Welcome, Guest

Author Topic: Grouchy Bees?  (Read 2212 times)

Offline MikeG

  • House Bee
  • **
  • Posts: 52
  • Gender: Male
  • BAN THE DEEPS
Grouchy Bees?
« on: September 21, 2009, 09:42:44 pm »
This is my third season but still pretty ignorant.  I robbed my bees about 2 or 3 weeks ago, but man! are they grouchy!  I can't get within 10 feet of the hive without having 1 or 2 angry bees run me off.  They don't just stick with me for another 10 feet, either.  I have to move off at least 100 feet or more before they will give it up.

I love these girls and won't hold it against them, but I'm wondering what to take of this.  They have been extraordinarily gentle until this point.  Is this normal "fall" behavior?  (I've not seen it before)  Is it a sign of robbing by other bees?

Mike

Offline bee-nuts

  • Queen Bee
  • ****
  • Posts: 1100
  • Gender: Male
    • Nectar Meadows Apiaries
Re: Grouchy Bees?
« Reply #1 on: September 21, 2009, 10:40:54 pm »
I am no expert but have seen this behavior from bees in the fall a couple of years ago.  When a friend of mine and I robbed his bees I had a few that wanted my blood.  One chased me over a hundred yards.  When I can back to the house it came after me again and got me on the nose a bit.  I swatted it when it landed on my nose and It did not loss its stinger but left a swelling like a zit on my nose that I could not believe the pain it caused.  Those bees meant business that year.  I have been surprised at how gentle my bees have been this year as dry as it is.  I have had supper robed and even the robbed hive was gentle to me which really surprised me.  All bees are different I'm sure but I think common knowledge is that bees become touchy in the fall more so then most times of the year.

I don't know about robbing by the other bees but you robbed em and I bet they remember your smell.
The moment a person forms a theory, his imagination sees in every object only the traits which favor that theory

Thomas Jefferson

Offline rick42_98

  • New Bee
  • *
  • Posts: 38
  • Gender: Male
Re: Grouchy Bees?
« Reply #2 on: September 22, 2009, 07:47:47 pm »
I observed the same behavior in my girls too.  All summer they have been sooooo gentle and it has been a pleasure.  Now it seems the nectar has dried up and man are they grouchy.  I am feeding 2:1 syrup with HBH.  The other day when I went to remove an empty quart container to refill it, I was a bit rough, and the container bounced around a bit.  Well that was it!!  About 8 guards came right for my face (I had no equipment on as I wasn't removing any frames or even the inner cover).  They were in perfect fighter formation and homed in on me like heat seeking missles.  Well I did what I guess all beeks do at one time or another.  I ran away in a panic while swiping the bees off of me.  They were in my hair (whats left of it, anyway), on my shirt (short sleeves), my arms, my neck, my pants just everywhere!  I ran about 60 or 70 yards and they were still on me!  That would've made Americas Funniest Videos for sure.  I ran to my upper yard where my seven year old was playing with the dog.  He just looked at me funny.  The strange thing is that I didn't get stung or if I did I didn't feel it!  Maybe the adrenilin masked the ouch, who knows?  Needless to say when I went back with the syrup filled container I had the veil and smoker.  They had calmed down and there were no problems after that.  From now on, though, I am suiting up when I go to that hive.....

Offline Sparky

  • Field Bee
  • ***
  • Posts: 804
  • Gender: Male
Re: Grouchy Bees?
« Reply #3 on: September 22, 2009, 08:11:48 pm »
Funny!!! rick42_98  I think all of us experience that one time of attack sooner or later. I have a thick head of hair and when I got attacked I was running and combing my bees out with my fingers. Being tangled into my hair they got me about 6 or 8 times in the scalp. I thought the same thing. Should of had a video of that it could have been a winner. LOL!!!!

Offline MikeG

  • House Bee
  • **
  • Posts: 52
  • Gender: Male
  • BAN THE DEEPS
Re: Grouchy Bees?
« Reply #4 on: September 23, 2009, 06:46:10 am »
This is such a relief to hear!  I was afraid you got kicked out of the beekeeper's society if you ran away from your hive.   :-D

Offline ziffabeek

  • House Bee
  • **
  • Posts: 394
  • Gender: Female
Re: Grouchy Bees?
« Reply #5 on: September 23, 2009, 10:53:14 am »
:)  I'm a really new beekeeper as well, and I have been boasting (to anyone who will listen) about how I have the sweetest gentlest bees EVER!!  But once the nectar dried up, I started noticing them noticing me a bit more and even got a sting on my chin one morning when I was'nt paying attention and hurried too much! 

