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Discussion of Bee Biology <[log in to unmask]>
Date:
Tue, 26 Aug 1997 11:59:45 GMT+0200
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Hi all
 
Yesterday I had one of those very funny things happen.
 
I smoked a small hive out of a wall. What I did was to make a small
hole in the wall high up above the cluster and then pump smoke in.
The bees quite happily bubbled out as they normally do. Now what
usually happens when I do this is that the bees will choose the most
impossible place you can imagine to settle. Then I go an collect the
cluster put it in a photocopier paper box and leave it for two hours
and collect them later.
 
Well, yesterday things went wronng, I put a few puffs of smoke into
the hole and out flies the queen, straight into my shirt (I don't
wear protective gear for that sort of thing) and runs down my front,
into my sleave. Now I did not want to squash her. Eventually everyone
else in the hive came out too in a big mass and landed on my
shirtsleave on the outside. So here I am with a cluster of bees
around the top of my shirt just above the armpit. This poses a
problem as one arm is unmoveable. (luckily the left) Next I try to
walk over to my car to collect a box to shake them into. This is
difficult and to reach in is worse. The owners of the house were
watching incredulously from their lounge window.
 
Next I got the box and stood over  it, then did a rapid head banging
stunt and the bees fell in the box. Then I carefully removed my shirt
and turned it inside out and found the queen, popped her in a matcbox
and put it in the other box, put a lid on, put the shirt back on, at
which point I got stung for the first time on my head by a bee that
got squished by the shirt I geuss.
 
The owners asked if that was how one removed bees and I said it was
one of the worst ways but it worked.
 
Anybody else had queens fly out and run in funny places?
 
Keep well
 
Garth
 
PS I sort of remember hearing that euro queens don't fly when iin egg
laying condition. African queens can fly short distances, so thats
how the smoking out works.
---
Garth Cambray       "Opinions expressed in this post may be those
15 Park Road         of Pritz, my cat, who knows a lot about
Grahamstown          catfood."
6140                       *[log in to unmask]*
South Africa               Phone 27-0461-311663
 
In general, generalisations are bad.
But don't worry BEEEEEE happy.

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