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The allergist community is trying to move away from Benadryl in favor of Zyrtec.

Here is a good bee story from this spring. Late swarm (aug 3) into my "ornamental" bee hive. I was gonna take a year off. But the bees had other ideas. So since they had swarmed into the top above the queen excluder and not into the main deep entrance, I figured I would go out at night, clean out the bottom board and entrance and then leave. BUT, it was just NOT quit dark enough and ONE single bee came for me. So like any normal person with an angry bee buzzing in my hair, I got up to run the distance you need to placate the biatch. Had to duck under my cloths line, when I did, I stumbled, wearing rubber sandals, started to fall forward, so I did a partial left sided front roll, heard a CRACK, continued to get up and run laughing all the way to the house. Got inside heard another crack. Took some ibu. Long story short, 3 xrays and an MSK ultra sound, events later, BROKEN rib #5 and a CRACKED lower sternum!!! Doc says only sees trauma like that in a car wreck.....should have taken the sting lol Bee got the last laugh GEEZZZ

YES absolutely right, in the fall, even the nicest bees are nasty. They are VERY defensive of their honey stores, maybe it is the WINTER bees that are a holes? lol. Anyway, FULL suit, LOTS of smoke as needed and get in and get OUT! I wont be going back in now till they are cold enough to cluster and then give candy board and forget about them for winter.

Sorry that happened to you but I noted in the video, no smoker? That would have kept their heads down. Today I did a quickie inspection just to see if they were taking my sugar water and making nectar, they were. And twice the girls came heads up to swarm and twice I smoked them down. Even when they were airborne, they aborted with the twirl and smoke. I twirled around and smoked myself and the bees in the air and bobs ur uncle off they went. Ya the other day, my husband was with me and somehow got a bee in his bonnet (inside the veil) We were super surprised, he went running home smacking himself in the head all the way. She chased him home, he actually stopped like YOU did and I yelled, KEEP running go inside. THEN take off the suit, Never do that outside when they are swarming you!!! I never go inside with the suit on. I have had bees in the house from hitching a ride on the suit. So now I stand in front of the window and check all around as best I can and when I see NO bees near me or on me. I take the suit off and again inspect the suit. Then I go in. Also I checked MY veil and noted MANY holes or cuts in the veil, so they ALL got taped up and I am now in the market to get a new one, after seeing ur vid, Im gonna make sure it is better quality. Glad ur ok!!!

Learn and experiment as much as possible, more than half of all advice in bee keeping, I have found, is preferencial. Do what works for you and your bees, best of luck!

I learned the most from my worst beekeeping mistakes so I’d say keep doing it, it makes you better. The more you understand where the girls are at on the day, the better decisions you make. Sometimes it doesn’t work and you have disasters but you’ll learn from each one.

It is a good idea to move slowly but if you ever watch a professional beekeeper that has to inspect dozens of hives, they have to move very quickly or they would take forever to make it through the entire apiary.

Invest in a frame holder. Take one frame out, set on the holder and you'll find it easier to move the frames from side to side without taking the whole frame from the box. This is easier on the bees and makes inspection much easier. When your done...slide all the frames together and replace the one you removed... And do smoke those bees!!! Pine needles work really well and practice lighting your smoker so you can be efficient at it every time!! I use pine shavings and then smoker pellets on top. If it gets to hot, i'll add green grass to the smoker to cool it... Good luck in your beekeeping and carry that epipen with you... It doesn't do you any good to leave it in the house!!!

one step at time dont worry about them dump people say anything bad bad things

Tip - If you haven't figured it out already, when you open your hive, pull the outside frame first, and set it alongside the hive. Then you have room to move the rest of the frames into the space the first frame occupied so you don't have to pry them up. Prying them up as you did is an easy way to roll you queen. Also, at this stage, you probably could have started inserting the foundation in between the drawn nuc frames. This encourages the bees to drawn the foundation faster.

