These bees seem very HOT!

[IndianaHoney]

I'm not sure who the beekeepers are in this video, but do these bees seem to be a little too HOT? I can't tell if they're stinging the beekeeper's suits, but look at the way they attack the camera.

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-5106409524033235587

[loggermike]

Only watched a little, but no smoke, and wearing gloves is a bad combo.P.O's the bees and the sting scent gets the whole yard in an uproar. Seen it too many times.

[idav5d]

That's Dee Lutsby of Organic/Small Cell fame. They're not using smoke because they're making splits and want to keep the nurse bees on the brood,rather than drive them off...

[alpha6]

Yeah...strong hives and no smoke, its no wonder the bees are a little hopped up.

[jesuslives31548]

I agree with the gloves. But to be honest, I have a yard down deep on the edge of a swamp thats HOT. But they are some HONEY producing Girls. I average 110- 130 LBS off each hive with 3 deep 6 5/8 brood chambers and could not keep supers on them fast enough. Also the yard Im talking about all came from splits from swarm traps dep in the same swamp area. I really think we are messing up with all the BREEDING. Thats just my personal Soap Box............Merry Christmas Everyone

[loggermike]

Not to argue, but it looks like the bees are doing a pretty good job of leaving the combs by themselves:)
A little smoke here and there(not so much as to drive them) would make that whole scene much more pleasant. Unless they are Africanized, which I hear are so nervous that they don't respond too well to smoke anyway.No experience with those critters.

[beemandan]

They're not using smoke ...

In the opening sequence the beekeeper has a lit smoker and puffs smoke into the hive he just opened.......

[tecumseh]

indiana writes:
but look at the way they attack the camera.

tecumseh:
I don't do cameras myself. I have been informed that the lens is attractive to bees (I would suspect the refective glare of the camera lens) and that now some of the electronics in a camera can be an issue.

[idav5d]

In the opening sequence the beekeeper has a lit smoker and puffs smoke into the hive he just opened.......If you watch the whole thing, and the next one from the website...... Aw, nevermind!:rolleyes:

[Bizzybee]

I have a couple in outyards that would make those look like little angels. And no, they aren't africanized.

[loggermike]

Quote from:
http://searchwarp.com/swa274049.htm

"The Arizona Beekeepers Association has been especially vocal about the Killer Bee hype.

"There are many distortions. The Africanized bee is not new in this country - it's been here for decades," said Dee Lusby, president. "Killer bees are a hyped-up scam foisted on the public to sell papers and milk federal research dollars.

The Arizona group calls the "killer bee" crisis "imaginary," "baloney," and "an international fraud." This group is engaged in a breeding program which they say will eventually produce a mellower AHB."

HUH??

[deknow]

The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Beekeeping
edited by Roger Morse and Ted Hooper

p230
"it is known that sperm from africanized bees was introduced into the united states and used to inseminate local queens in the late 1960's, without apparent adverse effect, and it is likely that queens were earlier introduced from africa into north america, again without problems."

deknow

[deknow]

...and from the article you cited above:

In truth, scientists assure us that Africanized bees have lived quietly in the United States for at least 40 years, and perhaps as long as 150 years. These bees, ascendants of the same group that has been flying north from South America, arrived a tad sooner, compliments of the U.S. mail and the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

This is public knowledge, but it did not create a stir because at that time no one referred to them as Killer Bees.

The USDA says that the bee lab in Baton Rouge, LA, received Africanized bee semen from Brazil in the late 1950s and made the offspring available to beekeepers throughout the US .

In fact, Africanized bees were mixing with common bees in the United States as early as the mid-1800s, according to a 1973 article in Bee World, citing bee breeders who brought them over from Africa to mix with domestic hives.

[deknow]

so, no....we did not have to wait for the ahb to march here from brazil...they were brought here for the same reason they were brought to brazil...to improve the genetic stock.

see:
http://www.tucsonweekly.com/tw/12-19-96/cover.htm

deknow

[swabby]

I watched about half the video .My wife and I try to be gentle and not smash bee's with rough handling. What the hey ,these folks have to be killing bee's and setting off alarms.
My take would be as a newbie ,this is NOT the way to work bee's. JMO
:no:

[loggermike]

>>>"it is known that sperm from africanized bees was introduced into the united states and used to inseminate local queens in the late 1960's, without apparent adverse effect, and it is likely that queens were earlier introduced from africa into north america, again without problems."

I can remember old timers who got some of that stock (I believe it was supposed to be a better alfalfa pollinator) telling me of BIG problems with these hives collapsing in cold weather. Of course this wouldn't be a problem in a warmer climate.

