Beekeeping | What Should You Do When You See This??

[@candicehooper4384]

I love watching the bees change the frames as the seasons go by and their work ethic.

[@JR-kk6ce]

Keep her. For hot hives I place one or two small flags or spinning pin wheels next to the hive. The constant movement of the flag or pinwheel calms them down in about one week. CAUTION - I recently caught a gigantic swarm in my swarm trap. When I went to get them I was fortunate that for some reason I decided b to wear a full bee suit with gloves. They must have been Africanized bees because as soon as I touched the trap, they all attacked me. Tens of thousands of bees bouncing off my hood. Suddenly, there was a bee in my hood which quickly stung me right next to my right eye. Then, my ankles were on fire as well as my wrists. I took off running for my life. I ran over 100 yards and they were still after me. I was finally able to escape and found dozens if stings on my ankles and wrists. My gloves were covered in stingers. The lesson learned - take no chances. Wear your suit and hood. Make sure your bee suit has thumb loops and foot loops to keep attacking bees from getting inside your suit.

[@robertkravik4237]

I've had hot hives also. But I've always kept the queens/hives because the honey production was tremendous.

[@DaveReece-u4b]

Last year I had two colonies. They were both very gentle at first. Then one colony superseded their queen and raised a new one. After she started laying and her brood took over, they became very hot. Since it was only my second year of keeping bees, I became very apprehensive about working them. They got so bad that they started following me back to my house and for hours, every time I went out, they would immediately start buzzing around me. I was seriously considering culling the entire colony. Since it was pretty late in the summer by the time the new queen started laying, they didn’t have time to build up for winter and didn’t make it. Honestly, I was relieved they didn’t survive

[@kimwright392]

Lol! I would be perfectly happy if mine swirmed!😂

[@DStewart2022]

Hot hive is a relative term. The hive you call hot looks perfectly tame to me. That said, live is too short to work with mean bees. If they are too hot for you; kill the queen, come back 3 days later and tear down any queen cells, install a frame of eggs from your best tame hive and let them make a queen from that genetic line.

[@randyteritown9415]

Your online classes are amazing! My second year with bees and I just performed my first two splits. Both splits are raising a new queen. I am practicing mite control and loving all of these experiences. Your classes provided a wealth of knowledge. I highly recommend them to anyone who has not yet taken them.

[@TinyTrailFarm]

Dave, I have the same issue with a hot hive (feral hive from last summer I kept and tried to work with them). They are great honey producers, large amounts of brood overwintered thanks to your Winter Bee Kind, etc. HOWEVER, they chase guests away and keep everyone on red alert, not fun. I could move them since I have ten acres but I just don't want to do it (have to set up with electric fence due to bears). So, as of today, I am requeening because I don't want to mess with them and have one bad apple spoiling the whole bunch. It's just my thinking. BUT I LOVE BEEKEEPING starting year 2. Thanks for the video!

[@nelluna2641]

Hi from France. I vote for option C. Sometimes just moving a hive changes the behaviour of the colony, so they may become less agressive, who knows? At least I would give it a try, as they did not seem that bad on your video... I've had a colony that became aggressive as the queen got older (strong attacks, following me until home, waiting for several hours to still attack me...). Everyone advised me to kill the queen, but I liked her very much because she was my first one and she was also doing a great job in producing daughters. I just decided to leave her alone (minimum opening, no honey harvest, and when I opened, I always opened her last). This queen died during summer 2023 (i was sad to see that), but the workers raised a new queen and this new queen is very sweet.

[@heavymechanic2]

David, I say re-queen the hot hive. I had this issue last September and two weeks after introducing a mated queen, their behavior was much better. When this hive was hot, the bees tore up this feller that walked up behind me while doing an inspection.

[@theheritagehousesc]

We had one like that for years. We put up with them because they were great honey producers and didn't want to interrupt that but we always inspected them last that way these were not wind up by them. My opinion either re-queen or inspect last. Your hive is pretty gentle compared to ours. Ours were witches😂

[@brandont8040]

Congrats on the move!!!

[@sarahmcnamara4610]

LOVE LOVE LOVE the new apiary!!!!

[@thomaskoppenhaver2758]

Wow, the leaves on the trees and the green grass is awesome! I'm soooo jealous! We're still melting snow - but it's getting close. Frogs were hollering last night, that's a good sign.

[@StephanyWilliams-pm1uz]

I got a swarm from under a neighbors shed and they were amazingly gentle. Put them in my bee yard and after being in their boxes 2 days in a row to graft, they turned mean. The guard bees recognize my car it seems and “greet” me when I arrive. Breaks my heart because I wanted to breed her!

