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Subject: Orange County, NC Beekeepers

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Chronological Thread  
  • From: Alicia Reenders <a.reenders AT gmail.com>
  • To: Sean Woolcock <carrbarian AT gmail.com>
  • Cc: ocba AT lists.ibiblio.org
  • Subject: Re: [ocba] Hello the list!
  • Date: Mon, 12 Apr 2010 13:13:44 -0400

Hello! Sounds like interesting installations!

I wanted to add my story. I didn't get stung and must have a really mellow group. They didn't seem to pay much attention to me at all. I did have a hard time with the queen cage. I couldn't get any of the attendant bees to leave. Blowing on them made them huddle closer to the sugar cork. After 15 minutes, I felt like I was stressing them out and just hung the cage in there with attendants and all.

I probably should have left them, but checked the next day and all were still there, but one attendant was dead! I was concerned and tried to release them again. I'm afraid I may have released the queen, but it was hard to tell. I may have seen her crawl out of the cage and into the hive. Definitely didn't see her fly away, but I guess it's possible. I couldn't see her in the hive, and didn't want to stand there too long trying to see her in the queen cage, so I just hung it back and closed up the hive. I'll check it all out tomorrow, but I hope I haven't ruined things!

There's still plenty of bees around the hive, but they are flying a little erratically, and no one has pollen on them. Maybe they are just going for the syrup. We shall see! I will try to wait until tomorrow.

-Alicia

On Mon, Apr 12, 2010 at 12:23 PM, Sean Woolcock <carrbarian AT gmail.com> wrote:
This seems like a good thread for installation stories ...

I installed mine on Saturday and it went fine until four or five bees
were lured in by my magnificent beard.  I guess they got stuck,
because they were freaking out and two of them stung me on the chin.
I got another zap on the fingertip from trying to (gently) help them
out, and another one behind the ear.

None of the stings swelled much, and the pain was gone very quickly.

As a chiId I suffered a very bad swelling reaction to a bee sting
(hand like a goat's udder), but I've been hit many times since by
yellow-jackets and such without any problem. Still, I was a little
nervous that maybe I was just allergic to honeybee venom and not that
of other hymenoptera and that this was an idiotic pastime to be taking
up.  I was thinking about deliberately taking a sting on the arm so
that I would know my status before getting one nearer to my airways,
but the girls went with their own test which I'm thrilled to have
passed. :)

Sean
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