Africanized Honey Bees Attack, Why do they do that? What should you do? Beekeeping Lesson
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 28 ก.ย. 2024
- In this video Fred investigates a honey bee attack that leaves chickens dead, hogs off their feet, and beekeepers frustrated by a hive that is overly defensive. Which hive is it? Let's find out!
In this video I investigate honeybees that are behaving much like Africanized Bees, I show you how I find them and then, make recommendations on how to deal with overly, defensive, bees with the potential to kill by stinging in overwhelming numbers.
Here is the Max Protect Suit I wore: amzn.to/2BYnnWW
I wear high-cut Muck Boots: amzn.to/2MFItOH
Trash Bags seriously strong! amzn.to/2PPARqR
CO2 to render bees unconscious amzn.to/2BZPYeH
CO2 does not kill them, but only buys time to wrap them up or take further measures.
UPDATE: Many viewers have asked why I don't use soap and water to terminate a dangerous colony of honey bees. I personally like to have emergency equipment staged and ready. Industrial black plastic bags and packaging tape are easy to stage and transport. In many cases, the action needs to be taken immediately to protect innocent by standers, neighbors, or live stock. Soapy water works, but requires water, soap, and a nearby garden hose to do a proper cleansing of the soap residue as it's very harmful to the bees. All soapy water residue must be removed from every surface. The Bag and Tape method works anywhere at any time without requiring a water source or clean up. Once the bag is removed and most of the dead bees are removed, the components may be re-used immediately with no rinsing or drying out. It's my method of choice and I do also have a portable CO2 extinguisher to temporarily incapacitate them while they are being bagged. Both methods work, I just have this personal preference.
In this video, I answer a local farmer's request for assistance when one of their colonies began to attack and sting their livestock and husband as he began to mow. They hadn't changed their routine, nor farming methods, what changed was the attitude and possible genetics of their bees.
It's late August, the weather is warm and we are in the middle of a nectar flow. You can smell honey in the hives and all of my bees are extremely content. Honeybees can get a little competitive and even defensive more than usual when they have brood, or when a dearth exists which presses them for resources.
We have no answers regarding what changed in this particular colony, only that there was a marked change in their behavior and they launched a full-scale move on the chickens, hogs, and husband. Killing two chickens and nearly putting the hogs in a state of shock as they went off their feet and began rapid shallow breathing. Boar, Sow, young hogs were all stung extensively.
In the end, after evaluating the bees, my advice was to kill the bees and remove the colony by wrapping the hive with thick heavy black plastic. With temps forecast into the 90's, the bees should overheat or suffocate. Several days later, she and her husband assumed the bees were dead as they had fallen silent inside the hive box. So, they began to unwrap the hive only to find them back in action as soon as fresh air hit them. They were immediately re-wrapped.
The hogs survived, the husband's hand is returning to normal size. He sustained more than 50 stings and had to walk down the road past his home before the assailing bees relented.
I was more than happy to go and evaluate the situation and obtained their permission to make a video in order to share about the events on their farm.
Many thanks to my friends for allowing me to share their story!
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I worked for a bee keeper for 6 years when I was a kid. When we found aggressive hives we were instructed to kill the queen, wait a few days, and introduce a new bred queen to repopulate the hive. I thought that was the best procedure until I saw your video. I never thought of the drones that would hatch, breed other queens and spread the anger. GREAT video.
Here eastern part of the US some colonies of normally docile honey bees can get an aggressive queen and that can be done, but have seen whereas the entire colony has become over aggressive and the entire colony would just kill the new queen indeed and unfortunately is best to euthanized the entire colony than take the risk. Other locations with africanized bees, intruding a more docile queen would not work well for that reason.
@TexasBBQ Smokehouse I’m 100% with you on using a flame thrower on spiders - good riddance
I was attacked by a monstrous hunting spider that eats entire fish and birds as its prey. It’s enormous and aggressive and it literally torpedos itself through air and water, swims and dives to hunt the fish beneath water.
I never fathomed that such a creature even existed- much less that it inhabited my area of the world that enjoys a reputation of having zero known or reported predators.
