Beemaster's International Beekeeping Forum
BEEKEEPING LEARNING CENTER => GENERAL BEEKEEPING - MAIN POSTING FORUM. => Topic started by: rober on November 26, 2011, 11:39:43 pm
-
yesterday i checked the feeders in my hives. the weather was clear & near 60 but 2 hives were acting cranky. more bees then usual followed me back to the house. 2 hours later there were still several bees near the house like they were laying for me. they were still aggressive & kept buzzing me. an hour later i went out & some bess were still hovering & acting aggressive. one eventually stung me on my eye brow. i've noticed similar behavior in the past on days when the girls were in poor humor. they would stay around the house like they were laying for me. maybe maybe i'm mistaken but it certainly seems that they were actually seeking me out.
-
They don't remember you as an individual. They do remember the smell of the alarm scent that they marked you with earlier. Once you are marked, they will keep coming after you.
And the bees do hold a grudge. :-D When I have stirred up a hive by working it without smoke, I have gotten them so mad that they were aggressive for a week. I think that some of the guards get into a state of permanent aggression. They will keep attacking as long as they are guard bees. When they move on to be foragers and are replaced by bees that were previously house bees, things calm down again. Just my personal observation. I'm not aware of any research to that effect.
-
yesterday i checked the feeders in my hives. the weather was clear & near 60 but 2 hives were acting cranky. more bees then usual followed me back to the house. 2 hours later there were still several bees near the house like they were laying for me. they were still aggressive & kept buzzing me. an hour later i went out & some bess were still hovering & acting aggressive. one eventually stung me on my eye brow. i've noticed similar behavior in the past on days when the girls were in poor humor. they would stay around the house like they were laying for me. maybe maybe i'm mistaken but it certainly seems that they were actually seeking me out.
Wow, sounds like you have a hot hive. I would re-queen in the spring if I were you.
-
none of my hives are 'hot' but they do, like all hives do have there days. i was doing a quick check so i did not use my smoker. it was warm enough that there were a lot of bees above the inner cover. 3 hives were fine but the 4th was pretty P.O.'d. I've done the same thing on other days without any problems & have had similar results on other days. i had not checked the weather reports. there was a front about an hour away & the change in barometric pressure probably had them feeling frisky. i figured there was probably some sort of scent marker involved because on the days when they are after me they really do zero in on me. when i got stung yesterday i was back by the hives watching them from about 30 ft away. i saw the bee that got me leave the hive & come straight at me in a 'beeline' like a kamikaze pilot. i tried ducking but she got me on my eyebrow. I'm lucky that she missed my eye. i have a feeling that my eye was the target. bottom line is that often times when you try cutting corners you pay the price. I've taken quick peeks under the outer cover without being suited up without mishap.
-
yesterday i checked the feeders in my hives. the weather was clear & near 60 but 2 hives were acting cranky. more bees then usual followed me back to the house. 2 hours later there were still several bees near the house like they were laying for me. they were still aggressive & kept buzzing me. an hour later i went out & some bess were still hovering & acting aggressive. one eventually stung me on my eye brow. i've noticed similar behavior in the past on days when the girls were in poor humor. they would stay around the house like they were laying for me. maybe maybe i'm mistaken but it certainly seems that they were actually seeking me out.
As there a nectar flow on in Missouri now ??? If not ALL THE BEES ARE IN THE HIVE OR NOT FAR from the hive. :shock: Just my $0.02
BEE HAPPY Jim 134 :)
-
And did you use a smoker on you or the bees ??? This time of the year I smoke myself more then the bees. Just my $0.02
BEE HAPPY Jim 134 :)
-
Weird as it seems scientific research has shown bees can be trained to recognise human faces, and remember them at least for a few days. I will dig out the link. No its not an April fool day one. Apparently they can't recognise if the face is presented upside-down. Eek:
-
Weird as it seems scientific research has shown bees can be trained to recognise human faces, and remember them at least for a few days. I will dig out the link. No its not an April fool day one. Apparently they can't recognise if the face is presented upside-down. Eek:
They can be trained (with a sugar reinforcement) to choose certain symbols. Those symbols can be arranged in the form of a face (eyes mouth etc) so they appear to remember a certain face form. But they can also be trained to recognize symbols arranged in other forms than a face.
I do think though that bees know where your face is. They have evolved over millions of years to view bears as their main enemy. And you can't sting a bear anywhere other than the face... eyes, mouth, nose.... because everything else is covered with fur. You have probably noticed that guard bees will fly a pattern in front of your face as a warning if you get too close to the hive.
-
As already said, without 'at least' smoking yourself, you've allowed bees to smell 'you' (and remember you) and actually given them permission or incentive to attack if you ticked them off even yesterday. I've got very gentle bees and receive few stings, but I'm also gentle w/ them ;).
Two things I never forget to bring to my bee yard, especially when going inside hives. A veil and a lit smoker, either for the bees or to mask me.
And its very true, bees (as well as wasps and hornets) seem hell bent on stinging the face when provoked. That said, during personal observation at least one bear seemed to pay little attention to them (or me w/out the shotgun) while feasting on my baby bees and larva and being stung around the face by thousands. Just a minor distraction to a determined bear.
thomas
-
.
Sounds bad that bees follow to door and continue guarding after 2 hours? That is dangerous to outside people.
