In a message dated 4/15/99 9:01:51 AM Eastern Daylight Time,
[log in to unmask] writes:

>     Anyway, while I had the hive open after installing the package three
>  days ago and was holding the cage trying to pull that irritating little
cork
>  out with a pair of jewelers needle-nose pliers, the bee's simply covered my
>  gloved hand holding the cage.  I felt like I was holding a vibrator because
>  these crazy bee's were holding their tails real high and buzzing as hard as
>  they could.  I had dozens of bee's doing the strange buzzing thing on my
>  hand.  Would anyone know what these funny things were trying to do?  My
hand
>  was still vibrating for five to ten minutes after I had them all closed
back
>  up.  The whole thing was rather funny.

   When the bees raise their tails, you can see a white spot. This is the
Nasinov gland. They fan their wings to spread the odor outward. Since bees
communicate by odor, they were telling all the other bees: "Here she is; here
is our queen! Just stay close to us."

    Swarms frequently do this to tell each other where to find the entrance
of a new home.

    You had a pretty neat experience. Now if we can just wean you from those
gloves, you can really get high on it.......


     Part of the problem in removing corks is the gloves themselves. They
also make you clumsy in many other ways. You will not "fine tune" your use of
the smoker, as long as you are dependent on gloves. And gloves can spread
disease.

     Most every beekeeper starts off with gloves. But it is a good idea to
work to the day when you can work without them.

[log in to unmask]     Dave Green  Hemingway, SC  USA
The Pollination Scene:  http://users.aol.com/pollinator/polpage1.html
The Pollination Home Page:    http://www.pollinator.com

Jan's Sweetness and Light Shop    (Varietal Honeys and Beeswax Candles)
http://users.aol.com/SweetnessL/sweetlit.htm