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Suddenly aggressive

1.3K views 23 replies 9 participants last post by  In2organic  
#1 ·
Hello everyone,

I have decided not to buy any more bees for my apiary. I've learned how to use a double screen to make splits, which has made me feel more confident and safe with my bees. If it doesn’t work genetically, I can simply remove the double screen, put the hive back together, and try another colony or wait for more frames with brood and larvae.

Currently, I have nine hives. I'm using a single chamber setup with one deep and one super. So far, everything has been going well until last week when one of the hives became very aggressive. To help calm them down, I started feeding the hives, but that didn’t seem to work. Yesterday, I added a frame with brood and larvae to that aggressive hive, and I’ll check on them tomorrow.

I’m still trying a semi-organic method to control the mites, which includes using a single chamber, removing drone brood, breaking the egg cycles, and using Hopguard. However, I am concerned about breeding the same genetics repeatedly. I asked my bee buddy if we could exchange a nuc with each other every year, but eventually, her bees and mine will likely share the same genetics, right?

That's all for now!
Cindi
 
#2 ·
No you're bees are changing sll the time , your queens are mating from somewhere else, from a place far enough that your drones can't reach.
But you should get concerned about your way of reproduction because you're not culling, you should practice on selective queen rearing.
 
#3 ·
If your bees get aggressive, lots of smoke may slow them down. I'm not talking about blasting the hive with smoke. Instead lots of smoke above and around the hive and around you also will get them to back off. For aggressive hives, it seems you are doing considerable manipulation. The best way to handle a mean hive is to be in and out asap with minimal disturbance.
Hopgard? I'm not qualified to state an opinion on that but varroa rely on smell so it may work to confuse the mites. How about a drone frame in the second box so you know where to look to remove the drones?
Also, large hives will make several times the honey of smaller hives. If honey is your goal, you'll do better to stack the supers up on each hive. Fewer hives, fewer swarms, and more honey should be the results of so doing.
Good luck!
 
#8 ·
Last week, when I fogged the hives, one hive was very agressive even before I got started. Normally. II do not even have one bee hit my screen. Things happen.
 
#10 ·
Queenless, genetics, swarm prep, weather, overcrowded or very large, dearth, disease, pests (mites, hive beetles, skunk, etc.), bee keeper practices (killing bees between frames, using gloves, etc.) and any other stress issue can cause bees to be defensive. Some of these you can test for others take deeper/longer observations to determine, still others like bee keeper practices may escape us until someone else observes us and is knowledgeable enough (and willing) to point it out and correct us.

I remember the first time I got lit up, the week before they were calm and friendly. I went out, opened the lid and bam, they attacked. I took more than 50 stings before I made it back in the house with the hive laid open while I regrouped. I return 30 minutes later and told myself to stay calm and talked to the bees while I put it all back together. They didn't give me another problem (that day). I just had one colony back then, now I have 70 and every once in a while I will run into one of them that are like a hive of yellow jackets. Step one (if early enough in the season) is find the queen and begin the hive tool test. Step two, split them into two, or move them to a new location in the apiary and slide the closest colony over toward their location to catch the foragers.

I don't wear gloves for inspections until I get into one of these defensive colonies...
 
#12 ·
I tried to inspect the hive as soon as I opened the top cover, and they all came out from the inner cover hole to attack me, and I just hurried to feed them and then put the top cover back. I notice these 2 hives have a solid bottom; maybe it is too hot, will add a super tomorrow.
 
#11 ·
Down here in TX, Africanized swarms will just move into a weak hive and take over.
When I am requeening a really nasty hive, I have found that there comes a point when I am searching for the queen that they kind of give up and stop being as aggressive. Then they start back up in waves. One of the mean hives I requeened this year had at least 2 queens. If there were more, I didn’t find them. I split them 3 ways. Meaner than hell! And a liability. Luckily I am in the country and nothing around for them to murder.
 
#13 ·
There is no fun in working mean bees. The only trade off is sometimes they produce more honey, not worth it to me. In South East Missouri I don't think we have africanized hives, but they can be mean. Corey Stevens has kept bees in the same neighborhood as me and we agree, there is something about those bees that requeen in that area. Split and requeen is my way of dealing with them here.
 
#21 ·
Sounds like something that would be difficult to prove in court. Unless the beekeeper said outright they knew the bees were aggressive, they might be able to plead ignorance. But if you start documenting the bees’ behavior, there could probably be a case but might take time. Just keep reporting them maybe.
 
#20 ·
I don't wear gloves for inspections until I get into one of these defensive colonies...
[/QUOTE]
Pastorjimk!!!!!!
I live in Moody Texas!!!!! (U.S. Army Retired) I was on another thread about going gloveless, you wouldn't get far here doing that!!! About 3 years ago I had an Africanized hive in a Long Langstroph. I tried 6 months to find and "Ice" that queen. Then one day they just left!!!! That same hive has another colony now and they are really mean as well!!! The day before yesterday I went to add two frames of comb for them to clean up. Apparently, I didn't zip my veil all the way closed (I just did this about 4 months ago!!!) I wasn't in there 2 minutes (So, I didn't smoke them, I was just driving by and decide to do it) and next thing I know I have bees all over me and 5 in my veil. How do I know 5? Well because I had 5 stings (3 on the nose, two on my upper right lip!)!!!! I got about another dozen on the hands and back of my legs. I do feel great today though!!!!

Most of my mom's family live in Perryville!!!! My mom and all her brothers and sisters (All 16!!!) graduated from Perry High (And of course a slew of cousins as well!!!),!!!!!
They lived in Altenberg, Frohna, and Wittenberg and rode the bus to Perryville (What a ride!!!)
I saw your location on your Avatar and just wanted to say "Hey"!!!
 
#22 ·
Most of my mom's family live in Perryville!!!! My mom and all her brothers and sisters (All 16!!!) graduated from Perry High (And of course a slew of cousins as well!!!),!!!!!
They lived in Altenberg, Frohna, and Wittenberg and rode the bus to Perryville (What a ride!!!)
I saw your location on your Avatar and just wanted to say "Hey"!!!
So you know, it was in the Altenburg area that I had some bees a few years ago and every time they requeened, they got more defensive.
I am a Pastor in Perryville and have members down in Altenburg. There have been many big families here, my G. G. Grandpa had 21, Grandpa had 12, My wife and I have 12 kids also...