[@christinecontelmo9264]

Perhaps it may be best to relocate the hive. I had a hive that was super defensive but when the state inspector came he said it was a great hive and didn’t have any issues. In the meantime, I was standing a distance away and believe it or not 12 bees landed on my hand and they all stung me. That hive was the only hive that survived the winter.

[@WildwoodsBeekeeping]

Your splits are looking good David, Just checked 1 of mine today and they have a good laying mated queen which is nice, Just moved them to a 10 Frame box yesterday, Good stuff David, Looking forward to your live chat, Have a great Day David :)

[@terradeloach8540]

I have one that is the same. They were the first swarm we ever caught. I am new to beekeeping and honestly she has been stronger and more productive than all my store bought hives. From that one hive we have three from it. Its crazy how prolific these are.

[@altaylor293]

OK. It depends. 🙂Typical beekeeper answer. If the hive and yard are used for honey production, I would move her to another location until after the nectar flow and then make a decision. If you are using that location for rearing bees that you may sell, I would replace her. My concern would be the drones she produces that could have an impact on new queens and colonies.

[@mlfarm]

A....requeen, requeen. A Commercial beekeeper may put up with that for the extra honey production. But as a backyard beekeeper it so much more enjoyable to work a calm hive than one with bees bouncing off your veil. Your supposed to enjoy the time spent in your bee yard. 😊

[@nancyoffenhiser4916]

Requeen. You don't want to have to kill the entire hive, I have seen that happen twice. Can you get rid of the drones along with the queen as well, so that is not spread to other hives?

[@cristiandragomir3039]

Let the queen live for another season and see if will be any behavioral improvement.

[@2401lani]

OH WOW! I'm interested to know what you do?! I'm super new to this, but my bees have been super sweet! I hope they dont turn!

[@edcoffin3514]

Option 3, give me that queen., I'll straighten her out😂😂😂

[@bryanjohnson2619]

David, I was surprised you didn't replace this queen when you made the split. If I remember, this hive isn't producing any better then the other hives. Why have a hot hive?

[@beek]

Actually this is a great hive. Lots of honey and great brood pattern. Swarmed early last spring. Mites next to zero

[@stevet3818]

I think if you didnt get stung by that hive while you were doing that insoection during the day (as opposed to moving them at night) you should keep them. Especially with so many desirable traits. Great video thank you!

[@Steele_Wings]

My early spring queen that returned mated are being replaced again. The cold rainy weather has returned that caused earlier queens to be poorly mated. I had 1 drone laying queen and had to dump the hive out.

[@mattarnold8705]

Option b keep the hive and move it since it produces real well

[@offshoot1008]

I choose C . These are calm compared with my bees in canada and even mine are ok as long as you smoke and remain calm. Maybe inspect them later in the day but before the gatherers return for the night. I had a new hive that was nasty for a few weeks and then they calmed down and are my strongest hive .

[@brianbennett4374]

I would pick B 😊 thanks for the video David really enjoy watching you 😊

[@beemanrunning977]

Great video Dave! If you want to be real safe from damaging the queen, you can always place the queen in a cage until you have all the frames reinstalled and then just release her back into the hive but I'm sure you already know that. As far as dealing with the aggressive hive, I would requeen it. Thanks

[@georgeboyer1428]

I had a very hot hive and i requeen the hive and it change it around nice and fast ,Requeen the hive David

[@atlas9172]

Experiment constantly and keep in mind, hot bees may be a means to treat less for veroa

[@joestack444]

I have had some hot hives and I have just lived with them. As long as they are far enough away from people, just cowboy up😅

[@eliinthewolverinestate6729]

C & D rehive the colony. Maybe its the hive box. What do I know I don't wear protection. I would have the flairosol mister going with sugar water for sure. Wet sticky bees don't fly.

[@sarahmcnamara4610]

I would keep the queen and the location and give it a few weeks and see if it calms down. 🤷🏻‍♀️

[@paulschaefer5241]

it would be my guess based upon her size, that your queen has not yet mated. Many people don't realize but a queen can mate as soon as 5 days out and can wait 10 days or more. once mated, it can be anywhere from 5 to 21 days before she starts to lay.

[@srae1503]

C, give them a chance this spring, they may have a better attitude. If they are not bad leave her alonre

[@Steele_Wings]

Keep her.❤

[@kathybuschow2467]

I had a hot hive that was a great producer. I would work it last. Unfortunately it ended up being queen less for a long time so I chose to destroy it rather than risk them killing a queen if I combined them. That was sad.

[@shaunharwin8205]

Hi Dave, whats your trick for keeping the feeding holes open on the jar lids? Great vids, regards

[@charlesyoung3884]

Keep the hive and work it with lots of smoke in a full suit and move slow. As a smaller beekeeper with 10 hives, having an aggressive queen is a good problem. That’s because it’s good the hive is growing during the flow. A bad problem is a queenless hive during the flow. Requeening the hive is expensive; either you pay $$$ for a mated queen or you let them raise their own. That takes 4 weeks and no eggs are being laid during that time. Hives are calm when young and get more aggressive with more adult bees and more honey resources to protect.

