Mad Bee

[mike_c]

I was standing by my hives today (about 20 feet away) watching the activity, when all of the sudden a bee zoomed around my head a few times and then landed on my shoulder and stung me. What was that all about?

[clintonbemrose]

Sounds like she didn't like something you did or some smell that was on you like coffee or a smell like an alarm pheramone.
Clint

------------------
Clinton Bemrose
just South of Lansing Michigan

[BeeBear]

PMS

[ZEEBEE]

All the bees must be talking. The same thing happened to me yesterday!!
I was sitting by the hive minding my own business when all of a sudden one of those ungrateful @#@ flew over and nailed me on my forhead!! What gratitude....

[jfischer]

We call these "Kamakaz-bees".

They will "ping" right off your forehead,
(or veil, if you are wearing one) and give you "fair warning" that you have violated
their secure perimeter, and should retreat,
or face the consequences.

If you listen with care, these bees fly
at a faster speed, and hence make a
higher-pitched sound than all other bee
flight around the hive. Their intent is
to intimidate, NOT to sting, but they can,
after bouncing off your forehead, fall onto
you and may sting simply because they are stunned or confused by the impact.

If you have a very good ear and decent
reflexes, you can learn to cup your
hands, and clap with the edges of your
palms AROUND the bee as it approaches your
forehead. The air pressure from your "clap"
will stun the bee, and it will drop like a
rock. The bee will recover, but not for a
while. While some accuse me of performing a
jedi mind trick, I have searched for and shown them the stunned, but still living bee
in the grass.

Now, here's the weird thing. A hive that
lauches a Kamakaz-Bee sortie against you
will launch ONE bee at a time. If you stun
the bee as I described, the hive has no way
to know if you have been scared off or not,
but you will find that yet ANOTHER Kamakaz-Bee
will make a similar, if not identical run
at your forehead in roughly 3 mins from the
first.

All I can assume is that a hive assumes that
one will not be enough, and lauches such
sorties at regular intervals, with bees
"patroling" the hive area on some sort of
3 minute cycling schedule.

Not all hives do this. Hives "in shade"
tend to do it more often. Some hives
never do it. Some hives will do it every
time you approach that hive. My view is
that this is a form of "defensive" behavior
that I can tolerate, but one that I have
found can be eliminated (or introduced!) by requeening.

The "stun the bee" trick should be practiced
with louder, larger, slower-flying drones
before trying it with stinging worker bees,
for obvious reasons. Musical training, and
a "good ear" seems to be the critical factor,
as I had my sister doing this with style and
panache with a half hour of practice on
drones, but have been unable to teach a few
of the local teenagers I hire even after
several seasons.

...and yeah, they fly straight into your
forehead, just above the eyes. This target
area is the key to stunning the bee. You
know WHERE the bee will be in (x,y,z) space
around you, so the only estimate you need
to make is the position. There is a tiny
bit of doppler here, but mostly it is
nothing but "stereo perception" that lets
you perform the trick.

It is not hard. Any 5-year-old can catch
a ball when you throw it to him. You simply
need to learn to use your ears as you use
your eyes.

And when you learn to do it, you will be
a "Jedi Master Beekeeper". http://www.beesource.com/ubb/smile.gif

[mike_c]

Aren't you afraid the neighbors will see you? They won't see the bee, but they will see you clapping now and then...

[Tia]

jfisher, how interesting! I've been stung on the forehead--only once unprovoked--in that fashion three times in the past year. Sounds like a real talent to me--you gotta be fast--but I do hear them coming, so I'll try to practice on drones so next time I'll be prepared! Thanks!

[Michael Bush]

Is it my imagination or do the Russian bees seem to do this more?

[BULLSEYE BILL]

>Is it my imagination or do the Russian bees seem to do this more?


Mine did, but they also came in droves. Not anymore...

[jfischer]

Hives that launch consistent Kamakaz-Bee
sorties need to be requeened in my not-so
humble view.

I've never bothered with Russian bees,
so I can't say why they might do this
more often, or even if they do this more
often.

