Hi!

I had the most unpleasant experience in five years of beekeeping last weekend.  I was checking my two hives (one Carniolan, one Italian) at a friend's farm, and the bees attacked me like I've never experienced before.  They CLUNG to me, I was stung nearly a dozen times through my bee suit, and I couldn't get them away from me - I walked at least a quarter mile, brushing them off, but there must have been a couple dozen bees that kept going ZING! off my veil and hat, and wouldn't leave me alone.  I finally had to drive five miles home, wearing bee suit and veil, with the windows open.  It really shook me.  These bees came as 3-pound packages this spring from a place in Ohio that I have not bought bees from before.

A bit more background - yes it was a hot overcast afternoon, yes I did not use smoke (I only wanted to remove the queen/honey excluder from below three supers on each hive - BUT - I did the same thing a half hour earlier to my seven hives (all Italian) behind my garden with no more that a couple mildly annoyed bees that left me after I walked 20 feet away.

Has anyone else experienced anything like this?

Thanks!

-Gary P. in northern Illinois

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