[deknow]

a few notes about the video:

1. the 2 things that really seemed to set the bees off were the camera (some combo of color, vibration, and lens glare i expect), and my shoes (which were dark brown nylon weave). the shoe problem disappeared when i switched to sneakers.

2. as mentioned before (and observable to anyone who wishes to view more than the first 2 min), smoke was hardly used in the hives...mostly used on us. keeping the nurse bees with the brood was of paramount importance in doing walk away splits (especially when no effort is made to locate the queen).

3. these are "working videos". these were not staged. the main purpose of being in these yards was to do work. we had enough hands so i was able to shoot...but we had no "budget" (of time or money) to be at the yards simply to film, or to "prepare" yards, or to "preinspect" the hives.

4. purposely, these videos are unedited. we could do a video of the "best hives", of the "worst hives"...if we had done "average hives", how would the viewer know that they were indeed average? these videos are of entire yards, from one end to the other. the mendoza video i did shut off the camera between hives, but not the north kings. when you watch a fishing show on tv, you only see them catching fish...and one wonders what is going on the rest of the time. this is why these videos are unedited and unstaged.

5. wrt how the bees are treated...this is a commercial operation, and is not migratory. there is no "pollination fee" in the accounting, only what the honey is sold for. getting maximum honey production is of prime importance, and helping these colonies build up numbers to get the honey is the goal. losing a few bees to being smooshed (or stinging) goes with the territory. we were generally going through about 100 hives a day, some of which were more than a 2 hour drive to get to. doing this fast is important when you are looking at these numbers...and getting to one extra yard before sunset saves/earns a tangible dollar figure.

6. also, please note that these bees see no one (but cows) except for maybe 5-6 times a year...where they generally see only one person. cows like to scratch themselves on the hives. cows like to knock them over for honey/pollen. cows are often seen with cacti hanging off their mouths and rear ends. any hive that does not drive off a cow before it knocks the hive over is at a serious disadvantage...and one could say that dee is "breeding cow resistant bees".

neither my wife nor i are real "risk takers". we don't bungie jump, we don't go more than a few feet up on ladders. the bees hitting the camera is dramatic, but once used to the "vibe", it was not scary. in filming, i was much more concerned about stepping on a cactus than of the bees.

we are also going back for more...if that's any indication of how "scary" this experience was.

deknow

[Gregg]

Couple of comments on this video:

Swabby, when working a lot of bees (commercial scale), you can't take the time to really avoid squashing some bees, it happens. I see no problem with how they handle the bees.

I agree with loggermike, a little smoke is not going to drive the nurse bees off the brood, and would go a long ways towards controlling them a little more. I have to laugh when the guy running the camera comments several times about how there are so many bees in the air, yet they aren't "attacking". I'd like to see how long they would last, doing that kind of work and not using smoke, without wearing gloves.

[loggermike]

Well, all beekeeping is local .And Dee knows her bees and what works for her. Like most commercials on here, we work through a lot of hives in a day.Gotta gitter done,ya know! When our bees are out in the forest, we can get a little rough with them if need be. But when they are close to people and houses(this is California) we cannot afford to let a yard get riled up.There are farmers around the bees and they all think our bees are "nice". I want to keep it that way.
Got to add: When we pull honey in a dearth here, our nice bees turn into bloodthirsty maniacs.Thats when we REALLY run!

[IndianaHoney]

No, I wasn't saying that they were AHB. My understanding is that AHB would far more defensive than what is shown there. I just simply thought they seemed a bit to hot for most beeks.

I was unaware that this was Dee Lusby. If I had been aware, I would not have started this thread due to the claims that she keeps AHBs. Which I don't think is the case.

[Scott J.]

In July of 2006 I met the Lusby's. I spent three days with them. Very gracious and willing to share information with me. Not everything they did was going to work because of the way I manage my bees and due to their climate and mine. Compared to my bees, theirs would leave the comb and fly around you. The bees were not threatening in any way though. They seemed more curious of you. We worked the hives with just half jackets and no gloves. At the time we were pulling honey. I did take one sting on one of my hands after trapping her picking up a box. If a person gets the chance to spend some time with Dee I think they would come away with some very beneficial information on how to keep bees regardless if you buy into SC or not. She has some very practical way of doing things.

[NashBeek]

Deknow;
I would like to know what protective clothing was being worn, it looked well adapted for the task.

[deknow]

Deknow;
I would like to know what protective clothing was being worn, it looked well adapted for the task.
nothing fancy...
dadant inspectors jacket
rubber dishwashing gloves
white painters pants from walmart

deknow

[NashBeek]

Thanks alot
Lee