[@ecityreefer5535]

Hi Mr. Dave, can I make a split with a hive that I’m treating for mites or should I wait till the end of the treatment? Thank you for your great videos. They’re very helpful.

[@MurphbeesHoney]

I would requeen if really bad. So I caught my first swarm of the season today and saw 2 virgin queens. How many virgins can be in a swarm??

[@DonCoe-xt5sl]

Great videos. Option 3. 😊

[@beek]

Thank you Don

[@naturesedgephotography1478]

I vote to keep the Queen, diversity in regards to temperament can be a good way to ensure success when Mother Nature throws us beekeepers curveballs!

[@Robbie-Rob_Bees_Apiary]

cowboy up. that hive is gentle😂

[@stephenluna7932]

I would re-queen however from what you said maybe just be slow with em with all the good traits they have

[@patricknmarsha983]

Most experienced bee keepers would probably replace the Hot Queen. I’ve move a hot hive away from the rest. They’ve calmed down by themselves 😊

[@sweetcole88]

I would move the hive and keep the queen if she has all the desired traits but a little hot. Sometimes it's the more agressive queens that are the best otherwise if it's too much of a bother than just re-queen

[@dkeithcollins]

I would requeen. I've have a lot of success requeening aggressive hives.

[@beesandseas]

David 2nd year keeper and now my hive has swarmed twice this in the last week! Now I’m not sure do I inspect and remove queen cells so this stops or am I now at the mercy of what they want to do. I was ok if they swarmed bc I didn’t want to expand and couldn’t do the demarey(spelled wrong) method due to lack of equipment. Now what?

[@emilandrusko8597]

Hey David, Thanks for sharing. That new queen looks like a drone based on her size. Will the bees tear down that empty queen cell since she has emerged? There were two queen cells in my hive that I split and the queen cells had been torn down based on my notes of where they were located. I did not see the queen. Based on this video I may have easily missed her. I am hoping she is in the process of being mated although the weather has been rainy the past few days here in SE PA.

[@Raymond.Butler]

Do the queens always go around with their wings folded, like the 2 you showed?

[@calideutsch5794]

So I thought if you were moving a hive you had to first move it like four miles away and leave it there for a few days and then bring it back? I need to move my apiary about 150 feet from where it is now. Trying to figure out how to do it. Leave the bees at my friend's house for a few days first? 🤔

[@charliegioe3158]

David I would go With A there is no need for a hot hive now my question is how soon do you mark the queen on a new package? I would say with my experience the first hive check. What do you think Charlie PA?

[@josephvenezia3481]

Maybe wait a month? (Warmer weather, more bees out of the hive foraging and you'll be certain the hive is happy wherever they are.)

[@RoysRestorations]

Move it!

[@danielcollins9628]

Option D try clipping 2 queens mandibles and introducing them into one hive and do a progress report

[@LocalBuzzLLC]

Move and see if they calm down. If not requeen

[@paulhoward822]

I think I would requeen the hive where it is.

[@davethekiwibloke]

Ok, a bit late to this party, but normally I'd requeen and try to get your other good genetics into that colony. However...for you it might be worthwhile having a hot hive for video and teaching purposes in which case I'd at least move them away from the bulk of your other hives. The biggest question is whether virgin queens from calm hives will mate with drones from the hot hive and pass on this trait to their progeny.

[@rustycurtis136]

B and compare the honey flow to a calm hive.

[@toddholmer9700]

My vote is to just deal with them. I am thinking that because if you feel they have better mire risistance and better winter survival I am leaning towards keeping her.

[@tl3192]

Deal with it she is a good layer . I have the same going on

[@markuremovich1887]

I’m a newby, but I say cowboy up! Keep the hive

[@hadenwaldron2945]

Hello! I could use some help. I have a friend who bought a hive, he thought his queen died, so he went back and got another one. When he came home he saw that his original queen was alive, and he gave me the replacement queen. I split one of my hives, put lots of brood and put the queen in her cage in the hive for three days. When I came back, I put the sugar Cork in, and when I come back two days later, the queen was dead. They started raise their own queen from the brood, and now there are 2 capped queen cells. Should take one out and try and split another hive? What don you suggest I do. Any advice helps

[@beek]

Great question for my livestream tonight at 7pm central time. Here's the link: kzbin.infoDOmbY5uwA1M

[@richardhyatt-beekeeping]

My two cents says to leave both. Insurance that one survives. A hatching queen will kill those that have not hatched as shown in David's video.

[@lou8891]

Move the hive one its own. Spicy bees they look good

[@azawakhcom]

Could you inspect the hot hive last?