Shange the queens.
Have you thinked that you may have Africanized colonies
-
Regarding the face thing, somewhere not sure where, I remember it is because the exhaled CO2 that they signal on to go after the face.
-
Weird as it seems scientific research has shown bees can be trained to recognise human faces, and remember them at least for a few days. I will dig out the link. No its not an April fool day one. Apparently they can't recognise if the face is presented upside-down. Eek:
They can be trained (with a sugar reinforcement) to choose certain symbols. Those symbols can be arranged in the form of a face (eyes mouth etc) so they appear to remember a certain face form. But they can also be trained to recognize symbols arranged in other forms than a face.
I do think though that bees know where your face is. They have evolved over millions of years to view bears as their main enemy. And you can't sting a bear anywhere other than the face... eyes, mouth, nose.... because everything else is covered with fur. You have probably noticed that guard bees will fly a pattern in front of your face as a warning if you get too close to the hive.
they actually distiguish between photos of similar faces . Yes bees can identity heels in a line up.
-
Good thread,Very interesting for a newbee like my self.
-
Weird as it seems scientific research has shown bees can be trained to recognise human faces, and remember them at least for a few days. I will dig out the link. No its not an April fool day one. Apparently they can't recognise if the face is presented upside-down. Eek:
Well that's it. No more handstands near my hives. :shock:
-
heres the link
Honeybee (Apis mellifera) vision can discriminate between and recognise images
of human faces
Adrian G. Dyer1,2,*, Christa Neumeyer1 and Lars Chittka3
face recoginition paper (http://jeb.biologists.org/content/208/24/4709.full.pdf)
-
I know that blowing on bees no matter how docile often gets a real reaction! I don't dispute that bees may remember a face for a few days but the changeover is so constant that I don't think it poses a solid benefit or threat. It is interesting though.
-
I can't say if they actually recognise faces, but I can tell you they will target one individual.
I have one hive that in May got to be so much of a bother I decided to re-queen only to change my mind. I have video of myself with nothing on but a hat, pair of shorts, and a smile opening the hive without smoke and lifting a super frame festooning bees and telling whomever that there's nothing to worry about.
A week later I got into the brood chamber. From that point the whole demeanor of the colony changed. I couldn't walk across the barnyard without being attacked. I was followed through the trees for 400 ft. (120 m), and couldn't go close to the beeyard weeks after. I finally decided to move them when I was ganged up on by two of them 50 ft from the colony, under cover of the barn!
My mother's ancient dog, the cats, and chickens all wander around under those hives and I was the only one who was ever attacked. I'm also the only Human who gets close to them, contrary to what everyone may have told you. I had tests done. I'm actually human.
Thing is, they mellowed out in their new location. I was thinking about moving them back where the other hives are. Earlier in November I opened the hive and put some pollen sub in just to get rid of it, they came out and found chinks in my armor. I even had one in my jacket pocket. They're good working bees, get out in the colder weather, but neurotic as...
-
.
30% of human brains have been meant to face identification. The registry has space for over million faces. The information is in the form of caricatyre.
The bee brains have eveloped - as we use to say, during millions of yeas.
What is the idea to bees to have human face registry in their tiny brains?
Bees have and must have a good landscape registry.
Bees remember the landcape at least 4 weeks.
But who is the most memorable person to bees, a man with eyes or man with mesh hat.
Bees like human eyes. They love to sting in human eyes.
-
well these replies are just re enforcing what i already suspected. none of my hives are "HOT". but as we all have learned or will learn is that they do have their days. the only times they have been aggressive is when i get lazy & do not smoke them or miss or ignore weather condition. it is on THOSE days that I've felt like i was being stalked. this behavior has never ( yet ) carried over into a 2ND day & has not been hive specific. on different days it has been different hives. I'm around these hives nearly everyday. i mow grass right up to them without being suited up. i often pop the outer cover for a quick peek without smoke or p.p.e. but now & then i pick the wrong day. i think that with having initially 3 hives & now 5 since august & having only been stung 2 times that i have faired pretty well.
-
well these replies are just re enforcing what i already suspected. none of my hives are "HOT". but as we all have learned or will learn is that they do have their days. the only times they have been aggressive
If you play with fire your bound to get burned
If you play with bees your bound to get stung
thats how I look at it
I have a top-bar hive here at the house,I've had them so mad a few did come to the glass door
waiting for me,the door is about 30-40 feet away,I feel they followed the pheromone
I only saw that once but it happened
I walked out there the next day and nothing
I played and I payed :?
Tommyt
-
Well that's it. No more handstands near my hives. :shock:
BBs - LOL!!! :-D
-
.
One beekeeper here says thatt his hives have good memory. School bouys had casted stones over his hives and one hive was specially angry. When boys passed by next summer, the bees attacked onto evil boys.
The beek concluded that they have a good memory. (even if workers hade changed two times)
like my boy use to say in these cases " yes, it is difficult to invent to say something to that".
-
Skunks can agitate a hive.
Is that memory?
Yes, on more than one occasion, I've had one bee seek me out after going through hive. brain memory? scent memory? If it were strictly scent from stings, wouldn't I have had more than one bee after me?
Just a thought...there is more than one type of memory.
I will say that I haven't had a kamikaze bee after me since I went glove/protectionless. Slower more deliberate movements = less agitated bees.