As a new beekeeper, there are some things you should not do. One is to listen to anyone who tells you not to go into your bees too often. That's rubbish advice. The only way you are going to learn what the bees are doing is to see it first hand and compare it on a daily basis. So go into your hives as often as you want. Every day is not too often. Seriously, it's not going to hurt the bees, and it's not going to set them back. Your goal is not to make a bunch of honey in your first year (second, third...). Your goal is to keep them alive and learn how to manage them. You can't do either if you don't understand them. Go through that hive every day if you want to. Use your smoker. Every time! Until you learn to read a hive, you need all the help you can get. Smoke is your friend. Yes pine needles are good. So are wood shavings, wood pellets, straw, burlap, etc. All of it will make smoke. Learn how to light a smoker so it stays lit and burns for a long time. Nothing more frustrating than to have a dead smoker just when you need it. Throughout the course of a year you will learn how to read the colony. It will tell you when smoke is necessary, and when it's optional. During a nectar flow, smoke may not be necessary. Spring and fall dearth, it's a requirement! You might want to consider getting one or two more hives for next year. As a new beekeeper it's better to have at least two hives so you can compare and contrast between the two. If don't have enough experience to determine if a hive is having problems, let alone how to diagnose the cause and fix it. Update: I went back and watched a couple of your early videos and see that you did have two hives, and for all the right reasons.

Very harrowing! I'm glad you're okay.

Glad you survived, and respect that you got back to it. Questions: How long are you in the protection suit? If not too long, I'd be inclined to get a battery powered fan on a backpack to put some air pressure into the sealed suit. (only downside would be looking like Stay Puft the marshmallow man from Ghost Busters) I assume there would be some air passing thru the material or mask/hood. The idea being it might cool you off. And keep the fabric from resting on your skin where a bee could find a place to sting. Also, any unsealed gap might blow a bee away. Just sayin'

I had to requeen 3 of my hives because of defensive bees. It took 7 weeks for them to get the old genetics out but they bees are calm now and I'm not scared. I also have a 3 layer bee suit so I am well protected when I need to be. A good suit is worth the investment.

I wear a pair of flip-flops, a shirt, and shorts to check my bees. I can get from 0 to 20 stings doing 3 hives that are 3 full tall. Not sure if on the bottom of my foot, nose or around the eye is worst for a sting. Just do it on a clam sunny day or you are a gonner, be suit or not

A wild experience for certain! I wouldn't keep bees if mine were mean like that. Are your bees a bit Africanized? Good that you aren't a quitter. All the best!

Glad to hear you're back in the saddle! Keep it up. Everyone has failures, It is those that learn from them that succeed.

😁It's all good, you two got this.👍Step by step. Be careful with the syrup spray this time of year, it can cause problems if you don't have a nectar flow flow on. The syrup in the bottle can be thin. Honey bees take time to learn and even longer to get the feel for, you two are doing good.

Crap. That was rough experience with your bees. Glad you survived all the stings

They do get pretty aggressive in the fall! When they sting they release a pheromone that tags you as the "thing to sting." At that point, you always want to keep the suite on, even if a few leaked in. Sad, but you really have to crush any bees that get inside the veil. I have two suits. A lightweight one for use during the flows and general work, and a heavy suite for those days you expect trouble. My hives are about 300 feet back from my house. During flows, they rarely follow me far. This time of year, they follow me all the way back to the house! Glad to see you made it through ok! 100+ stings is dangerous territory!

8 years in and I still feel like a newbie. Hope you were kept safe with the hurricane

You might not have totally closed the zipper closest to your neck and when they are not happy they will find a way to get you. Please use smoke next time not sure if it would have helped. Happened to me but only had two bees in side suit. We live and learn

My favorite part ....filling bottles😊

Another tactic is keep the cover over,or canvass,any sheet basically only exposes the bees your about to handle,smoke works,I should add 1 sting sets off a pheremone, even smoking yourself and gloves, avoid fragrant shampoo,cologne,which bees smell as foreign, try not to bang the frames, and avoid waving frantically,which just attracts them,ive had bees get in my veil,I use duct tape,over the zipper meeting ,ive had to run to the truck a few times to avoid their defensiveness,

That’s really crazy being stung more than 50 times has got to be painful you definitely need to requeen that hive and change their genetics. I’m sure you already know it would have been better if you use smoke on em. I hope I don’t experience a hive like that because I do a bunch a cutouts and had some real angry ones.