It attacked me out of nowhere. I was minding my own business and swimming in the middle of a placid river in a locale that, as I said, is blessed with a reputation of having no predators. It was a gigantic, swimming spider. It came out of nowhere appearing on the surface of the water less than 2 feet away and lunged at me three times in rapid succession.
As I caught sight of the burgeoning assault from the corner of my eye, before I even had time to doubt my sanity, instinct took over and I reflexively swept my arms forward to create a swell of water in front of me to slow its progress and push it away.
I then swam at a torrid pace to shore. Once ashore, though the adrenaline and trauma was still fresh (that’s PTSD for you - unfortunately many things can trigger panic attacks once you have the underlying condition), I began to full on assume that I had to have hallucinated the encounter. This naturally flowed into me starting to doubt my sanity.
But it seemed so real.
So back at home, I scoured the internet for some sort of confirmation. I was torn between seeking peace of mind to know I wasn’t insane versus peace of mind to know that no such monster inhabited my beloved swimming spot. I leaned toward hoping for insanity.
It turns out that in my area there is such a monster. It was the size of my fist, with legspan extending beyond that. And it hunts with the exact MO as described.
I’d been in this area nearly my whole life. I read the papers. I watch the news. I’m an avid enthusiast of the outdoors. And I talk to people- or, at least I did until the PTSD took its hold.
I never heard of any such a thing. A huge spider that hunts birds and fish and dives and swims underwater. And that hunted ME on that day too. But it’s all true.
@@aabaahgnaarbuulaajaadiijn744 where did this happen?
@@lollygagger9571 so… I left off my location purposely because being a DV survivor I have to be very cautious. But i found a video showing exactly the type of spider. Apparently they are found all over the world. These spiders are technically able to inhabit anywhere wherever there is fresh water. (It doesn’t mean they’ll be in every fresh water body though. I’ve spent every summer since childhood glued to the rivers, lakes and ponds, swimming and playing water sports and neither me nor anyone I’ve ever met or talked to has ever encountered these things. Except for me. That one time.)
Here is the video, as promised, showing this 8-legged demon spawn monstrosity in action: 🤢🤮😭
m.th-cam.com/video/CktmhnWnSJI/w-d-xo.html
In case you are wary of links, you can find it here on YT yourself with a quick search. The video title is “This Terrifying Spider Hunts Fish Underwater” and it’s on the TH-cam channel of The Smithsonian (Museum).
FVCKING YIKES.
Now I’m having flashbacks. Seriously. Pray for me. 🙏.
I wonder if anyone ever made a queen trap. By that, I mean something to kill the first queen to hatch. African drones breed queens that hatch one to two days earlier than American/European drones. Still, killing the hive entire would work. I would use a fire extinguisher. I remember hearing about a person who ran inside. I think it was Arizona. There was a forty degree difference in temperature. All the bees that came in died instantly from the drop in heat.
I love how the other bees were just like "Oh, ignore that, that`s just our crazy neighbours from the orange hive."
Gobra...lolol
Orange hive bad.
@Matt G They are infact africanized
@Daniel Salvador wtf bro leave your gf's social media alone
@Daniel Salvador didnt know instagram had an idiot filter
Extremely glad to hear you promoting getting rid of the entire colony, this has been my argument for years. It's extremely unfair on other beekeepers in the area to inflict dangerous genetics on them.
Hi Sarah, one of my concerns here is that we do have beekeepers nearby who won't even discuss their bees or management practices. I couldn't agree with you more :)
Go in and rem9ve the, queen, replace her with a gentle queen and stay away from the hive for 6 mo ths. They will settle down
@camillepalmer9337 guess you didn't watch the entire video.
He speaks directly about why that is not a solution.
Dawn soap + water kills instantly. I’ve watched a guy who had to rid his bees 🐝 as it Eva me ver agressive
@@FLIPPER1439 th-cam.com/video/TH0gyhIargo/w-d-xo.htmlsi=KYa5J3yO_LXGoDa0
One of the most informative well presented bee videos ever. Boy was it ever noticable when you walked in front of that hot hive. This is first hand documentary quality information. Awesome work Fred as always.