[@ctrclegg1]

Cowboy up!😊

[@clarksbent9399]

Thank you for all of the time you put in.

[@TORTmentor]

Watching with a sore, stung nose....LOL I'd requeen 🤣😂

[@76okpeople]

I guess just move them at first, if they get really really hostile, then replace the queen

[@ginapicciolo3228]

Hi David! I could use your help on receiving a nucleus tonight, I'm getting four of them and bringing two to one location and the other ones to another location the next day. Can I leave the two that I'm transporting closed up for the night and open them up tomorrow with good ventilation?

[@gene-sloca]

Explain a Hot Hive? Thank you.

[@emilandrusko8597]

I would give it some time.

[@amandaamossaa]

Sounds like my bees!!😂 They are very upset all the time. I walked out to feed them without my suit, and they got me twice. They are not nice girls! Lol! I still love them to death!!❤

[@johnkasprak5707]

I'd requeen - but that's my situation. My neighbors and friends might not appreciate the honey production over the stings as much as I would. I'd rather not have any complaints lodged. I had a hot hive and it really takes the fun out of beekeeping.

[@richardhyatt-beekeeping]

I'd leave it. I went to the bee yard last week without a suit and didn't get into any hives. Bees took after me and had to leave. Got stung once but, would have been more if I had stayed. Then yesterday I did full inspections on 15 hives and the bees didn't even look up. Your bees look a bit calm to me, today. Depends on how perceive the day, I guess. Of course, if I had a lot of hot bees I'd make changes but, that hive seemed quite calm to me. Those around your head were just making sure you were a nice guy, today!

[@richardhyatt-beekeeping]

PS, I'd like to know if a hot colony actually makes other hives hot. I've been in 5 years and haven't experienced moving bees for that reason.

[@richardhyatt-beekeeping]

Another thing. A queen cost upward of $32 and up to around $40 around here. Even if you make your own it's lost time during the flow!

[@johnmeno6193]

Do you have a video on how you go about moving those hives to your new area?

[@beek]

Yes, several, just do a search on my channel

[@dkeithcollins]

I would replace the queen with one who has a gentler family history.

[@jimmyc451]

She has a lot of brood there. Would all her babies be hot so you’d have to go through a whole cycle?

[@jeremywilliamson6133]

Option c !!

[@davelapp8412]

I say C, deal with them a little longer! Maybe they produce for ya, then maybe revisit the decision come june

[@boboften9952]

" Sheri gonna find the hive tools when the lawn gets mowed " Lmao . Edit Sheri gonna buy you a metal detector , or a string to tie off the hive tool to your belt .

[@kimwright392]

Out of pure selfishness i am going to say replace the queen. I would love to see how that works because even though my bees are very productive, they are very aggressive. Last year's hive was so gentle and this one is constantly attacking. Would love to learn how to replace the queen.

[@darreneves4060]

I’d say B as it doesn’t look too aggressive

[@alinatotok]

My answer is to move this family to a different location. It’s always better for the bees there own queen

[@CypherAFhhhh]

In my opinion you shouldn’t tolerate the bad genetics of that aggressive colony full stop. If you tolerate it in one colony, be prepared to tolerate it in lots of hives in future when the genetics have spread around through mating. IMHO: Just cull her and replace her with a known-good stock.

[@tonyvtx1300]

I don't know how to tell the difference. I would just move it if so.

[@eliinthewolverinestate6729]

I have always heard killing or smashing bees is a great way to make a hot hive. I love swarm season. It's how I get bees.

[@andud]

Definitely A, we don't want any drones with aggressive genes spoiling local colonies 😉

[@christopherwilson6529]

Option C

[@anais7915]

Option B Move the hive

[@Keith-xc9wf]

wow you already have leaves on the trees in Illinois? not in MInneapolis! boo hoo! Another great vid THANKS!

[@peteadams8016]

Cowboy up !

[@mcorne8134]

Will a new queen go on a mating flight prior to assuring all the other queen cells and queens are destroyed?

[@supdawg_27]

How do you not get stung when you are in your beeyard without protection?!?! Your bees must be very gentle.

[@beek]

Great question for my livestream tonight at 7pm central time. Here's the link: kzbin.infoDOmbY5uwA1M

[@bobwithrow4429]

Requeen. No point in having to fight with a hot hive when you have the resources to replace her.

[@DC_PRL]

pinch the queen, replace. It's a liability having a hot hive around, sting random people. I had one very hot hive, could not even open the inner cover, they would chase me around the yard. It was a swarm I got. Very productive, but impossible to inspect

[@jenniferbogle6809]

Cowboy up ,move her far in apairy.if she lays well keep her till death do her part.

[@briancain8200]

Have you used Amiflex in that hive?

[@beek]

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