Episode-191- Observe The Bees Guarding The Hives At Night

This is Episode-191- of todolisthome.com Night Guards At The Beehives. I’m your host Tony Teolis and I’m Keeping track of things to do for a better life.  Throughout these episodes I refer to four honey bee colonies. Hive A died in 2012, Hive B was started in 2012, and Hives C and D were started in April 2013. I have been having trouble with honey bee hive C the last few weeks as I think that hive may have replaced its queen in addition to honey bee hive B doing the same. I showed what was going on with hive B in Episodes 184 and 185 and there are links to them in this video as well as at ToDoListhome.com I went out this evening to put a robber screen in front of Hive C which is the smallest of my three hives now and there is not much going on in the hive. A few weeks ago I determined the queen to be missing but I have taken no steps to interfer with the bees’ task of replacing the queen on their with supersedure. I thought a robber screen might give them a chance to fend off any predators but I quickly realized it was not necessary.

When I went outside in the dark I took along my camera and headlight so I could observe the bees in hive C and see if I could nail on the robber screen. To my surprise and delight I noticed the differences in the way the bees were guarding their respective hives.

I had originally planned to look at hive c because it seems the weakest. I thought of putting on a robber screen but observed dozens of bees bearding it up outside the hive. I wasn’t going to put a screen on this hive. Hive B had no outside guards but a peak nearby revealed at least a couple of guards and I didn’t need to press to find out more. Hive D the top bar hive had it going on. All three entrance holes were guarded by very alert honey bees.

Near hive C I noticed at least three moth beetles trying to find a way in. It was like the hive was under attack. But the screened bottom board has a plastic sheet underneath and the entrances seemed immensely defended so it seems the bees can protect their home. I’m just worried about how they will increase their numbers.

I went on to Hive D to see how the top bar bees were defending it and to take a few photos. The top bar hive was right on me compared to the hives but they probably had been observing my photo taking of hives B and C to know they were next and they were alert. It wasn’t long before an aggressive bee came to ward me off but I kept my cool and spoke calmly to the young bee. Telling her that I was leaving and will disturb them no further. It was just me Tony the beekeeper. I was all set to get stung but I wasn’t worried. If I pushed my limits so be it. My calmness and what I hope is recognition of me stopped the bee short of stinging me. Amazingly I was not stung. I might not have gotten the film I was trying to get but the experience is more than enough to remember.

Being calm with bees and not panicking is key to building a relationship with them. That’s it for today but next time I will show my trouble with Hive C.

Resources

Song of the day – John Butler Trio – Revolution – Video

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