I can still change out my feeder (in an empty super on top of the inner cover) without suiting up, but you can bet I'm veeerrry careful and deliberate when I do it.  They still buzz at me and fly around me, but so far no other stings and no real pings.  I keep thinking to myself, one day I'm gonna get in big trouble with this hive because I trust it too much!

But I love them so much, I just can't bring myself to not trust them!

love,
ziffa

Offline bee-nuts

  • Queen Bee
  • ****
  • Posts: 1100
  • Gender: Male
    • Nectar Meadows Apiaries
Re: Grouchy Bees?
« Reply #6 on: September 24, 2009, 02:22:13 am »
Well the calm manner in which all my colonies have had this year ended in part (other than the time I dropped a frame).  I had one that had a serious change of attitude today.  Yesterday I started treatments.  One colony has declined rapidly.  When I opened it up and inspected the works they got huffier and huffier.  I did not get stung but I got lots of head butts and angry buzzing am sure I would nave been nailed several times without gear (if only my gear less buddy would have been there today, LOL).  Normally the bees leave me alone after 20 feet or so from the hives.  The bees from this hive followed me probably 50 yards or more today.  Normally where I park is a safe zone for no gear.  Today it was watch out.  I even left for a soda and came back 30 minutes latter or so and as soon as I got out  of the car they were on me (as I figured so I had my jacket on before I got out).  This was the first hive I went through today and I was hoping they would not all have this attitude and thankfully the rest were calm but the bees from the hot hive were on me the whole time.  I'm not sure what is going on altogether with this hive but very little brood rearing and seen some chalk brood again.

I don't think they will make winter and probably am wasting money with treatments but I want to see what happens so I have a better idea on when a hive is done for in the future.

Anyway, I guess you  just never know for sure what to expect.
The moment a person forms a theory, his imagination sees in every object only the traits which favor that theory

Thomas Jefferson

Offline alflyguy

  • House Bee
  • **
  • Posts: 59
  • Gender: Male
Re: Grouchy Bees?
« Reply #7 on: September 24, 2009, 11:34:43 am »
I think they have bad days just like the rest of us. They have a lot more of them in the fall or when it's cool and cloudy.

Offline MustbeeNuts

  • Field Bee
  • ***
  • Posts: 552
  • Gender: Male
    • Great White Betta
Re: Grouchy Bees?
« Reply #8 on: September 25, 2009, 08:22:54 am »
So far my bees have been very gentle, I do have one that if I don't smoke them at least a little they get a little testy, but I work the hive and my dog. lol djr will go up and peek in the entrance. they rarely even bite the dog. ?  I think its in her approach. She even walks behind the hives like me. But either way the bees are pretty gentle. I make sure the bees have plenty of food, even when robbing they don't seem to get upset, unless I dawdle too long. I figure thats to be expected. I have Italian and NWC and the Carni's are even calmer. A couple years ago I had a HOT hive, same thing 40 feet out, they attacked. Luckily that hive didin't make the over winter. I was gonna requeen anyway in spring.
Its been said that the bees get to know you, I think its very true, if your gentle with them most of the time, they seem pretty forgiving. Gues the trick is not to make them mad in the first place. LOL
 JM2C
Each new day brings decisions,  these are  new branches on the tree of life.

Offline Lone

  • Queen Bee
  • ****
  • Posts: 1094
  • Gender: Female
Re: Grouchy Bees?
« Reply #9 on: September 25, 2009, 08:40:47 am »
The hive I was given hadn't been requeened for 5 years and the bees used to chase us round the shed, and do U-turns if we ran the other way.  Our only hope was that someone else would come along as a decoy.  Now, robbing the hive was an experience that defied gravity.  When we put the stickies back, they charged up from the depths of the hive like a volcano erupting.  And right when I was under attack by their machine-gun-like fire, my offsider left me to die on the battlefield, racing off with one in his veil and another couple of hundred outside it.

Now they have a new queen, they are so friendly you can tickle them under the chin.  (Mind you, I brought in experienced professionals to do the requeening part!)  And my offsider also has a new veil.

Lone

 

anything