Three days ago, the day after a large storm (over 1 inch rain in an hour),
all of my bees were flying around in circles in front of the hives (except
one that was from a small swarm earlier in the year). A large number were
coming in and out, as if there were a honey flow on. There was no fighting
on any of the hive stands. Since I hadn't been in them in about 1-1/2 weeks,
I checked the top box or on all and all the way into the brood box on the
busiest one. No fighting or robbing behavior that I could see. The one that
had the biggest mob of bees in front is up to their seventh super this year,
all started from foundation and they have about 1/2 drawn out the last one
(this is much better than the other hives in the same location, started at
the same time). The next day (it rained again), all was back to about
normal, with the usual occasional collisions coming and going and very
little circling.

Has anyone else seen such flight behavior right after a storm? Or for some
other known reason, other than robbing?

Could it have been from some type of poisoning or just unusual heavy flow? I
didn't see any dead bees around the front of the hives or on the bottom
board or inside. Just lots of bees doing the same sorts of things they are
usually doing. I do occasionally notice a solitary bumblebee trying to get
into the hives, but didn't see any on the day they were so active, nor any
sign of skunks trying to get in (we have skunks here, but they have never
bothered our bees).

The hives are all sound, with ventilation holes at the top, but only one
main entrance. I had tried imrie shims before for summer entrances, but just
get a mess of comb each time. The strongest hive is pretty full (brood,
pollen and honey) in the bee's area (1 deep, 1 medium), but I didn't see any
swarm cells, just one small queen cup mid way up a frame, which I ignored as
I've been advised that they get built sometimes and those in the middle of a
frame, with no egg/larva, just get built sometimes and are not a problem
(this is only my second year with bees, although I used to go "help" my
grandfather with them years ago, in this same location).

Karen Oland

PS. This is the same day that a kamikaze bee (not necessarily a honey bee,
we have lots of bees here of different types) attacked me (well away from
the hives, not in any flight path), stinging my index finger after
repeatedly banging into my face. Unlike other stings, this one kept
gradually swelling up until my entire hand was involved. When the swelling
went up the wrist (the next morning), I went to a clinic - the Dr thought it
was perhaps an infection from the sting, so went on steroids/antibiotics.
Swelling started to subside a little last night and is down about 1/2 today
(most pain gone, hurrah, but skin now starting to peel). Could their strange
behavior be related?