Neighbors? The mere fact that I open up
beehives defines me as completely batty
in the mind of anyone who might drive by,
but most of my hives are out-of-sight of
any road.

[Michael Bush]

I don't get stung a lot by the Russians, just head butted.

[JohnBeeMan]

One of my Russians head butted me just a few days ago - I thought it was a spring time kiss.

[sugar bandit #2]

>you can learn to cup your
hands, and clap with the edges of your
palms AROUND the bee as it approaches your
forehead.

I like to catch them in mid air with chopsticks and gently release them back at their hive entrance.

[BULLSEYE BILL]

>I like to catch them in mid air with chopsticks and gently release them back at their hive entrance.

Out here we like to use tiny lasso's, the real trick is to get them leg tied in under three seconds.

[Jason G in Tennessee]

Musical training, and
a "good ear" seems to be the critical factor,

Where do I get a good music trainer for my bees?? http://www.beesource.com/ubb/smile.gif
Jason

[Michael Bush]

I think I'm going to start a new business. I understand they now have "pet psychics" and "pet psychologists". Maybe I should become a "bee psychic" or a "bee psychologist". I could advise you on why your bees don't appreciate you and talk to them about their emotional problems of having such a mixed up family. I'm sure the drones have some severe emotional trauma from never having a father and the rest all lost their father before they were even layed, let alone hatched. Think of all the emotional issues I could try to resolve. I'm betting they will be much better behaved if they aren't "acting out" from all these emotional scars. Maybe I could talk to the hive after they swarmed and tell people why the other bees ran away from home.

I think there's a lot of potential for this field. What do you all think?

Of course I could also hire out as a bee trainer.

[Michael Bush]

Maybe Jim Fischer will let me advertise on his web site. http://www.beesource.com/ubb/smile.gif
http://www.bee-quick.com/bee-quick/rpt2/

[CherGarr]

I can never quite decide if you guys are totally crazy or if you're yanking my chain. If nothing else you're terribly amusing!

[Michael Bush]

>I can never quite decide if you guys are totally crazy or if you're yanking my chain. If nothing else you're terribly amusing!

If you look at the top of the "bee psychic" post you'll see a winking face. That should be the give away.

Jim, on the other hand, is entirely serious. http://www.beesource.com/ubb/wink.gif

[Hugevol]

Love the web site above...

perhaps the link should have been posted today.....Hmmm

April 1

[JayBee]

What would be a good shrub to plant in front of my hive in New England? I have a small yard and the kids will be out there. I don't want something too thick but I don't want the bees getting too agressive with the kids in the yard.

[jfischer]

> Maybe Jim Fischer will let me advertise
> on his web site.
> http://www.bee-quick.com/bee-quick/rpt2/

Not only yes, but >>> HECK, YES <<< !!!!

We'd love to have you do a write-up on
your "services" as the "bee whisperer".
If you don't speak HMTL, not to worry,
I'll have a henchman or lackey webbify
your stuff.

jim

[Michael Bush]

>We'd love to have you do a write-up on
your "services" as the "bee whisperer".

I love that name. And I was just going to be a bee psycologist. Or a bee phycic. But I could be a "bee whisperer". "the man who talks to bees". I love it. I just have to master talking bee, now.

[jfischer]

Well, if I am the "Jedi-Master Beekeeper",
you certainly can be the "Bee Whisperer".

Actually, "bee whispering" just might
calm bees down. I'd guess it would
depend more on how much garlic was
on the garlic bread in your lunch
than anything else, but if you blow
very softly on bees on a frame, they
do tend to calmly move aside...

Almost sunup, so I gotta go play
with my 1:1 scale Tonka Toys and
clear the driveway of stacked-up
bee stuff before church so the after-
church crowd has somewhere to
park for the traditional Sunday
brunch and gabfest.

That's right, I'm suffering from
"super stupor" this morning. http://www.beesource.com/ubb/smile.gif

[JohnBeeMan]

>I just have to master talking bee, now.

Maybe you could start by dancing in front of the hives. (:^)