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Author Topic: African mixed bees?  (Read 9773 times)

Offline CountryBee

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Re: African mixed bees?
« Reply #20 on: August 24, 2010, 09:28:58 pm »
 :-D  Good thing I'm not a cat... but a cat had nine lives! Country :)

Offline VolunteerK9

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Re: African mixed bees?
« Reply #21 on: August 25, 2010, 09:41:44 am »
My dad just moved the hive over to his place up on the hill so it is miles away from people.  Just want it checked before I destroy it or they swarm.  Country :)

How did that work out then?

Offline CountryBee

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Re: African mixed bees?
« Reply #22 on: August 25, 2010, 06:37:38 pm »
The hive already had a reducer on it, so he covered the entrance of the reducer with triple expanding foam in a can :-D  They couldn't come out till he opened it when it was moved on the hill.  He used a rachet strap from top to bottom so that the 3 deep supers wouldn't come apart and he loaded it in his 4 wheel drive truck and a way he went! :-D  Amazing man my dad is :)

Offline fish_stix

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Re: African mixed bees?
« Reply #23 on: August 25, 2010, 06:51:56 pm »
Countrybee; there is no visible difference between AHB and Italian bees. The only way to confirm AHB is with a lab analysis. Supposedly AHB are slightly smaller, but not discernible with the naked eye. You must send a sample of about 50 bees preserved in alcohol to the USDA lab in Beltsville, MD or to a state university which is qualified to do the testing. Chances are, based on your location, you just have a hot hive, but it won't hurt to get them tested. If you can't gather the sample yourself get another local beek to help.

Offline CountryBee

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Re: African mixed bees?
« Reply #24 on: August 25, 2010, 06:54:58 pm »
Thanks fish_stix

Offline CountryBee

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Re: African mixed bees?
« Reply #25 on: August 25, 2010, 07:22:59 pm »
Does anyone know how I can buy a queen to fix the "hot" hive?  I have emailed everyone but no one is responding, maybe they don't need money.  They must only work on weekends?   :-D

Offline sarafina

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Re: African mixed bees?
« Reply #26 on: August 25, 2010, 08:02:13 pm »
Try Walter Kelly

Walter Kelly

I re-queened a hot hive with one of their queens and it calmed down in about 4 weeks.

What are you wearing for protection that you keep getting stung and end up in the ER?  I have not been stung since getting an Ultra Breeze suit last summer.  I know nothing is sting-proof, but going a year w/o a sting is pretty darn good.   :-D

Offline Highlandsfreedom

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Re: African mixed bees?
« Reply #27 on: August 25, 2010, 08:11:15 pm »
Try Walter Kelly

Walter Kelly

I re-queened a hot hive with one of their queens and it calmed down in about 4 weeks.

What are you wearing for protection that you keep getting stung and end up in the ER?  I have not been stung since getting an Ultra Breeze suit last summer.  I know nothing is sting-proof, but going a year w/o a sting is pretty darn good.   :-D

And you beeing in Houston how does it work around Aug?
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Offline CountryBee

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Re: African mixed bees?
« Reply #28 on: August 25, 2010, 08:13:33 pm »
Commercial hoody with the shoulder length leather gloves (with the mesh vents) and a square veil with hard plastic hat tied.  They keep coming at you by a hundred and one or two gets under the veil and one sting.... emergency room. :(  If the hive sees your shadow by their entrance they come out, it is amazing!  When my dad foamed  their entrance he did it at night in the rain and I held the spotlight all the way at the house (200 ft away) and the bees came all the way to the house!  WOW, they get mad!  So I just have not seen a hive like this before and I don't want anyone to get hurt.

Offline CountryBee

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Re: African mixed bees?
« Reply #29 on: August 25, 2010, 08:15:32 pm »
If dad kills the queen, and puts in a new queen, will they have enough time to calm down with new brood and bees?

Online Kathyp

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Re: African mixed bees?
« Reply #30 on: August 25, 2010, 08:52:44 pm »
you need to get a full suit with the attached hood.  the hat and veil combo is good for catching bees....inside it. 
Someone really ought to tell them that the world of Ayn Rand?s novel was not meant to be aspirational.

Online Kathyp

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Re: African mixed bees?
« Reply #31 on: August 25, 2010, 08:54:24 pm »
BTW...bees go for light.  next time try it without the spot   :-D
Someone really ought to tell them that the world of Ayn Rand?s novel was not meant to be aspirational.

