Checked the Buckfast hive on the 15. Holy crap were they defensive! I shot smoke into the entrance, and then I gave them a whiff under the outer cover. As soon as I pulled off the honey supers and started looking at the brood chamber, however, dozens of bees came boiling out of the hive entrance and started bumping into my veil. They made that angry, hissing buzz as well. I shot more smoke onto the frames and started looking to see if the new queen was laying. I pulled two frames, saw capped brood, and discovered bees inside of my veil because I didn't fasten it properly. A sting on the right ear, the left eyelid, one through the glove on my right index finger, and stings on both ankles encouraged me to hurriedly close up the hive. They were still flying and defensive until dark. We couldn't even sit on our patio a good 100 feet from the hive. The hot weather and nectar dearth certainly has these bees in a foul mood.
Today I checked the pitiful Italian hive. They were a bit defensive, bumping my veil, but I checked and saw no more new comb from last time. A few cells of capped brood but no larvae. My poor eyes couldn't tell if there were eggs or not. I'll check again in a week and maybe think of requeening if I don't see larvae. I don't know if this hive will have enough winter stores.
2 comments:
Ouch! That warm, mid-August weather really stirred up some insect activity in our yard, too. Unfortunately, it was a nest of yellowjackets.
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