Tim Damon wrote:
 
> Last night thunderstorms moved through the area and this morning was
>damp and overcast. as the day progressed it became warm with some
>sunshine. Thinking that the bees would be in as good of mood as I was
>the first mistake. After preparing all the needed equipment, I opened the
>1st hive, this is normally a strong and sometimes aggressive hive as well
>as a good producer. Well today they weren't aggressive,  they were HOT, I
>mean "Thermo-Nuclear Hot". I got the first sting before I even had the
>cover off, but I would not be denied. About 8-9 stings later I had the
>1st hive closed up and started to move though the yard (5 more to go). To
>make a long story short all the hives were nearly as hot as the 1st.
 
>1. Never assume the bees share the same enthusiasm that you do.
>2. Never work the bees, work with them.
>3. When normally gentle bees are being aggressive, they must have a
>reason.
>4. Don' t force the issue with them, do it another day rather than risk
>serious injury.
>
> Maybe had I let things settle down a bit before moving on from the 1st
>hive I would had been fine, but in the painful chaos I was thrown out of
>my normally calm and slow moving style and into a hurried frenzy.
>
> I post this for the many other hobbyist and part-times that follow
>BEE-L. When we don't keep bees for a living we tend to fit them into
>"our" schedule, not the "bees" schedule. This can be a painful and tragic
>mistake. Know your bees and take your cues from them. There will be times
>that it will not be convenient to work with your bees, but you must be
>moldable to their attitudes and timetables.
 
We made the discovery some time ago that the bees are very good
meteorologists. After several mornings of finding very agitated bees, we
never go into the bee yard unless the baromter is on the rise. On a
brilliant sunny day the bees can be unhappy, and lo and behold there is a
weather front on the way.
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