Nasty bees need help calming them down

Beekeeping - Basics
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The past two months the bees have been really nasty. Anyone walking within 20 feet of the Flow Hive will get bitten. I use my suit and have been bitten through the suit! When I inspect the hive I have 30-50 bees trying to bite me. It is a war. When I first started a year ago the bees were calm and quiet. Is there anything I can do to calm them down?

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The only remedy I can think of is to re-queen the colony. Get a queen from someone who breeds queens with a good temperament.

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Pinch the queen yesterday and replace her with one from a reputable breeder!

Cheers
Rob

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Thank you so much for your comment, I am going to do as you suggested and get a new queen.

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Thanks so much for your help! I am going to do just that, get a new queen!

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Hi Jeff, where in PA are you? I’m in Montgomery County. Some parts of PA further out than where I am have more wildlife - like bears - that prowl around hives, making it necessary for the bees to be more defensive. Perhaps they’ve been warding off regular visitors and now mount the same strategy on whatever/whomever comes too close for comfort.

It is probably best to requeen, but I bring up the wildlife question in case you need to consider an electric fence around your hives to prevent future raiding attempts that will end up turning your new nice colony mean again.

PS - about being “bitten” by your bees, I know you might be just using a common expression, but now that you’re a beekeeper it’s better to be accurate and say “stung” :wink:. If you were thinking they were biting you, I wanted to make sure you know that since they’re actually stinging you, you have a chance to mitigate the effects. Bees’ stingers are like two jagged needles attached to a small muscle and venom sac, so once the stinger points get into your skin the muscle pushes the ends in further with an up and down motion while pumping venom in - even after the bee herself has flown off or gotten swatted away. You can use the edge of your hive tool or a finger nail to scrape the stinger off before it finishes the job. The less venom in you, the less pain and swelling! Pardon my lecture if you already knew that! :innocent:

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Hello Eva, Thank you for your comments! I learned a lot from your post! I live in Montgomery County as well. In Collegeville so no bears near here. How long have you had your Flow Hive? I have had mine for two years and no honey yet.

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Sure thing! And we are practically neighbors! I’m not far from Fort Washington, so basically the same climate and critter population :smile:

I bought my first Flow hive during the Indiegogo campaign in 2015. I have since acquired 3 more (all now known as ‘classics’) from folks who changed their minds about theirs. I had my first harvest in my third season of beekeeping, so I know the feeling of wondering when it would all work out! There are so many factors involved in the outcome of a honey harvest, and a few more to consider when using a Flow super in places with cold winters, when the nectar flow is interrupted by cold weather and the bees have to stop everything and cluster to survive for several months.

There are some simple but important adjustments we have to make, but let me say it is well worth it and I wouldn’t have succeeded with so much lovely honey over the years, or with beekeeping itself without this forum. So, welcome and stick with us :honey_pot::honeybee:

I’m going to PM you in case you’d like to talk more :sunglasses:

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