I always seem to find people who have decided not to smoke bees. You really should. Here are some of the mistakes that lead people to this conclusion.
o People have the smoker too hot and burn the bees with the flame thrower they are wielding
o People use far too much smoke causing a general panic instead of simply interfering with the alarm pheromone. One puff in the door is enough. Another on the top if they look excited is ok and after that having it lit and setting nearby is usually sufficient.
o People don't light the smoker because they think smoke upsets the bees, probably because of one of the above reasons.
o People blow the smoke in and immediately open the hive. If you wait a minute the reaction will be completely different. If you’re doing something not too time consuming, like filling frame feeders or something, it’s a good plan to smoke the next hive before you open this one. That way the minute will be up when you open that one.
o People don’t smoke because they have the idea that it is either bad for the bees or somehow unnatural. Their exposure is only a puff or two once every week or two. People have been smoking bees for at least 8,000 years that we have documented for one very good reason. Nothing works better at calming them and keeping them calm is much less stressful for them. This is obvious by the fact that the calming effect of smoke wears off in 10 to 30 minutes while the effect of getting them really irate lasts sometimes for weeks and almost always for days.
I saw this frenzy going on and turned the cover over to block the entrance. They were doing this same thing before I blocked it. They would pile up until they would fall in clumps. I slowed it down to try to see it better.
I have fallen behind on posting. I work 40 hours a week and then try to keep up with bees, so I've fallen behind on my posts most everywhere including here. I'm feeling my age. For the first time I find myself thinking that 8 frame medium boxes full of honey are too heavy. And the 8 and 9 frame "queen castle" mating nucs are also getting too heavy. You would think this constant increase in the pull of gravity would have people concerned...
Last year I had an apprentice, which helped a lot on getting bee work done. We raised a lot of batches of queens, but did not have very good returns. Some of that is probably weather, some is probably predators (dragonflies etc.). Some of it, I think is that the dividers on my mating nucs are deteriorating and queens are getting killed by the neighbors. The corners at the top are getting chewed out. I hope to get enough help, between apprentices and Bee Camp, to build some separate 3 medium frame mating nucs. We will see. It's that or ...
https://bushfarms.com/beescamp.htm
Bee Camp dates: 22-26 May 2025 (arriving 21 May leaving 27 May)
(Work week will be 17-21 May 2025 arriving May 16))
Location: Nehawka, Nebraska 68413(45 miles south of Omaha Eppley Airport)
Cost: $1,000 ($100 non-refundable deposit. $900 on arrival) or if you do work week, just the $100 deposit.
Accommodations: meals and camping in a tipi provided. I highly recommend staying in the camp. If you don't you will miss a lot of the camaraderie, but Hotel or Glamping (glamour camping) are available in the area at the cost of the camper and the camper is responsible for arrangements.
Weather permitting we will be doing bee things for at least 4 hours a day, usually more like 12 and other activities the rest of the day.
I guess this is a clear sign I don't post here enough. You can still see my last post on last year's camp. Last year was another great year. A lot of fun, a lot of camaraderie and a lot of new friends. Here's my...
New member looking to meet local natural beekeepers: anyone in/near Central Massachusetts?
I just got started with a langstroth hive this summer, planning to build a top bar hive and swarm traps for the spring. I am a decent carpenter; would be fun to collaborate and build some hives together with others in the area.