Thank you very much Gary, I really appreciate your comment. :)
@@FrederickDunn I knew they was killer bees as normal bees are gentle why can't they not mess with nature hell they got more honey but got aggressive too greetings from UK England near London 🐝🐝🐝😱🐺🐾
I agree absolutely the very best bee and chicken videos!
You are absolutely the best beekeeper .....ever...
I totally agree. Very hard to do, but completely necessary.
This is a really worthwhile video for anyone keeping chickens and bees together just so they know what can happen in extreme situations. I've referred it to my fellow beekeepers in the Alameda County Beekeepers Association. I also really like you calm tone throughout this disturbing video. Thanks.
Thank you, Blake :)
Thank you for the voice of sanity and reason! There’s so much ‘save the bees’ sentiment nowadays, that it goes too far when it’s a dangerous hive. If you know how to handle bees and conduct yourself around them, then you make an objective, educated assessment and do the right thing before someone gets seriously hurt. Period. No amount of honey is worth getting someone or something hurt or killed.
Great video. Thank you!
Thank you. It's a part of beekeeping that may never be necessary, but I'd like people to be prepared just in case.
Btw : the only bees that need saving are the non domestic ones that are native to this country (like bumblebees)
I’ve dealt with this in northern PA. Had to walk almost a 1/4 mile for them to leave me alone. Still got stung through my suit a couple dozen times. They was monstrously productive but we wasn’t gonna keep it. We made a plan to get rid of them but a bear 🐻 🍯 did it for us. That critter paid dearly for his sweets.
Thank you for sharing that story Frank! Would have been interesting to see that bear on a security or trail cam to see if it even cared.
God bless the bear.
I am highly allergic to Bee venom. I watch your videos to learn. When I purchased property in rural Virginia, I had 4 hives (feral) that kept me terrorized. (I am aware that they can smell my fear). I was able to talk to my neighbor, who was a long time resident, and a local bee keeper was able to come and collect the bees, moving them safely to their bee yard. I offered to pay them (because I know how import bees are and I also know that they spent two days clearing the hives) but instead they gave me honey! Now I know this may not be the norm, but I was very grateful. I still walk around with my epi pens in my pocket, but I get to enjoy my trees, and my flowers, and the beauty that surrounds me. I would have been devastated if my husband had killed the hives. It is not the bees fault that I am allergic to them. I am grateful that Mr. Bingham (my wonderful neighbor) goes to church with so many Bee keepers!
It’s crazy soon as you approach the orange and green boxes, the noise got so much louder!
I watched a video of another farmer who said he had been keeping bees for decades without an issue. The video he made was well worse than even the bees you showed and he said the same thing. He said it was important to get rid of the genetics because they were just too aggressive and his original intent was to requeen the hive. Many people were angry that he killed the bees. I agree with what he did because allowing them to breed would be irresponsible. Hearing you talk just reinforced my opinion though I don't have any knowledge of beekeeping. I do know someone who kept bees where you could be right next to the hive without issue like you were with the other bees around that nest.
Aggression keeps that species alive.
Yes let’s squash it 😑
@@joejones but do they need it?
yes in some cases, but they could also be killing other things around them.
so if they kill other animals that help spread new flowers around, killing their food sources.
Or killing themselves with just going around being defensive and not actually doing the work they are meant to be doing.
@@joejones The average American honey bee is not aggressive unless they feel under attack. Even as a kid I would follow bees as they traveled flower to flower. I'd even gently pet the bumble bees as they were gathering nectar and I've never been stung. What's killing wild non aggressive bees is loss of habitat, fear, ignorance and africanized bees. The africanized bees are an invasive and even deadly species that don't belong on this continent and the more that's eradicated the better it is for the bees that are meant to be here
@@joejones you're so out of touch with nature, never make a comment on anything involving nature or farming ever again
These bees need to die. Most bees fly away & mind their own business. Africanized bees aggressively attack. I'm trying to figure out where their hive is as I can't go out on my balcony anymore without one or two Aftricanized bees flying right at me to attack & I'm highly allergic to bees.
The pigs look miserable. Poor piggies.
Totally drowned your voice!!! Scary.
I agree, stop the genetic pattern in the hot bees.
