I went out tonight to take my weaker hive that I caught as a swarm in early July and combine it with one of my stronger hives that is doing very well. Initially I thought about just feeding them, but they only had about a half a frame of honey stored.
I went out at dusk, thinking things would be pretty quiet and it would be a quick process, so I didn't use the smoker. For the most part it was, but thankfully I had a veil and gloves because these ladies got MAD. I removed the outer and inner covers of the strong hive and laid the newspaper over the exposed frames. At this point I had to step away because someone small was attacking my veil with a vengeance. After two more attempts, I got the weak hive situated on top of the stronger one and covered things up. I found a little lady curled up trying to sting the heck out of my skirt, and two more were on my veil all fired up.
So I learned a few things tonight. First, bring the smoker. Second, my docile girls can get tough when need be. And third, bring the smoker.
I went out at dusk, thinking things would be pretty quiet and it would be a quick process, so I didn't use the smoker. For the most part it was, but thankfully I had a veil and gloves because these ladies got MAD. I removed the outer and inner covers of the strong hive and laid the newspaper over the exposed frames. At this point I had to step away because someone small was attacking my veil with a vengeance. After two more attempts, I got the weak hive situated on top of the stronger one and covered things up. I found a little lady curled up trying to sting the heck out of my skirt, and two more were on my veil all fired up.
So I learned a few things tonight. First, bring the smoker. Second, my docile girls can get tough when need be. And third, bring the smoker.