Beemaster's International Beekeeping Forum
BEEKEEPING LEARNING CENTER => GENERAL BEEKEEPING - MAIN POSTING FORUM. => Topic started by: EasternShore on September 21, 2008, 12:16:48 pm
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Went out yesterday to harvest 4 remote hives and was very suprised. These girls had been left alone since spring and were packed...I MEAN PACKED!! 1 colony had 2 supers and a deep FULL to the brim with honey!!! OMG...were they mean! My mentor was directing as I shifted frames, adding drawn comb frames we extracted last week and setting up for winter. Fed all of them except last hive.
To say the VERY least, they were angry...to date I have NEVER been mobbed like this before, 60% of the hive was defending, all of us were covered in angry Bee's. My girl ended up 100' away after been stung numerous times, even my Mentor was retreating as I was the only one with a full suit. I was hit 15 times thru my gloves and at the ankles where I was not completly covered. That was the FIRST hive...
The last hive we entered ( At DUSK) was so hot we gave up, they were just too disturbed. Better to fight that battle another day.
We ended up with 6 full shallows and 1 deep stocked full. To cool to extract so we called it a night.
Word of warning to all fellow ROOKIES " NEVER EVER EVER walk towards your friends who are not covered up while working a hive in the fall. My lady got BLASTED by the mob which was after me nearly 70' away from the hive." She must have elbowed me 3 times on the way home for being so...ah...short sighted?...can you say STUPID!
So much to learn yet...hope you all get a good laugh...we did.
Even my Mentor was shocked by the level of defence these girl had..they match The Green Bay Packers!!!
Well, thats all for now...going to go see if she will talk to me yet....doubtful as her head still hurts from the numerous stings...
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Might be you have something more than harvest defense going on there. My bees don't seem any more or less defensive when I remove supers than when I do an inspection.
It is amazing how easily they can get you through gloves when they really want to, isn't it?
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Thanks for that report... :'( makes us other newbees really look forward to Harvesting. :-D
Based on my 6 weeks of reading experience ;) I too would think that maybe something else was in motion. Did your Mentor say anything about the over the top aggression? Did he recognize anything out of the ordinary during his short time helping you?
I hand't thought of the "do not walk toward" your unsuited helper straight from the Hive. That is funny (from this perspective) but also a good thing to remember!
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Time of day is sometimes a factor --- you mentioned dusk.
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It was WAY too late to be in those hives. We got a late start. All the foragers were in there.
I went to feed mine this morning, they acted the same way, very aggressive. I did'nt even bother opening my big hive.
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Mine are alot more agressive now too. I'm fixin to go in the hives and get more honey before it gets too cool.
Thats funny though about not running towards anybody!!!
My buddy Paul is always crying about how when the bees come after me I always run toward him!!!..He's always yelling,"DONT BE RUNNING THIS WAY!!!"
I do this intentionally to get the bees attention drawn toward Paul! :evil:
He's always suited up though and I'm not...Its not like I'm being mean...Its more like "self preservation at someone elses expense"!
One way or another, Paul will get back at me! :-D
your friend,
john
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Went out yesterday to harvest 4 remote hives and was very suprised. These girls had been left alone since spring and were packed...I MEAN PACKED!! 1 colony had 2 supers and a deep FULL to the brim with honey!!! OMG...were they mean! My mentor was directing as I shifted frames, adding drawn comb frames we extracted last week and setting up for winter. Fed all of them except last hive.
To say the VERY least, they were pee'd...to date I have NEVER been mobbed like this before, 60% of the hive was defending, all of us were covered in angry Bee's. My girl ended up 100' away after been stung numerous times, even my Mentor was retreating as I was the only one with a full suit. I was hit 15 times thru my gloves and at the ankles where I was not completly covered. That was the FIRST hive...
The last hive we entered ( At DUSK) was so hot we gave up, they were just too disturbed. Better to fight that battle another day.
We ended up with 6 full shallows and 1 deep stocked full. To cool to extract so we called it a night.
Word of warning to all fellow ROOKIES " NEVER EVER EVER walk towards your friends who are not covered up while working a hive in the fall. My lady got BLASTED by the mob which was after me nearly 70' away from the hive." She must have elbowed me 3 times on the way home for being so...ah...short sighted?...can you say STUPID!
So much to learn yet...hope you all get a good laugh...we did.
Even my Mentor was shocked by the level of defence these girl had..they match The Green Bay Packers!!!
Well, thats all for now...going to go see if she will talk to me yet....doubtful as her head still hurts from the numerous stings...
Green bay didn't look to mean yesterday :-D Maybe it was the time of day or they were honey bound and the queen split to find a place to lay her egg's and they were queenless
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Hey Now!!!! :-x This is being posted by the victim of "post traumatic undressed disorder", Mark's lady(house mouse).
I love my packers!!!!! We're currently number 1 in our division so............. :-P. just kidding.
BTW, I'm speaking to him again things like, "Don't even think of walking towards me!!!" :-D
Becky
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Green Bay is a good team and I hope your head is ok :-D
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HER HEAD!!!!????
Crikey..what about MY RIBS??????
All is well...
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Sorry but that would have been real funny to see :-D
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WHICH PART?????
roflmao................
Mark
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All of it :-D You must have a great wife to help you with your bee's my wife just stands back out of reach and laughs when I get stung.
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This post is by Becky.
I am fascinated with the little creatures. Not long after he brought home his first colony, I became almost obsessed with finding information on the internet. There is just so much to learn.
Another personal point is that MS is pretty prevelant in my family. My aunt swore by the beesting therapy. I have not went that route as my MS is under control for the most part.
As long as Mark shows appreciation (ie., rubbing my feet and/or back, dousing me with compliments, groveling when he gets me stung), I will be right by his side. :-D
On a serious note, I don't look at it as helping Mark. We're working together to do our part for the honeybee.
