Nice hive stands btw. Possibly enviormental (something irritating them all night like skunks?) Maybe your new yard has some critters your old one didnt?
Also noticed you have entrances pointing dirrectly toward you, you have no choice but to be directly in the flight path, why not spin them around?
Just what i noticed

 

Thank you for the complement on the hive stands! As for direction, I was always told they need to point south so I've always done that. Second nature now. Plus, if I turn them around their entry will be susceptible to the strong, cold, winter winds of Maine.

 

That thicket doesn't block most of the wind if they're turned around 180 degrees?

It doesn't matter at all which way they're pointing. People have all sorts of bad superstitions when it comes to bees. I've got a bunch of them facing right into the teeth of our NW winter winds here in Iowa with absolutely no wind break (but I do always have reduced entrances year-round). It might not be as bad as Maine, but we get down well below zero and sometimes have several days where the highs don't go above zero. And windchills in the -40 to -60 degree range it seems at least once per winter. They don't seem to do any worse than the ones pointing south.

Regarding mowing, probably just late summer angsty bees. Regarding goldenrod, the early goldenrod usually doesn't produce much nectar. The varieties that bloom a little later usually make some nectar.

 

Ill take 8 of those stands, just drop them off the next time your passing through central PA, you can have my cinderblocks in exchange

 

This time of the year the bees are rather feisty and protective. I have the same issue. I now wear my bee suit and have no issues.

 

Hi Bob,
As others have mentioned, you might have a critter bothering them, but I would guess that your flow is down to a trickle, especially if you have not had recent rains or are in drought conditions.
It is also getting close to that time of year when the most gentle bees get defensive about all that honey they worked their wings off for.
They will settle down again with some rain and plentiful goldenrod, aster, joe pye, etc J

 

Hi Bob,
As others have mentioned, you might have a critter bothering them, but I would guess that your flow is down to a trickle, especially if you have not had recent rains or are in drought conditions.
It is also getting close to that time of year when the most gentle bees get defensive about all that honey they worked their wings off for.
They will settle down again with some rain and plentiful goldenrod, aster, joe pye, etc J

Well maybe. I just don't know. I know the first of the goldenrod is everywhere and I can smell my hives from 30 feet! LOL! Super heavy traffic coming and going from all 9 hives. OK, maybe I'll just shut up and use it as my excuse NOT to mow! LOL!

 

Maybe mow at sunset? There may be too much dew at sunrise.

 

Quit wearing that "Vote Biden" hat and they'll let you alone. 😁

 

If it becomes intolerable, put on your bee suit to mow slowly in front of them until you know which is the culprit, then re-queen from one of your more gentle bees.
Check for scratch marks from a predator on the bottom board near the entrance, first.

Alex

 

I seem to be able to get with 6 feet with the gas mower and then finish up with a Scott's push mower I trashed picked a few years ago. Seems to work but there's day when the girls are just in a bad mood and it's an excuse not to mow-like a clover flow!

 

Had a similar experience with my hives. Moved to a new place, mowed several times right up next to the hive...no problem. Third or fourth time got nailed multiple times and chased into the house. Went back out in my bee jacket and looked the hives over carefully and found scratches on the bottom board and first brood box. Also found scat that was full of bee husks. Looked like a skunk or racoon had been bothering them and that had made them extremely testy.

I took some rolled up chicken wire and set it on the ground directly in front of the hives. Read where critters don't like stepping through/into the wire to bother the hive. It seemed to work as the bees settled down fairly quickly. I'd say take a close look at the hives for scratches and/or for scat particularly since they're close to a thicket where it would be super easy for critters to get at them.

 

Bees are irritated by the smell of freshly mown grass. Even from the lawn mower, stones, garbage, etc. may fly. It is also possible that you have a period when there is no nectar in nature and the bees are additionally irritated due to theft. My advice is to mow in the evening. You can temporarily cover the hive with a screen. And of course in a suit and gloves. My peace-loving buckfast also does not like it when I mow the grass next to them.

 

Nice Yard!!! Have you considered that it may be just one ornery colony, a weak (getting robbed) or queen less one perhaps? Just a thought.

 

I mow around my bee hives in out yards. Always make the first cut as close to the beehives as possible spraying the mower spray away from the entrance. Go mow somewhere else, then make another cut, again away from the entrance. Give 5 minutes between your cuts in front of the hives. Bees absolutely do not like mowing clippings sprayed on their entrance. Always make cuts that spray away from hives and start close then go further and further away with time between your first cut so they settle down.
Bees also hate weed eaters. I use an electric one and can go pretty fast and then get away from the hives. A gas powered weed eater is a no no for me unless I really go fast. I do have a large gravely mower so can go faster than you could go. Put at least a jacket on. Bees will go to your breath for attacking first. Amount of guard bees will make a difference as well as other known factors. Mow when sunny and bees are out foraging.

