The saga of bad bees turned good

[babsbag]

I went to check on another hive today; they are going in to their second winter. They have 3 deeps and a honey super. Honey super is empty, very little drawn comb. The bottom 2 deeps are full of bees and honey, but the top deep is the one where I met the bad bees. Most of the box was empty; two frames had been drawn out a little, but in between the frames was some beautifully drawn comb, covered in bees. It looked like comb you see in the wild, curve bottom and all and the cells were quite large, like drone comb.

I decided that they didn't need that comb there and I was going to take the box off for winter, and the empty honey super, but when I started to mess with the comb oh boy did I stir up the proverbial hornets nest. They were MAD, no amount of smoke calmed them down. I have harvested honey and never had bees this mad. Of course one made it into my suit so here I am walking/running away from the hive and shedding clothes as I go as I can hear the bee in my shirt. My friend whose house I was at was yelling and asking if I was ok...not. I finally got far enough away that they stopped the pursuit and I only got stung twice.

Of course I had to go back and put the hive back together. I did not take the boxes, I just sat them back on the hive and got the heck out of there. I have never had bees that mad. They seem to be a really strong hive so hoping they make it through the winter; I was going to do a mite treatment...maybe in a few weeks.

They will be re-queened in the spring and hopefully an attitude adjustment will be the outcome of that. Not looking forward to the re-queening. If all my hives were that cantankerous I would not own bees.

 

[bloonskiller911]

I hate aggressive hives, but at the same time, they seem to bee the best honey producers. I always leave my "mean" hives to mess with on absolutely perfect days, you know the days that you would rather do something else.

 

[Happy Chooks]

I hate aggressive hives, but at the same time, they seem to bee the best honey producers. I always leave my "mean" hives to mess with on absolutely perfect days, you know the days that you would rather do something else.

I have heard the same about aggressive hives having the strongest honey flow.

 

[babsbag]

They are a very strong hive that is for sure. I am looking at a one piece suit to buy instead of just a jacket. Those little sneaky things manage to get in the jacket somehow. But I want a ventilated suit and it is $$$

 

[bloonskiller911]

I bet. I don't use anything at the moment, I just get stung often!! I am really thinking of getting a veil though. Bees really do seem to be attracted to dark colors and by hair and facial hair are both black so I always s get stung in the hair line or around my mouth! I try to remember to wear all neutral colors and my gray hat and a hanky over my mouth.

 

[Buzz'n Billy]

If there is no honey flow or pollen bees can become very defensive. These same bees can be very gentle when the spring rolls around and there's plenty of work to be done. Wide berth and a good spring plan seem to be the way to go.

 

[babsbag]

It has been a year and I checked on those nasty bees today. They were not dead, which surprised me and they were not mean which was nice. I went all the way through the boxes and very little brood and on the first go around, no queen. Unfortunately I found her later, injured, so now dead. I had frames out all over the place, the bees had been making comb between the frames as well as gluing every frame to the frame below it. I hadn't been in the bottom of that hive in 2 years so it was very well glued together. The queen was laying so poorly that it is probably good that she is gone, at least there won't be a battle when I install the new one.

I am taking a new queen to the hive tomorrow. We won't get any frost for probably another 1.5 months or more so their should be some plants for them and I will feed them. They have alfalfa in bloom near them right now.

I treated with Hopguard and cleaned up stray wax and propolis while my DH did smoker duty. The bees were not aggressive at all. They were bringing in pollen which was good to see. I also rearranged the hive, filled the bottom deep with brood and honey, 2nd deep - honey, 3rd deep - honey and empty frames. The super had a little honey but not much considering the size of the hive; I just left it. This CA drought is really doing a number on the honey. The queen was not the queen I installed in the hive, she was not marked. I requeened that hive in the fall of 2013 with a marked queen. Perhaps last year they were queenless when they were so mean and they were waiting for a new queen to emerge. Either way it was nice to have pleasant bees.

Hoping the new queen starts laying at least enough for some winter bees. I have some pollen patties I will put in there tomorrow too. This hive is now 3 years old and has never been treated for mites. They should be dead, but they aren't. And yet the hives at my house didn't even make it for 6 months. ???

 

[Happy Chooks]

Maybe you should leave the bees in your yard alone for a year.

Seriously, it sounds like it was a productive day. I'm glad the bees aren't mean anymore. I hope your new queen gets a good start and lays well for you. Maybe you can split them in the spring and replenish the hive at your house.

 

[Latestarter]

WOW, so glad things have changed for the better with that hive! What a difference a year makes huh? You're using 3 deeps then super(s)? That's a lot of weight to be jostling around. I can understand why you don't want to mess with them yourself. Have you considered downsizing to 8 frame deeps, or maybe just using all mediums for brood boxes? I've heard of a lot of older bee keepers doing either or both... Good luck with the re-queening!

 

[babsbag]

I have thought of 8 frame hives but I have all screened bottom boards for 10 and not in the mood to remake them right now. I don't usually use 3 deeps but 2 years ago this hive was bursting at the seams and I wanted to give them lots of room. Today I left it that way even though they were about 5 empty frames in the top deep, I didn't want to take the honey and I didn't want to leave empty spaces so I left it with three. The honey super had a few frames of honey too and I may take it the end of Oct.. We'll see.