ocba AT lists.ibiblio.org
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
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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: |
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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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