . .LOL

There seemed to be good hive activity, more so than yesterday.  The heat is coming on here in northern Indiana.  It's supposed to be close to 90° or even possibly a bit above for the next 4-5 days.  This is the warmest it has been all summer.