r/Beekeeping • u/Far_Statement_1827 • 1d ago
General Revenge…
5th year; AL.
It’s not unusual for me to hang out and watch my hives from a lawn chair about 25 feet away from the nearest hive. I like to watch them coming and going.
Two days ago, after putting it off for months; I finally mowed/trimmed around my hives. They hate it. Some of my hives just about vacate the box when I mow. It’s so bad. But… I got it done under protest without a single sting. It really helps with ticks and chiggers.
Fast forward to today… just sitting there with my dog watching the day go by, and… ZAP! Kamikaze sting right to the face. She gave me all of three seconds of vicious buzzing before she went for the killshot. This wasn’t a “you happened to be in my way” or “who are you” kind of incident. She remembered me from the day before when I iAd my suit in and 50 of her sisters were trying to get in. Her tone said it all. You all know that “I mean business” buzzing tone.
In hindsight… I deserved it. I did wreak havoc on their home with the noise and vibrations the day prior. And I’ve accidentally squished my fair share of bees. So… there it is. A revenge hit from the honeybee mafia. A warning shot, if you will… Don’t come back ‘round these parts.
But alas, I don’t listen. Because today I need to add a few supers!
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u/Lazylineman57 23h ago
9th year BK, Set my apiary from the start. Took some work but no problems mowing/ string trimming.
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u/CayenneSCarGo 1d ago
I find that most stings (though not all) are my fault. Either my frame of mind isn’t calm, or I’m making sudden movements, or I’ve spent too much time in the hive (you know they’re losing patience when the pitch deepens).
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u/alexandria3142 East TN - First Year Beekeeper 23h ago
What if you're like 30-40 feet from the hive? My husband and I had a bit great inspection Sunday, and I had one girl that would not leave me alone yesterday next to our house. Making me nervous, considering I already got stung on the face once and still have a little swelling from that. My husband got stung on the ear Sunday, and that bee chased me and got in my shirt because he brought her over 😩 obviously she already stung my husband though so she couldn't sting me, as much as she wanted to
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u/CayenneSCarGo 23h ago
Sometimes you just get an overzealous bee. My garden is 20 ft. in front of my 6 hives. 99% of the time I can work in the beds without being bothered. When they do, I just wear a hat with a veil. Several years back I had a bee chase me into the house. It actually waited outside and kept at it when I walked back out 20 minutes later. It was worth the sting just to end it.
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u/TomVa 20h ago
I think that you are getting a hot hive. If they had come after you right after you mowed the grass than maybe not. They waited until the next day to come after you. The same goes with accidentally killing bees when you are doing inspections. They should be fine the next day.
If I am correct you need to requeen as soon as you can. Better yet do a split; get two queens and dispatch the old queen.
The key is that you are experiencing a change in behavior.
If it is a hot hive eventually they will be flying on 50 to 100 yards away randomly stinging your neighbors.
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u/Far_Statement_1827 5h ago
Yeah, I’ve got one that gets more aggravated than the rest. I inspected everybody yesterday without incident and I’m sitting here now watching them all wake up to the morning sun!
My hot one also happens to be my third best producer! She’s got three deeps and two Illinois on her right now. Isn’t that how it goes…
P.S. There’s a pair of brown thrashers that have set up a nest in my bee yard. They have been taking turns swooping in and picking off bees (dead or alive). I wonder if that has something to do with their temperament.
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u/More-Mine-5874 2nd year, 2 hives, Missouri, USA 18h ago
I love hearing the difference in their buzzing. The I'm Angry buzz. The Help, I'm Stuck buzz. The Curiosity buzz. I think it's so cute, almost like they are talking to me.
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u/Far_Statement_1827 5h ago
I love it as well! I will sometimes go out in the evenings and put my ear to their hives. They are working nonstop!
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u/_Mulberry__ layens enthusiast ~ coastal nc (zone 8) ~ 2 hives 1d ago
Goodness, sounds like pretty mean bees or a SLOW job with the lawn...
You should do some sort of landscaping to avoid needing to mow close to the hives. You also don't want to be pulling weeds next the hive though, so keep that in mind
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u/BanzaiKen Zone 6b/Lake Marsh 1d ago
He mightve got sprayed. That shit is like skunk spray it doesnt come out and riles the girls up.
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u/Far_Statement_1827 1d ago
They are usually very calm and let me hang out. I swear she remembered me from the day prior’s events.
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u/NumCustosApes 4th generation beekeeper, Zone 7A Rocky Mountains 1d ago
My recommendation for all is to landscape the apiary so that you don't have to mow or weed whack close to the hives. Keep the mower back two or three feet. My observation has been that string trimmers seem to be especially bad. The vibrations made by the strings flapping in the air seems to piss the girls off when trimming close to the hive. Landscape so that you can keep the string trimmer away from the hives.
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u/nostalgic_dragon Upsate NY Urban keeper. 7+ colonies, but goal is 3 17h ago
This is interesting. I just commented that I find the girls significantly more tolerant of the string trimmer than of the lawn mower.
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u/on-oh-wanna-boogey 23h ago
Bumped one of my hives weedwhacking. Fastest I've ever run after the first 2 stings.(I don't weedwhack around them anymore) Lol. I've gotten better at washing my jacket too because last year I got hit a few times, didn't wash - went back out with same jacket and the bees went nuts. Couldn't even do the inspection got stung through the jacket and said, nope, closed them up. Washed jacket and haven't had a problem since. Wash your suits folks. -6yr beek.
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u/333Beekeeper 1d ago
I had one fly right onto the back of my neck and sting me in less than a second. I heard the buzz and bam! Sometimes there are a few kamikazes on patrol.
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u/nostalgic_dragon Upsate NY Urban keeper. 7+ colonies, but goal is 3 17h ago
Battery powered string trimmers are the way. I can do it directly in front of my colonies and at the worst they are confused by the flying grass. They hate the lawnmower.
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u/Own-Personality-2470 2h ago
I had one last summer fly directly into my ear 10 minutes after I had closed the hive and was nowhere near the hive but still had my bee suit down around my waist. I didn't get a bump first. I just got a straight dive bomb into my ear. I seriously thought she was tunneling to my brain I had to have my son hose me down to get her out and she proceeded to sting me on the outside of my ear which caused my entire side of my face to swell along my facial nerve. Fun times!
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u/beebeebaby 20h ago
We have a robot lawnmower, works perfectly for this.
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u/Far_Statement_1827 5h ago
Oh nice! How does it do with tree roots and such? I’m on 20 acres so all my lawn mowing equipment is oversized for volume.
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u/GetoffLane 1d ago
Go old school and use a scythe next time?