Glad to see all doing well after the storm.

25 sings later I survived twice doing noting luckily. Neck and facial stings are the worst. As a pharmacist learning from older pharmacists. The best thing to do is use ammonia mixed with water ASAP on the sting areas. You had a bad reaction so you need an EpiPen at all times.

Please stay safe! Praying for you all down there.

A very painful experience. Some friendly pointers from a fellow keeper, the first thing I noticed was the lack of a smoker. Even the calmest colonies can have a bad day and it's just best to always have a lit smoker when opening a hive. Second was your handling of the frames, as a new beekeeper it takes time to build up the speed you work at while still being gentle. It is always best to work slower when you are still finding your feet, remember that bees are very sensitive to even the smallest vibrations. Bumping the box or even slightly knocking the frames together can irritate them. Something I see a lot when beekeepers put the supers back on hives, is that they simply put the super down directly on top of the hive. Even if you are using a smoker to move them bees will still be squashed using this method, making them more defensive. When putting the super back on, try sliding it back onto the hive from the back/front and use your smoker or bee brush to move the bees out of the way as you do so. It's far more gentle and you squash way fewer bees in the process. Lastly, something a bit unusual that I don't ever see mentioned with regard to bees being defensive but that can sometimes be a reason is alcohol. Bees hate the smell of alcohol. Not suggesting that you had had any alcohol I'm just sharing some knowledge, but say you work with a colony today and you had a drink or two or even several (not judging anyone) at a party yesterday. If there is still a lingering trace of that alcohol in your system your bees will pick up on it. Hope all this helps, I wish you the best of luck with your bees going forward!!

🍁💙

Just curious, does it make sense replacing the queen and trying to repopulate the hive with a calmer strain?

I work bees that can get aggressive even with smoke I would get a better bee suit probably the guardian. And make sure all zippers are closed. I live in Texas so one day bees can be fine the next time inspection they are aggressive probably African genetics have entered the pool.

👋hi from southern New Zealand 👋😃 great to see you assessing the incident well enough to answer questions about it, an aggressive colony can be a very frightening experience. There are simply times that you open a hive and the colony is on edge. It's not common but it does happen. I said this In the last video but the electric smoker made by apisolis might be a good fit for your situation, Natalee of beekeeping with Natalee and castle hives both have a great little demo video and it's something you could have on hand and then reach for if you think you need smoke. Three puffs and it's switched on and smoking. I have the habit ingrained to light my smoker and forty years of habit it's just very natural and I use it as part of my pre opening colony assessment time, lighting the smoker and observing the hive entrances, looking for abnormal behavior. The situation you encountered is uncommon and in forty years I've only seen it personally once, I'm glad you aren't being dissuaded by the incident and there's always something new to learn in beekeeping and also I often make mistakes that I later facepalm myself for😂🤦 and I'm supposed to be "experienced"😂😅 great stuff, keep going and growing 👍👋😃

You definitely should look into getting a three layered mesh suit. I had a very "defensive" hive that would swarm me every time I opened them up (smoke or not) and that's when I got a mesh suit. I'm not selling them or anything like that, but the ultra breeze suit is awesome in MHO. Three layers, breeze blows right through them, the zippers are great quality, the hood (it's not even a veil) is a very solid zippered connection with secondary velcro closures to insure the "seal". I love it, can't say enough about it! Best of Luck!

Ooo I hate that feeling. I have 140 hives, I still put everything down when I get a few in my veil. Certain times of year a few puffs from the smoker can make a big difference so you don't have so many after you once the inspection is done

What kind of moisture number was you getting on your Honey. ?? Sure looks good

Even watching at speed I was getting nervous not seeing a smoker and then seeing all the bees have a look about them in the air....