I think the pigs were only their temp until the bees were sorted out!
@@NathanChisholm041 there* (Their = a property or characteristic of someone or something; There = Location)
In a case like this it's important to know the proper use because it changes the meaning of the sentence.
@Filip Nikolic are you suggesting eugenics?
@Filip Nikolic humans are sentient and have feelings and free thoughts. bees are not, they are essentially organic robots.
@@HostileAtHeartShame on you for being so snotty! There is absolutely no need for that here! :(
That hive is basically the bee equivalent of Twitter.
Wow.. you are right.........
I’m glad I’m not the only one seeing this as an analogy for the bigger picture, that’s a reality for our country.
Interesting.
Only if you buy the propaganda. Twitter is allowing free speech. The fact people see free speech as dangerous is the real danger
TURN ON (CC) if you want to know what I'm saying during the defensive response. There are many levels of Personal Protective Equipment, sometimes you wear normal clothes and will be just fine, BUT, what if you have an insect emergency? Do you have an outfit that will permit you to keep working? Here is my video about levels of protection and what I use: th-cam.com/video/9sGE0We7C8w/w-d-xo.html UPDATE!!! AS of TODAY, their flowhive is FULL... so, take that doubters :)
I think it would be prudent for a bee handler to have epi pens on hand. Do most bee handlers have those?
At 300-500 dollars a pop, unless you're allergic, I don't imagine many will have that in their first aid kit :(
$38 for a twinpack in australia the article i read said the company in america inflated the price by 400 % i swell and the itching sends me crazy so when i get stung i use claratyne and zantac together ( or the active ingredient ranitidine )
There is a new generic version recently approved by the FDA...
@@FrederickDunn u should buy them from australia
When I was a child a swarm of African bees killed my pet dog and monkey in Brazil back in the 1970s. RIP Tom and Jerry
Do you kill them back?
@@ChadDidNothingWrong He has been hunting them down for years... bee by bee.
man had a pet MONKEY
I watched an English beekeeper channel on his hot hive. He requeened with a virgin queen.
Your explanation as to why the entire hive needs killed makes perfect sense.
HI Barb, I agree with requeening with less aggressive lines, but when they arrive at the "killing" level of defensiveness that's where I draw the line. Thanks for your understanding. :)
As painful it can be I agree with you, Fred. The other issue that I didn't see you mention in your response to Barb was the concern that the drones within this hive could spread the aggressive behavior to other hives.
You do not kill the bees.Use CO2 puthem to sleep.Leit around they will be Good Girls.Kill the Queen she is the Diavol.
You have to kill the drones, to prevent agresive genes spreading too.
People in England just re-queening are destroying the domestication process and they are greedy... take no notice of these guys. They are happy to spread their aggressive genes throughout the bee populations in the UK and do not care about contamination of nearby hives (or people).
Your point about we needing to keep tame bees in order to keep the angry bee genes stamped down is spot on. I had not thought about that aspect of it. More good genes equals the bed genes getting watered down.
Thank you for a great video. We live in South Africa, Western Cape and we have 2 types of bees on the farm, the Cape honey bee and the African honey bee and for us this kind of behaviour from our bee hives are normal and we can not work our bees without protective clothing, I am envious when I see the good calm nature of your bees. Thank for your videos we learn a lot from them.
Thank you so much, it's great to be in contact with people on the other side of the world :)
Can you not keep European bees on your farm in Africa?
Jason K
I would assume (not a beekeeper here) that even if you were to introduce a calmer strain from another part of the world they would quickly become africanised due to contact with native bees.
@@holypaladin4657 Diligent effort can do the trick.
Although whether the fact they are less productive will help ... probably not. Depends on the overall attitude being cultivated in the country. ... The ANC call themselves socialist, but I doubt they would promote anticapitalism in this matter, hah. ... They are quite aggressive.
he is so calm and soft spoken. i can listen to him talk all day
Wow! Rogue Bees! Very professionally handled Mr Dunn!
Thank you!
