Worldwide Beekeeping
Beekeeping => General Beekeeping => Topic started by: Jen on March 13, 2018, 12:50:10 pm
-
Um, I might have volunteered a little too soon, without any knowledge of how to do a bee beard in public...eh hem.
However, one of our mentors has done bee beards back in the day. He said there is a definite process that has to be done before hand in preparation for bee beards. A certain way to calm the bees first. And making sure the queens in the queen cage necklaces are alive and well for the event.
Has anyone on this forum done a bee beard?
-
Jen,
You must have nerves of steel to even consider it. :) I know it's not all that dangerous but just thinking of all those insects crawling on me gives me the heeby-jeebies.
-
Neil, somehow the thought of it doesn't bother me. However, I haven't done it yet. So I should do a trial run first... or two or three :D
-
Your going to do this?
I want videos!
-
Robo has done them quite a few times
-
Hi Rrat, I thought you might have done one?
-
Your going to do this?
I want videos!
Yeah! What WM said!
Every year our bee club hosts an event which includes a bee swarm demo. Dr. Chip Taylor, University of Kansas Entomology Dept., gives this demonstration and he asks for volunteers to do a bee beard. Numerous hands always go up!!! Kids and adults. Not me. I get the sensations of claustrophobia.
-
I know that there is a process to accomplish this feat. Like you hang a caged queen around your neck. The bees will follow and land where the queen is hanging, because they will want to be near the queen and protect her.
How do you keep the bees in the beard position. Like the bees could simply land all over my tshirt...??
-
They can and will to some degree. Some will remain airborne or land in a sunny spot. Mostly they will cluster around the queen.
-
Sorry, I don't agree with bee beards.
Seems like a carnival freak show.
Bees should not be used for titillation of the general public.
Now putting on my armoured vest and heading for the bunker. :sad: :sad:
-
Hi Rrat, I thought you might have done one?
Always wanted to but never did get it done. Wore a regular beard for years shaved it a couple years ago. Maybe sometime in the future I will give it a try. Make sure you place cotton in your ears and nose. They will crawl in any place they can ;D Only concern I would have is doing a beard around a large group of people like a fair. If something goes south going to have bees everywhere. You might consider doing it in a screened in canopy so the bees can get away if there is a problem
-
Rrat, I was thinking of a screened tent of sorts. And we were hoping to get 4 volunteers, one for each day of the fair.
If you put cotton in the ears and the nose, then you would have to breath thru your mouth, mouth just barely open... right?
-
I would send robo a PM he is more in the know. I have seen some use a straw. I would say need to try to keep them from bearding around the mouth and nose area.
-
Jen
Video please!!! :)
-
Most certainly Neil! And I'm more than sure it will hit the local newspaper as well.
-
Definitely contact Robo!
-
Unless the weather is foul, I would do this in an open area. Sunlight makes bees happier and less likely to be grouchy, if you know what I mean? Be sure your cluster of bees is queenless. You don't want them flying the other direction with their own queen. :-[
-
Hmmm, that is a consideration. But it would make sense that I would be using a colony and it's own queen?
Thinking that I would bring a hive or nuc with me. The queen would already be in her cage, cage would already have a loop of string on it to hang around my neck. Then open the lid of the hive, get the caged queen, hang her around my neck. Then, someone would lift the lid of the hive and the bees would find there way to their queen.
-
Jen,
Just a thought. Have you cleared the turn with the insurance company ? I have a feeling that they may not be happy about the public liability.
-
Or a colony that has been queenless for about 24 hours.
You could hang her on in the open on a telephone pole or similar. Release the bees. Have a volunteer reach in to the cluster to retrieve the queen in the center of the cluster! That will take guts! Then take the queen and hang her around your neck. It will be a great demonstration on how long it takes for them to find her. Be prepared to talk about some aspect of swarming while you wait for the bees to move. Maybe someone else could talk while you stand there. I don't know about having your mouth open during this time.
Where is Robo when you need him to chime in? :laugh:
-
all i know is video please!............... 8)
i sent robo a pm....he's the guy to chime in as bakersd said!
-
What time of year? in the late spring early summer when the bees are content with good flows and the bees are calm. During a late summer dearth or into the fall and the bees may not be so receptive to cooperate. Basically easy to pull off if it is the bees natural swarming season. Other times of the year, use caution as the bees may be in no mood to cooperate.
-
all i know is video please!............... 8)
i sent robo a pm....he's the guy to chime in as bakersd said!
Here is a blog post I did on bee beards, hope it helps.
https://steemit.com/howto/@bushkill/the-mysteries-of-a-bee-beard-revealed
-
Hi Robo! Thank you! And glad to hear from you too.
Apis, it will be during the first week in August. Thank you for that bit of information, I hadn't considered that.
Barbarian, actually we'll be discussing that at the next meeting in April. But that made me think of all the liabilities that go on at a county fair. Snake petting booths, Hold a monkey, bronco rodeo's, drunken brawls on Fri and Sat night, camel rides, elephant rides...
So I'm sure insurance would be in the equation.
Barbarian, thank you for your concern about the bees, I appreciate that ;) 8)
-
Jen, I see a snug fitting turtleneck in your future (spandex?)
-
Hi Les, Ha! We have a gal in the next town that did a bee beard, I'll have to ask her what she wore.