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Subject: Orange County, NC Beekeepers
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- From: Randall Austin <ra41717 AT gmail.com>
- To: NC Beekeepers Orange County <ocba AT lists.ibiblio.org>
- Subject: Re: [ocba] Mean Bees
- Date: Tue, 28 Apr 2009 17:11:05 -0400
Mary Lou, Where did you get your bees? There is at least one big package supplier who operates out of Africanized bee territory. This time of year it is reasonable to expect your bees to be as gentle as lambs, unless, like Jeff says, you are messing with them during a thunderstorm or doing something else to aggravate them. Also, something else could be aggravating them that you don't know about --- skunks, teenagers, robber bees, etc. --- so they are ultra sensitive by the time you show up. But if you can rule all that out, you are left with the fact that bees are like people: some are sweet and some are worthless. Life is too short to tolerate mean bees --- put a new queen in your colony. Try to get one from somebody who includes gentleness in their breeding goals. Randall Jeff Bollinger wrote: 49F73D5E.5000909 AT email.unc.edu" type="cite">My bees have a reputation for being "mean", but there are so many factors to account for their "attitude". Weather is probably the biggest. I once went out in full suit right before a big electrical/thunderstorm and they lit me up all over my ankles! I think they can feel the static in the air and sense instability in the atmosphere. I have also been out when it was really cloudy/overcast and experienced the same thing. Other thing is smoke - I learned (after last year's excellent field day) that I was WAY oversmoking the bees. Be sure you're not filling the hive with smoke - just a little every now and then is enough to keep them calm-ish. Too much and they will get angry. Its also a good thing NOT to stand in front of the hive entrance unless there's a really good reason. I stand to the side or behind the hives when putting on feed or working inside the hive. If you're just putting on a feeder like a boardman/front feeder, you can do it quickly and not worry about getting stung unless you're making a big racket. For the internal style feeders, if you have to pull off the cover and start moving things around there's definitely a higher chance of getting stung. This is just one of the many reasons I exclusively use the front feeders (then again I have never had more than 3 hives at once). Jeff Lewis Cauble wrote:Mary Lou, It's hard to say from here if your bees are overly aggressive. It might be helpful if you could tell us what type of feeder you are using, where the bees came from, how large the hive is, and when the hive was established. It's no fun dealing with aggressive bees. Simply re-queening with a gentle queen should adjust the attitude of the hive. Lewis On Apr 27, 2009, at 9:24 PM, Mary Lou Bethune wrote:I am new to owing a hive and I am wondering if it is normal to get stung every( and several) time one goes to feed the bees? WE have the hood and gloves and cover up totally but still get stung( we just learned that they can sting through stretch pants). Thanks Mary Lou Bethune____________________________________________________________ Take your cooking skills to the next level. Find a cooking school near you! http://thirdpartyoffers.netzero.net/TGL2241/fc/BLSrjpYV33i7g94U4qml81UDWKnfXdY1kieMutd1zTMhcrH7wrBjfiXNyRS/ _______________________________________________ ocba mailing list North Carolina Beekeeping http://www.theocba.org/_______________________________________________ ocba mailing list North Carolina Beekeeping http://www.theocba.org/ |
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[ocba] swarm alert,
Lewis Cauble, 04/19/2009
- Re: [ocba] swarm alert, Lewis Cauble, 04/19/2009
- <Possible follow-up(s)>
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[ocba] swarm alert,
Lewis Cauble, 04/25/2009
- Re: [ocba] swarm alert, Tim Huntley, 04/26/2009
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Message not available
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[ocba] Mean Bees,
Lewis Cauble, 04/28/2009
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Re: [ocba] Mean Bees,
Jeff Bollinger, 04/28/2009
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Re: [ocba] Mean Bees,
Randall Austin, 04/28/2009
- Re: [ocba] Mean Bees, Elisabeth Curtis, 04/29/2009
- Re: [ocba] Mean Bees, Tom Wright, 04/29/2009
- Re: [ocba] Mean Bees, Lewis Cauble, 04/29/2009
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Re: [ocba] Mean Bees,
Randall Austin, 04/28/2009
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Re: [ocba] Mean Bees,
Jeff Bollinger, 04/28/2009
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[ocba] Mean Bees,
Lewis Cauble, 04/28/2009
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