Jen: ....would love to hear some of those stories
Riverbee: ...would like to hear about some of those adventures
I guess I walked into that with my eyes open.....
So. briefly...
In my very early days as a beek, I took a course in Bee biology and bee hive management in the department of Agriculture of the Hebrew University. Had very good relations with the professor who taught the course and the head bee advisor of the department of agriculture. I was the only student in the class who haad already started keeping bees, all the others were preparing in advance.
I found one of my hives to be particuarly unmanageable, but from a lack of experience I didn't know if I was at fault, doing something wrong, or perhaps this was what to expect. I called the chief advisor and he, intent on doing me a favor, decided to call the professor to come with him as he examined my problematic hive.
We went together and I was given a lecture on the importance of properly smoking a hive, particularly a difficult one. At the hive, they intended to show me how a proper smoking could calm the "wildest" of the wild, and intended to show me how they could calmly examine the properly prepared bees barehandedly.
Who was I, a novice, to warn the "big boys" that they were in for a surprise.
After a "normal" smoking, they started to open the hive and the bees started to rush out. The lid was returned and the smoke was poured on---but really poured on.
I was informed that this excessive smoking would intimidate the hive and they would become docile and totally manageable. Okay--I'm always willing to learn.
When the smoke was so thick that it was coming out of every minute crack, they decided to open up. WELL, the bees didn't rush out---THEY POURED OUT IN WILD FURIOUS WAVES, SPILLING ALL OVER THE HIVE AND QUICKLY TAKING WING AT ANYTHING NEARBY. I, the student, was gloved, the experts weren't. The attack was viscious and the two sets of bare hands were quickly in receipt of multiple stings and quickly stuck into pockets as the two expert instructors rapidly moved out of immediate range.
Of course, they couldn't give up in the face of a student so they quickly gloved up and returned. I stood by and watched as they went through the frames, all the time under attack. I can't say how many stings they received or how many stingers were left in our bee suits and gloves, but they were numerous.
After the hive was put back together and we had moved away to a safe distance, I was given a summary of the lesson---yes, I had described the hive properly---and the queen should be replaced as soon as possible.
