I have the tamest bees.

[bwallace23350]

My bees are super calm as of late. We had two lawnmowers and a weedeater running around them today, right after a rain and they bothered no one that I know of. Is it good for them to be this calm?

[Acebird]

How big is the hive?  What does it have in stores?

[Eric Bosworth]

I have a hive that I split with swarm cells. No stings during the split... They didn't seem to care that I was ripping their home apart. All of the splits are calm as well. I checked them a week and a half later and they 2 had comb collapse. I pulled it out and they still didn't care. So nice to work...

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[BeeMaster2]

We as beekeepers, have been selecting calm bees for about 2000 years.
What did you do to prep the hive for opening it?
Did you smoke them and then wait 10 minutes, then smoke them 30 seconds before working them. If you did, that is what helped calm them down.
As mentioned, hive size plays a big factor in temperament.
Jim

[brookscj]

Glad you have such nice bees.  Most of mine are calm as well but I have one hive that loves to send a few guard bees to chase me on the mower.  Helps me get my grass cut faster!

[little john]

My bees are super calm as of late. We had two lawnmowers and a weedeater running around them today, right after a rain and they bothered no one that I know of. Is it good for them to be this calm?

What were they like before ?  If they used to be a bit feisty and are now timid - that could be a sign that all's not well.  Low on stores, maybe ?  Alternatively, if there's a flow on, then they'll be preoccupied with something more important than minor human interference.

Or - it could just be that you've got a box of placid bees. But - if it were me, then I'd take a look inside and check 'em out, just to make sure.
LJ

[BeeMaster2]

LJ,
I cut my grass up to and actually under the front of the hives with no problems on a riding mower. You just have to bee careful not to aim the exhaust gases or the grass does not hit the hive. I do get a ball of bees in my face that are confused bees returning to the hive. No stings.
Jim

[Hops Brewster]

I figure calm bees are happy bees. 

Unless they're dead, then that's too calm.

I used the gas string trimmer and lawn mower right up to the hive stand this morning. There were a few bees minding their own business of bringing forage into the hive that bumped into me as I was moving around, but none of the guard bees came out.

[little john]

Hi Jim - sure, I mow around my hives with a petrol mower without any problems at all.  However, a strimmer (with it's high-pitched whirring sound) is a much different story - now that really gets 'em mad ...

But I was focussing - not so much on the report of the mowing activity - but on the comment that "My bees are super calm as of late."  That suggests that they haven't always been this super-calm, and that the colony's behaviour has recently changed.
Now it could simply be that the queen has superceded, and the old cranky bees have eventually died-off, leaving much calmer bees in their place - BUT - it could also be the case that the colony is queenless. 

I find that queenlessness can take two forms: one is that the bees become irritable and bad-tempered - but the other is that they can become demoralised and lethargic.  This can often be confused with a placid well-behaved hive - when in fact what is happening is that the colony is dwindling and going downhill fast.

The only way to know for sure is to take a look inside.  If the colony really is just placid and healthy, then such an inspection would be a breeze anyway - and wouldn't take so very long just to confirm that there are brood larvae present, some stores in place and a fair number of bees in the box. That's all I'd need to see to walk away happy.
'best,
LJ

[BeeMaster2]

LJ,
I agree about the mower compared to the strimmer (weedeater). The weedeaters throw the grass in every direction and hits the bees. I can weedwack under the hives if there are no bees under the front porch because the porch blocks the grass from hitting the bees.

Having an observation hive, I have found that when a hive goes queen less, if there is young brood/eggs, they get into a roar for a day or so and then calm down. This is because they have a queen cell started.  If they already have queen cells started, there is no roar. This happened last month when I moved a very strong queen into a full sized hive. There were queen cups and it turned out she had just laid eggs in them a few days before I split the hive. They never got in a roar. If there is no way for them to make a queen, they will bee in a roar for several days (trying to make a queen) and then when they realize it is hopeless, then they calm down. With the hive being in the house, you can really tell when they are upset. The hive gets really loud.
I think this is what you are seeing.
Jim

[paus]

Since the queen mates with many drones , could it bee that the eggs she is laying now are from a more laid back drone?

[bwallace23350]

They have always been calm but they seem to be even more calm now. Last time in the hive the numbers were booming and they were making honey. 3 weeks of non stop rain and I have not been able to get back in the hive since the last inspection and we have rain chances all week. We probably are at the tail end of the flow though. The Chinese Tallow Trees are about the last of the flow left and I have a good number of them around.

[paus]

Raining now, and I had time to read my last post.  Should read "laid back" drone. and thanks sawdust maker I need this.

[BeeMaster2]

Paid,
You can correct it. Just click on the modify button at the top right side of your post and fix it and save it. I'm glad this site has it, I have to use it a lot.
Jim