Perhaps you may try rubbing your wife's feet. ;)
Becky
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I do Becky she just is afraid to get stung like allot of people. And mark is a lucky man :-D to have a partner like you.
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This post is by Becky.
Awwwww......... I'm blushing. Actually, we're lucky to have each other.
Do you have a beesuit for your wife? Perhaps that might alleviate some of her fears. Mark took me with him to meet several of the local beeks. In doing so, my interest was peeked by the things I learned from them.
Becky
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Nope she said that she wouldn't use it enough to justify buying it.
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This post is by Becky.
There are lots of things I like doing to help Mark, even if it doesn't involve going out with him to the beeyard. I help make the syrup, labels for his honey bottles, biz cards, and other "admin type" stuff.
On another note, we have that nasty nor'easter that just blew threw last nite. Mark just got done talking about going out to feed the girls and how pissy they were going to be because of the pressure. And he wanted help from me. Ummmm...... me thinks not.
Becky
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This post is by Becky.
PISSY BEE UPDATE:
Remember Mark told me earlier that he wanted help with his bees today after telling me with the pressure system in the area, the bees wud be awfully pissy.
Guess what?????? They were. I sat in the truck, rolled up my window, watched him walk to the hives, pull of the first top cover and then the inner cover.
BAM!!!!!!!!!!
Mark came fleeing to the truck, while screaming in terror. "OH ****, They're pee'd." Of course, this is all I heard, because the rest was spewing out his mouth as he went slapping his head and running further from the hives, w/o veil. The good news is, after I don't know, 3, 4, 10 attempts, he got the feeder and the cover back on and only ran away a few more half dozen times. He he. Mark shud really be careful around those pissy bees!
Becky
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Thats the way to make a news report about mark and his bees!!!!
(Sorry Mark, but Thats hilarious!)..Hey Becky, did you have the truck doors locked? :-D
I cant stop laffing!!!!! :-D :-D
It sounds like we both have the same teachers at how to deal with bees!
I'm always running and swatting recently!!!
When I run, EVERYBODY runs!
The dogs really haul butt out of the way! They run with their tails tucked!!!..(WEll, except for Tank...he doesnt have a tail :) )
I even saw my nabors watching me yesterday....watching.... laffing,...then Running for cover, just in case!!
After I lit the smoker though everything pretty much cooled down....No jacket,...no veil.........and, of course, no common sense!
It sounds to me as if Mark has become a master beekeeper overnite! Swatting and running are what I see all the experts do down around where I live!
Thanx for the story!
your friend,
john
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In defence...an OFFicial Statement:
I only ran 3 TIMES !
I knew better!
I'm not a smart man...Stupid is as stupid does....
My girls WERE hungry...
I NEVER got stung..only bumped...
They were not smoked up...after all I was feeding them not pulling frames.
Master BEEK...nope..my picture is in Websters under ROOKIE.
Do we enjoy laughing at each other...well she ( the un named person) likes my style...and FLARE!!!!
I was asked yesterday to run for VP of Queen Annes County Bee Association, not sure if it's my Devil may care flare or an attempt to drive me out of Beehaving altogether.
I do love my girls, they make everyday important to me. Hope you all find all this fun...
Mark AKA RUN FOREST RUN!!!
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Hey Becky no gut's no glory next time get a video so we all can enjoy :-D
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This post is by Becky.
I will do my best to capture the next Kodak moment, Irwin! Glad you nearly pee'd your pants after reading the update Johnny! :-D I did have the windows rolled up, but not locked. I thought about it, though, and would have if I had noticed his hand even close to the door handle.
Keep Smiling :) :) :)
Becky
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I am enjoying the relationship between Mark and Becky. Glad you are on here now Becky. We need more women beeks on the forum.
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Annette,
We are very close, and both enjoy the girls (BEES). Becky is my sounding board for everything...and she remembers EVERYTHING...unlike me. CRS
We discuss them almost everyday and she always has a new perspective...
I'm sure you all will find us entertaining...our neighbors do....
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This post is by Becky.
I'm sure you all will find us entertaining...our neighbors do....
Annette:
The neighbors definitely find us entertaining. One of us, who shall remain un-named, keeps everyone very entertained! ;)
:-* Oh, Mark, btw, Love ya Honey!!!!!
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Becky, you need your own account! Come on and up the woman-beek numbers here! ;)
Our bees up in Maine are extremely mild. They were slightly perturbed when Greg pulled the supers last weekend. Seriously, these girls are so calm it's scary, but last weekend he was glad he had on his full suit, he did get stung, once, through the suit and the t-shirt, but even still, they were pretty calm for being robbed. Down here was a different story, although not near as bad as your hives. They were angry, but didn't follow him around much, and I was out there messing around with the chickens, right next to the hives, they didn't bother me at all. He was fully suited.
It does sound as though your girls are a bit too hot. Hopefully you don't have africanized hives going on there.
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Ann:
I wish they had an option for "joint" accounts, but such is life. Mark and I are in this together. It's nice to know that with everything going on in the world I always have someone I can count on!
He wisely chose to feed the bees when he gets home today, rather than fussing with them this morning. The fog was THICK!!!
Keep Smiling Everybody!
Becky
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Becky, hubby and I are in this together, too, in all things! :) We're both using the same computer, yet we both have our own log ins. I'm Reinbeau and he's Woodchopper. All you need to do is log your husband out of Beemaster and log back in with your own registration. I want my own post count! :evil:
The way most computers are set up you both should have your own profiles on the computer, so everything would be separated. But of course if you both want to share the log in, there's nothing wrong with it!
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The girls were VERY hungry...took all the 2/1, very calm today. Refilled and left them Bee...