Offline CountryBee

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Re: African mixed bees?
« Reply #32 on: August 25, 2010, 09:07:16 pm »
It was pitch dark out. :-D

Offline sarafina

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Re: African mixed bees?
« Reply #33 on: August 25, 2010, 09:42:15 pm »
Try Walter Kelly

Walter Kelly

I re-queened a hot hive with one of their queens and it calmed down in about 4 weeks.

What are you wearing for protection that you keep getting stung and end up in the ER?  I have not been stung since getting an Ultra Breeze suit last summer.  I know nothing is sting-proof, but going a year w/o a sting is pretty darn good.   :-D

And you beeing in Houston how does it work around Aug?

LOL - NOTHING is comfortable in August!  But the Ultra Breeze suit is the best I have found - it is 3 layers of mesh so the air flows through it but the girls can't get their stingers in (so far).  The middle layer is interesting - kind of a thin rubbery layer with larger holes and the outer and inner layer is a finer mesh.

Offline sarafina

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Re: African mixed bees?
« Reply #34 on: August 25, 2010, 09:44:43 pm »
I agree with kathy - get a FULL SUIT if you are that allergic!

I ended up at the doc's office with multiple stings (too many to count) wearing a jacket and veil that they were able to get under.  I went the next day for a shot so I could see to go back to work sooner - not life-threatening for me.

Offline sarafina

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Re: African mixed bees?
« Reply #35 on: August 25, 2010, 09:49:21 pm »
If dad kills the queen, and puts in a new queen, will they have enough time to calm down with new brood and bees?

Hopefully someone from your area will chime in.  I think I re-queened in July last year but we don't see winter until Dec down here (if then) and my bees fly pretty much year-round except for the occasional cold snap and only cluster at night.  It will definitely set your hive back but you don't have too many alternatives at this point and if you lose them then all you lost were mean bees you didn't want anyway - at least you can say you tried to save them.

Offline Apis_M_Rescue

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Re: African mixed bees?
« Reply #36 on: August 26, 2010, 02:13:34 am »
Yes white light is like a bee lure. Try a flashlight w/ red filter as red light isn't seen by bees. Also shadows activate some bees & if possible work those bees from behind their entrance & w/o casting a shadow over em. Also does anyone spray Fischers Bee-Quick on their suit & veil to any effect?

Hope a requeening gets em settled down, good luck.

Cheers, David S
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Offline Jim134

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Re: African mixed bees?
« Reply #37 on: August 26, 2010, 06:31:49 am »
You can send the bees to    


United States Department Agriculture in MD.

Bee Research Laboratory
Bldg. 476, BARC-East
Beltsville, MD 20705
(301) 504-8821


    BEE HAPPY Jim 134 :)


http://www.ba.ars.usda.gov/psi/brl/directs.htm

http://www.ba.ars.usda.gov/psi/brl/highlights.htm

:? Have you send bees to the lab for a DNA testing  :?  At United States Department Agriculture it is free all it costs to you is shipping to Beltsville, MD


  
It was pitch dark out. :-D

 
   Good bees will not fly in the dark but will crawl. (no full moon light) If you are going to use a light use a red fiter only it. It is hard for bee to see in red light.I hope this will help you out  


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Offline CountryBee

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Re: African mixed bees?
« Reply #38 on: August 26, 2010, 07:33:47 am »
Now I am waiting for my final results for my allergic reaction test to come back!  To see if I can keep my bees. :'(

Offline gundalf

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Re: African mixed bees?
« Reply #39 on: August 26, 2010, 09:50:50 am »
After living in the desert southwest for 20 years, I've found that Africanized bees are not that much more aggressive unless they are mishandled and according to research in the area, their sting is less nasty than a non AHB, they just sting as a team...   So instead of getting a few stings you get a few dozen stings...   Those who died, were people with no bee knowledge who panicked and had no where to hide...   All bees in the southwest are now Africanized, and they still make a load of mesquite and catclaw honey there...   Yummy...   Go for a better suit, wear long shirt and pants underneath and requeen   I just got a new Italian from Kelley in Ky. last week, no problems...   Looks like you have developed an allergy, your Dr can prescribe a protective pen/pin that will prevent the reaction if you get stung...    Good luck... 
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