This irritability-with-each-other observation by Micheal (see email trail
below) is extraordinary. Is anyone else seeing that?
It sounds like an environmental factor, maybe a new pesticide's side effects.
I have heard that bees get grumpy when they feast on Oil Seed Rape. Do you folk
with bees that are grumpy this year have OSR in bloom near you? There is plenty
up my way but I think it is 3+ miles away, thenormal limit of foraging, so my
bees haven't spotted it yet which would explain why they have not become
over-defensive.
(I've asked other beekeepers why OSR should make bees bad tempered. They don't
know, but guess that this bit of lore is because sometimes migratory beekeepers
move their hives to areas where there is ONLY OSR to eat, and maybe bees get
bored of a mono-diet.)
Your honey crop can vary enormously from year to year because farmers rotate
crops, so this year you could get a huge OSR honey crop, when last year it was
just wheat near you.
Paul
‐‐‐‐‐‐‐ Original Message ‐‐‐‐‐‐‐
On Tuesday, 23 April 2019 21:01, Michael King <kingmichael845@xxxxxxxxx> wrote:
Likewise, one of my hives that has previously been ultra calm, has started
this season in very bad temper. The Queen was born, and successfully
established, last year; so I don't think there has been a change there that
would account for the mood swing.
I used to be able to sit in front of this hive and watch the comings and
goings without any protection. Last year they were even content for me to put
my nose right up to the entrance and smell if things were right.
They now attack without provocation. Yesterday I entered the apiary and was
immediately stung just above the eye whilst still several metres away. (That
has now swollen to monstrous proportions, which is a little inconvenient as I
am giving evidence in Parliament tomorrow.)
The interesting thing is that their irritability seems to be with each other,
as much as with intruders. There are constant angry skirmishes from the guard
bees every time a bee leaves or enters (and these are returning foragers with
pollen, not robbers).
Overall their behaviour is skittish and the sounds they are making are quite
different to usual. Rather than the blissful hum of contented bees, it sounds
more like the high pitched notes of angry flies around the entrance.
Everything else is normal. They are in good health, building up strongly, and
have plenty of stores.
All very odd, but surprisingly similar to what others are reporting.
Best regards
Mick (in Warwickshire)
On 23 Apr 2019 18:39, "Oxnatbees" <oxnatbees@xxxxxxxxx> wrote:
It may be the weather. Bees get anxious when it is about to rain / thunder,
and it feels rather like that here.
In general bees which have swarmed are really nice... too nice to judge
their real character. At first, you see, they have nothing to protect in
their new home. It generally takes about a week for them to settle down and
have brood and comb and stores to defend, and only then d you learn their
true demeanour.
I have been wondering about my own bees, one hive seems more defensive than
usual since it re-activated in Spring. I've been thinking about this. I note
that I just added a box to that hive without trouble, probably because I
lifted the entire 3 boxes already there as one unit and never broke the nest
up, just confused them a bit. (Note: I would have difficulty lifting just 2
boxes if they were full of honey! I'm not some kind of muscleman.) I have
also done observations on them without protection. I think my memory is
selectively exaggerating the bad events when I got buzzed by guards (like
mowing the other day, or standing in the bee line of their busy entrance
while gardening) and forgetting the more numerous OK ones. This cognitive
bias can confuse matters.
Anyhow that's my bees. Yours may differ.
Lynne points out wasps seem quite active now. I'm not sure if they raid
hives in Spring - I know they do at the end of Autumn. That could be a
stressor.
Paul
On Tue, 23 Apr 2019 at 17:07, Dawn Gosling <magikmum49@xxxxxxxxx> wrote:
Do you know ( I'm a bit of a dreamer) but think they are not aggressive but
checking you out. If they are a little insecure they may just be seeking
comfort in someone they know???
Ready for ridicule now be gentle:))
On Tue, 23 Apr 2019, 15:47 Marc Sheikh, <marc.sheikh@xxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
Hi Gilliane,
Interesting you have noticed increased aggression, I have also had the
same experience the last couple of weeks. I’ve also noticed quite a few
hornets and wasps around and had assumed it was spike in competitive
activity due to the increase in temperature which has put the bees up to
deathcon 5. I have the stings to prove it which has not been an issue in
the past...
Regards
Marc
On 23 Apr 2019, at 15:05, Gilliane Sills
<dmarc-noreply-outsider@xxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
The bees in my hive swarmed some time over the weekend - we came back
from a sailing trip yesterday to find them in a bush - a big swarm.
Richard helped me get them off the bush into a box and I hived them
yesterday evening. I shan't know for a couple of days whether they've
settled in the new hive, but I'm keeping my fingers crossed. The colony
had seemed very vigorous earlier, I thought I'd seen drones, and the
parent colony had swarmed last year early in May so I was half expecting
that they'd swarm soon this year.
One thing that surprised me is that they were more aggressive when I was
hiving them than the parent colony has ever been. I shook the box on to
a white sheet in front of the hive and they started going in immediately,
but quite a few bees buzzed noisily round me, clearly trying to get at my
face. Does anyone have any thoughts why this might have been?
Best wishes
Gilliane
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