Leigh,
Used the same mineral oil and the did the same with the Bear.  In the
morning everything seemed OK.  I had one more out yard to do in the
afternoon and it was hot and the hive was large.  Went down to the
brood and put my beed of oil.  The bees started an uproar as you said.
I tried to get the other supers back on and the bees wouldn't quit.
The oil spread out when it was too hot.  On the other hives the bead
sort of stayed together.
Can anyone give us some more information??
 
                  billy bee  Valley Lee Maryland, U.S.A.
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> From: Leigh Wiley <[log in to unmask]>
> To: [log in to unmask]
> Subject: <none>
> Date: 19 juin 1997 17:10
>
> I tried using mineral oil on my bees and was surprised by 1) the
uproar
> it caused ( it appeared to disrupt the hives for the rest of the
day),
> and 2) the several dozen dead bees on the bottom boards 1/2 hour
later!
> I was really concerned that I might have done in the queen but it
> appears that the ones that died were the ones hit directly by the oil
as
> I applied it. Still I have some concerns about using oil for this
> reason. I used a honey bear squeeze jar to apply but perhaps the hole
> was too big? The mineral oil was labled as being for "intestinal
use".
> Any suggestions?