What did you do?! Or *not* do ;)
Loved all your information , been around bees for 70 yrs and you have made it so plain thanks
Thank you, Mr. Dunn, another exceptionally well made and informative video. I concur with your philosophy of removing the aggressive strain completely. This outcome could have been so much worse had there been children in the area when the bees attacked the farm animals. This topic was actually brought up at a bee meeting and you do need to be prepared to take drastic measures in unusual situations like this. I have ten hives, three in an urban setting and pray this doesn't happen to any of my hives. Your closing comments were spot on, thanks again. Atlanta, GA
Thank you so much for such a wonderful comment. There is a very dangerous practice some beekeepers have of sharing that "real beekeepers don't wear suits" (';')... ok, until you really need one. I'm so glad your beekeeper's association is talking about potential events such as this.
I agree..
My horse was killed by bees 2 months go. He did the right thing. I wouldn't wish that experience on my worst enemy..
It's not worth taking chances with mean bees.
I built up hives to a total of ten colonies with very gentle bees that are easy to work without PPE. A few weeks ago I happened to be working near them when a swarm alighted on an apple tree. I think that some of my bees mingled with that swarm. When I tried to capture it I was stung 15 or so times. The swarm escaped. The next day I had aggressive guard bees come out of one of my hives and attack me. Going 150 ft away and waiting a long time did not make them stop. My guess was that some guard bees from the swarm returned to that hive along with some of my old bees. After a week I was still unable to walk across the yard without having bees come after me. Usually I would have had my young grandchildren with me and that would have been a disaster.
Since it came on suddenly I hoped that my old queen and brood in that hive were ok. So, I got some new queens and split that hive. I left a nuc with only two frames in the location of the defensive hive with the idea that the guard bees would return to that hive that night. The next day there were many bees circling that hive but not the new splits. That night I sealed the hive and carried it away to be destroyed.
After this the split hives as well as my older colonies were back to being gentle again. However, now I will be watching even more closely for overly defensive bees.
Ouch. 15x. I’m basically a big baby in the inside after getting stung once, but trying to keep it cool on the outside. Can hardly imagine the ones COVERED in them.
I am from South Africa and can say that I have worked with bees that if you had to come into a hundred feet the bees will start to attack you and if you get close to the hive they start covering you.. If you take of honey you need someone to help with smoking regularly. Every disterbance you make to the hive the bees become more aggresive you could be covered with bees in seconds. If I had to open the brooding section you are looking for trouble. You cant take the risk to keep bees in your neighbourhood. Everyone in the surrounds are at risk. Another thing is a young colony wont be so aggressive, but as they grow in number you start having problems. This however is not for all bee colonys some are more docile than others. Note to never bother the bees on a rainy day. Most bees will then be in the hive and not working the field and there will be more bees to attack. Also when it is a very hot day for there will be more bees busy fanning to try and keep the temperature down and are easily irritated. These aggressive colonys are usualy very productive, but should be kept away from live stock and places where there are people
Fantastic Fred! Very well put together presentation. I can understand novice bee keepers panicking. Thank you!
Thanks John! I'm always happy to help others out when I have the time :)
John Mcneill I’m panicking just watching this
As a beekeeper in Zimbabwe I have learned to mange the Scutelata bee and it was interesting to see you assess the defensive bees in the video. We keep bees in suburban areas as there are many wild hives in hollow trees in the residential areas in Zimbabwe. As beekeepers in Zimbabwe we provide swarm capture services and educate the community on how to stay safe around our natural but defensive bees. There are some guide lines for managing African bees and it is possible to manage these bees with some risk management. It is not an option for for a small close farm setting but in areas where you are forced to except this bee it can be done with relative safety. All the problems we have encountered are caused by ignorance of how to deal with the African bee.
We manage all our colonies at night we do everything in the dark. Harvest honey and move hives everything is done at night because the bees do not fly far in the dark.