Thank you Thank you for not walking away from bees . I have a question do you have the part of the video while you were working inside the colony an with it not speeded up .?? If you do is there anyway you could send it to me . Thanks

A bout 3 weeks ago I went to just peak into a hive because I wanted just to see how the top super was doing and I thought I didn't need a smoker for such a quick inspection. Wrong they came out mad as heck. one stung me through my vail in the neck. I backed off a walked away they also followed me farther than usual once they all left I took off one of my gloves to make sure I was all zipped up. I then turned to go get my equipment when although I was still far away from the hive one darn bee attacked and got me on the hand. Bees are way more aggressive in the fall so you need to be careful. If you do not want to smoke them try spraying sugar water on them to keep them busy. Stay safe another Hurricane is headed your way.

In the 2nd part of this video you are look like your feeling better. That's great your feeling better, ya someone your size that's a lot of stings and it'll take a bit for your body to work out the toxins. Don't be to hard on yourself, you did good next time you'll do better. It's a learning process we are all learning this is Fall now, it's different in Fall. A colony can be entirely different in Fall then the rest of the Season. A lot of the season I am able to work my bees and be around them just fine with out smoke but this Fall they have ran me out of my yard, I didn't realize it was going to rain the next day. I think it's mostly because they got Alarmed and the time of Year. Suit up and use smoke I think you'll be fine. Glad your feeling better, Blessed Days stay safe with the weather.👍

requeen

never take off yiur vail use smoker

Any chance you may have Africanized bees? I noticed immediately in the beginning of your inspection that there was a large number of bees flying around which is not normal. The series of events that you described are hallmarks of Africanization. Any open mated queen in south Florida has a potential of having Africanized genetics. Reputable queen breeders included as it is in the environment. Your state apiary inspector can give much more information as it’s normal to find those genetics in apiary inspections down there. As a newer beekeeper, I hate that you’ve had this traumatic experience. I really do think you might want to check your genetics. It can be tricky to requeen Africanized colonies as well. A typical inspection rarely has the amount of activity that I saw in the beginning with bees already flying all around. Fall bees can be a little more grumpy but the reaction of your bees seems overly reactive…especially since you say that’s normal for them. In a perfect world, your bees shouldn’t pay any attention to you when you’re in there. U of Florida has great info regarding Africanized bees and they are amazing and so helpful. I hope you find some relief and that you have positive experiences moving forward! Thank you for sharing your experience

Yep i also learned the no smoker quick check mistake.

Nothing more satisfying than uncapping honey. I found using a wide putty knife makes it easier to scrape the wax off the frames. If you sell the honey, take some of that money and set it aside and buy a honey extractor, so you can just cut the caps off the honeycomb with a bread knife. That way you can keep the cells to give back to the bees so they don't have to draw out frames again. Keep up the great work. Love your videos.

I feel sorry for you as I had same thing happen to me. Quick inspection with no smoker turned into nightmare. Face veil wasn’t fastened to suit well and propped open while holding a deep in my hands. Bees surged into face mask. I ran at least 50 yards away slapping and flailing to get bees out of mask. Fearing they were going to sting my eyes I pulled veil off and covered my face and eyes. They can sting me on my head but not my eyes. Made it to a shed approximately 200 yards from hive and bees finally left me. Wife pulled 30+ stingers from my face, neck and head. I understand your pain. I always use a smoker now and got a new suit and an Eppy pen. Tough lesson to learn. Hope you are doing well.

😃👏 Well done 👏 you never get over how much fun it is but the first one is always epic 😃👍 congratulations 👍👋

Love your enthusiasm! If you haven't already, buy or get a hive tool. They're pretty inexpensive and it makes taking the frames out a heck of a lot easier than using a knife. Keep up the great work with the videos!

Do not open your suite, 1 bee can sting 1 time. Find the leak as seal it. Think of it like a space suit, and your in a vacuum, no matter how bad the leak opening the visor will not help.

Smoker is king.