 

Over the years, I've used my gas powered lawnmower to cut my yard. That included right up close and even under the hive stands from the front! Bees would crash into me or go around me but over 4 years, I think I got stung 2 times mowing the lawn.

Now I have a larger lawn at my new place and more hives. In the spring and early supper I could mow just like I used to at my old place. Right up and under the hives! But all of a sudden, starting about 5 weeks ago, if I get closer than 25 feet from the hives I get stung multiple times! In fact, one hive, when I'm moving it looks like someone is in the hive dumping buckets of bees out the entrance of the hive! I mean so many come out they are falling over each other!

So, I started staying 30+ feet away and it seemed to work until today. Today I was 70+ feet away from the hives when I felt a bee hit me. Then another and 2 or 3 more doing very close flybys. So, I let go of the lawnmower, it shut off and I walked away further from the hives. and a few followed me and kept buzzing me. So, I went in the house for about 10 minutes for them to settle down. They flew around the lawnmower for a few minutes and then they seemed to clear the area.

I cam out of the house and didn't even walk in the direction of the mower but I was heading in the direction I had already cut about 60 feet from the hives. Almost immediately I was getting head butted and buzzed so I let it be (no pun intended) and returned into the house.

Usually, in hot, sunny, summer weather they are so busy doing their thing I can do about what I want. But start that lawn mower and I become Public Enemy #1 to the bees! There are tons of bees come and going from the hives so I'm assuming they are getting pollen and nectar and water and so forth. Why are they bothering me?

Unfortunately I have enough hives that I can't tell which hive the bees are coming from this time. I wasn't all that close so they be from any of the 9 hives.

No aftershave, nice smelling soap or conditioner, no BO, nothing with a scent to attract them. For clothing I an wearing a light blue t-shirt and, as usual, a pair of blue-jeans (like the ones I wear when I work the hives and never have a problem.) and a brown baseball cap that I always wear. Is it just the pitch or frequency of the lawnmower? Oris it late enough the season they are getting defensive even though the goldenrod just burst..... View attachment 64976 View attachment 64976 View attachment 64976

 

I mow w/ a 6' front-mounted rider. I found that bees had a delayed reaction to the mower: they'd come out of 2-3 hives and attack if I went back and forth too much.

I rearranged the hives into 2 rows so that I can mow in front in a single pass, turn, and mow behind; then leave the area. No problems so far - 2+ months.

I also bush hog the area. Same reaction: if I stay close to the hives too long, bees come out and attack. The tractor and rider are orange diesels. Noise + vibration + fumes + color? Or just Orange Tractor Bad?

I have one hive that's hot. I suit up, smoke them*, and still they cover my suit and sting me through it. But they haven't yet attacked me on the tractors even though I mow under their hive.

*I rarely have to smoke any other hives.

 

I use a push mower with a bag attachment so no grass shoots out. I think that is what irritates them the most. I also start mowing furthest from the hive and moves towards them. If you start next to the hives and move outwards, you will have bees on you the entire time. I have too many obstacles to use a riding mower.

 

I mowed near my hive tonight. Closest pass first and then away from the hive for a few minutes. They didn't even seem to care.

 

Bees I've had in the past never cared. I could mow right under the hive stand and not a problem. Well, if I hit the stand they get a little agitated, but not much. This year, I can be pretty far away and come for me! I walk away and they fly around and crawl on the mower and bag for about 20 minutes. Before I had 2 hives. Now I have 9 operating. So, it's tough to figure out which one. And all of them are super strong so I don't feel the need to requeen. Maybe I'm wrong.

 

Yeah, I get to mow tomorrow, and I am really not looking forward to it. I have some rather testy girls right now in the main yard, secondary OAV treatments, dearth just letting up, and some queen issues which needed dealt with. I suspect the chances of getting through this operation with out a stinger or two, to be about the same odds as F5 tornado, ripping through a junkyard and assembling a Boeing 747-8. Probably isn’t going to happen and if it does, I don’t want to be on the maiden voyage.😉

 

I wonder if an Electric Mower would be better?

 

I believe a lot of it has to do frequency of the noise. I have one weed eater, I can fire up and weed eat all around the beehives. Then the gas bulb broke so I pulled out a commercial echo weed eater. The moment I started that thing, I had three hives on me.

 

I remain uncertain about any of the conclusions made on this thread. imho; I just think some bees are pissy (for a variety of mentioned reasons), while most don't seem to care....as long as you're not running into 'their' home. Pissy bees usually just need a queen change, as has been our personal experience. Its the only time we ever purposely kill a queen.

However, whenever we must mow the bee yard area it is generally done 'after' mowing other areas of our yard. We mow roughly 3 acres (around several gardens), but we never start at the bee yard. That seems to be asking for trouble, no? By the time we get around the bee yard perhaps our bees are just used to the noise? Just wondering....