Our protective clothing is completely bee proof. We use double cuffs gators for hands and feet. We use lots of cool smoke. One of the things that you learn is how sensitive bees are to chemicals and odours. All American and European beekeepers would find a course on working African bees very helpful. It makes you a more sensitive and professional beekeeper. The African Scutelata bee demands your respect they have no malicious intentions but through evolutionary pressure have become the most successful invasive species in the history of man. The two main predators of the African bee are man and the African honey badger this is why they are so defensive. Even the big five in African do not mess with the African bee. I am very fond of my bees they are wild and free I respect them and they remind me that I am a thief every time I rob them just as they should . I would love to have saved those wild bees in your video. I have never seen a Varroa mite our bees just rip them up and hive beetles are ejected and imprisoned and literally lifted bodily off the landing board and carried away that I have seen. You have a war on you hands the outcome will be decided by the climate the African bee will keep coming. Only the cold will stop it. I strongly suggest that you learn how to manage these amazing bees you will be happier in the long term.
This is incredibly informative. You did a great job handling the bees and teaching people on some of the science people need to understand to safely run an apiary.
Thank you very much! :)
Just wondered if these bees attack the other hives. I'm surprised a hot hive can be so close to non hot ones.
Hold Fast Yes, me too🤔
Non-hot will probably still defend fiercely against aggressing hives. But it might also be due to what he explained, that they aggress once they move out and need a new place. There's no need in attacking otherwise. I guess they are - luckily - not so advanced in their strategizing that they aggress based on resource availability. Or if they do, then their competitors are very hostile, too.
Dunno, maybe Africanized bees merely have a lower threshold to becoming aggressive but are not really any more peak-aggressive than a pissed off European hive.
Dowlphwin I was thinking the same. Thanks for your answer😁
Im really glad we live here in New Zealand where this is not an issue, my children's school has a vege garden, orchard and beehive. I don't imagine that would be possible in some of the southern states where the AHB are an issue. Thank you for being so informative and being sure to give facts and not glorifying beekeeping at all costs.
Thanks as always for the in depth focus on the subject. I like your prior QA format but this was a great learning opportunity to share too. Admire your calm and trust in your equipment. I have no bees yet and no prior experience with a hot hive, but there was a kind of species-level response to listening to the rage of that colony. My adrenaline is still up just from the sound!
Thanks so much Aaron!
It was cool to see how passive most of the bees were. But the level of DEPLOYMENT from that orange box was horrifying! So glad I'm not actually allergic but 50+ stings? YIKES! Yeah, the more aggressive bees would likely take over the hives of the passive ones eventually. Remove the genes. I LOVE my chickens, and your hogs are adorable. So sad to see them hurt!
I wonder if there are bees who just sit there quietly and thinking: ''I'm tired of all this buzzing around''
*puts headphones*
WOW THIS IS SO INFORMATIVE MY NEIGHBOR HAS BEES AND THEY ALWAYS COME IN MY FLOWER GARDENS NEVER HAD A PROBLEM WITH THEM WHEN I'M OUTSIDE DOING WHATEVER.DID NOT KNOW THEY COULD BE DIFFERENT GENETIC MARKERS THAT COULD AFFECT THEIR BEHAVIOR.THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR THIS VIDEO..PEACE FROM CANADA...STAY SAFE.
This is probably the most I've ever learned about honey bees. It's pretty dramatic and could have been infinitely more tragic had you not helped and had the owners not have the presence of mind to contact you. I find you to be very pleasing to listen to and I didn't want the video to end. I was learning so much especially about genetics seeping in and changing the hive to such a dangerous level. Remaining calm is always a good policy.
Thank you for the education! I've watched other videos on aggressive bees, but yours is by far the best if you want to learn something. I think I'm not going to mess with any bees that are that way. Thanks again for your wisdom. GOD Bless 😇.
Wow, thanks!
I discovered a colony of Africanized honey bees that had had moved into a hollowed out oak stump on my homestead. I’ve encountered honey bees before in the wild but these bees were in a completely different class. I was clearing out some underbrush that day, temp was around 95 degrees. At the time, I wasn’t aware that the colony was around 75’ from where I had been working. I soon found out quick where they were when I had fell a tree in their direction. It was like an explosion of bees, nothing that I have ever encountered in my life. They were attacking the tree that I fell, the chainsaw, the gas can, anything that was near the vicinity of the hive. I managed to escape with sheer luck only because my 4 wheeler was near by. I was stung about 10 times while driving away. It was like a scene in a horror movie and I was the main actor. I called a local beekeeper who specializes in removal of these bees. He came over and spoke to me about the procedure but required my assistance. We put on some protective gear and headed back to the hive on foot. A couple of days has passed since the first encounter and the bees were still swarming. The method he used was crude but very effective...a couple of chemical insecticide foggers throw at the base of the hive and wait. Once the mass majority of the bees were dead. He went in to locate the queen to make sure she was dispatched.
