Robin Dartington said:

> I would be very careful indeed on working bees at night
> without a veil. As others have said, bees do not fly
> (unless there is a strong moon) but if disturbed, they crawl.

The overwhelming majority of bees that are climbing will
climb >> upwards << without fail, which is the key point
to note when working with hives at or after dusk.

So, the dress code is pant cuffs into socks, shirt-tails
into pants, and long sleeves, but I don't see a specific
reason for a veil, as I use them only when I must.

I've never had a problem with bees crawling on me,
but I've never torn down a hive at night.  Added
supers, sure.  Filled feeders, sure.  Emptied pollen
traps, sure.  By the time the sun sets, I am done
with anything involving heavy lifting.

The only actual work I do at "night" is when I move
hives.  I walk along the hive lines as dusk approaches
and shove bent sections of 8-mesh into each entrance to
seal the hives, and loop a ratchet strap around each,
from bottom board to cover.  My hives all sit on pairs
of cinder blocks front and rear, or on ski-doo trailers
rescued from certain death at the hands of the scrapyard,
allowing the strap to be applied without moving the hive at all.

After a hive is placed, the mesh comes off.

A special case to note is that hives placed near a dawn-to-dusk
flood light (or street light if you live in the big city) will
seemingly NEVER stop launching sorties.  The ways to disable those
lights are many, with the least destructive being the removal of the
"cap" on top, which contains the light sensor.  Placing the hives
in an area not illuminated by such lights is much easier.

I've never seen bees flying on a clear night with a full moon,
and I know that I have walked with the dogs along the hive lines
often enough.  (A dog lifting his leg here and there near the
hives seems to do wonders towards intimidating pest mammals
like skunks.)


        jim (Which is worse - e.coli in our food, or broc.coli?)

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