I went out to the hives yesterday into the sweltering humidity that only a 3:00 pm summer day in Virginia can provide. Armed with two bottles of ice water and small packet of Propel drink mix I was ready for anything the bees could throw at me. Knowing that my hives were a little bit on the ornery side I double checked all of my bee suit openings to make sure the warrior queens would find no entry.
After smoking the front of the hive I now dub as House of the Rising Stinger I walked behind it and slowly lifted the top cover. I now know what it must feel like to be a member of a bomb disposal team. Would she blow when I opened the box or would this just be another bucolic day out in the apiary like I had envisioned years ago when I started beekeeping. Then she blew. Hundreds of tiny insectoid winged shrapnel flew out from underneath the inner cover with a loud drone. The drone came from me and not the bees. Luckily I had my suit on otherwise my face would look like an 80 pound mutated turnip or Mickey Rourke. Bouncing off of my screened face I laughed at them as I began the process of quickly dismantling their hive for inspection.
House of the Rising Stinger
Solid Brood pattern, check.
New eggs, check.
Pollen, check.
Honey/Sugar Water, check.
Angry worker bees, double check.
All was good. I was a little disappointed to not see much in the way of honey stores yet but they had only just begun working the upper parts of the hive. I also decided to rotate the bottom hive boxes to give them more room as they were already in the upper hive body chamber which was packed with brood. During the whole time time they were progressively getting more angry. As I was putting the hive back together, “Flight of the Bumble Bee” echoed through my mind only performed by classic Metallica and not that new crap they are selling. What a circus.
The second hive went much more smoothly. None of that pent up aggression was found in their hive. I found the queen and told her what a wonderful job she was doing in keeping her children in line unlike the ruffians down the way.
The third hive was a dream come true. Quiet, industrious, and friendly. I call these bees The Waltons. They actually gave me a tour of their hive with shortbread and tea as a treat. The most surprising new addition to their home was a 1/2 full super of pure liquid gold. For only being active for 4 months they had done a great job of building up their population and wax structure to actually allow for significant honey storage.
The Nice Bees
As I closed their hive I said thanks and then clicked my heels in the air before I headed home.
That first hive is a real problem. Defensiveness works wonders in nature but when you are in a bee yard it can become catostrophic. Sometimes I feel like committing regicide and replacing the queen with a better one but I should at least give this hive a chance to prove itself. It may work to my favor if a bear is seen around here again. A bear poking its nose in this hive is likely to regret it.