Hi Eric, thank you for sharing your story and I'm glad you were ok in the end. I hope sample bees were collected and sent off for evaluation so it would be known to what percentage those genetice were of the African line... interesting story!
Frederick Dunn the queen was removed and the beekeeper sent it off for testing. They traced the lineage back to bees from south Texas.
THIS is EXCELLENT! Mr Dunn, your channel is always full of surprises and this is extremely valuable information. You are always so calm and I'm sure that's comforting. I really enjoyed watching this video!
Thanks Macro, always great to see your comments!
I am a novice beekeeper in NW Arkansas. We lost our bees last year shortly after a neighbor sprayed a cattle pasture with a herbicide.
This spring to our amazement the stack of empty hives were suddenly filled with an enormous number of bees. And these bees are agressive. If you stand 20 feet from the hive they begin to swarm around you. Our bee suits aren't good enough.
But man are they productive. The hives are filling with comb like lightening.
Our Italian bees are calm and have nowhere near the vigor.
These are probably African bees. I am going to get them examined by an expert.
Peter Johnson English bee-keepers complain about the aggressive Italians! (and they can be lol). I have heard of a swarm of classical English bees being found in the spire of a church in Northumberland: perhaps something may come of this
@@ChiDraconis Dude! I have no idea what you just said!
MrPanzerblitz I thought it was me lol - couldn’t really make sense either.
@@dickiedollop
Okay folks I will delete the post
@Peter Johnson, how did it turn out?
thank you Mr. Dunn,
Over defensive bees are a problem we had to deal with over the years. I don't advocate killing bees but at times it seems to be the only solution. Nit-rile gloves under the leather gloves will stop a stinger from delivering the venom. Were in the foothills of the Sierra Nevada Mtn. range and with the pollinators bringing their bees to almonds has increased our "defensive" bee problem.
Good video, thank you!
Fred... thanks for being such a cool youtube channel! I want bees of my own one day and I've learned so much from your videos over the past year. You're a class act, keep it up.
Hi Dominic, thanks for watching and commenting. I really appreciate the compliment!
Thank you Mr Dunn. I did like your calm voice. When I watched the tape I said to my husband that all of that africanised hive has to destroyed. I'd go as far as destroying the honey. Big cry if you have lot of hives. My husband tells me it was over kill. As far as I was concerned kill all bees pulled hive apart and scrub down all the parts and pour boiling water over them in a tub, 5 minutes remove and hang into a string bag on the line to dry. Hose all the bags down. Leave to dry if fine weather. No more Africans. Not a one but ever watchful. Thanks again🎉🎉
Thanks for sharing your thoughts.
Bees are a necessary part of the environment. Besides providing honey bees also pollinate a large number of plants, including plants that provide us food. However since Africanized Bees are now part of the environment there is this important matter of maintaining bee hives with bees that are not aggressive and dangerous. This is a good video on controlling these Africanized Bees.
If only there were gentlemen such as yourself employed as upper education instructors
Very informative and thorough explanation of the situation at hand
You unbiased opinion of what was the root of the problem as well as your concise explanation of what needed to be done in order to remedy it
I am very intrigued with the idea of bee keeping and it amazes me how two hives inches apart can behave completely differently
Well done!
Really glad you put closed captioning on the video while the hive was going ballistic.
Greetings from the Czech Republic Mr. Dunn! Thank you for another great informative video! I am very surprised that someone intentionally keeps those rogue bees without a slightest consideration of possible consequences.. Those people must be mad... We can all imagine what can happen if unsuspecting kids come around such hive.. I am glad that here in Central and Western Europe such thing as intentional keeping of AHB is considered criminal offense. Once such colonies (or hives are found) they are completely destroyed by fire brigade under supervision of an official from the beekiping association.
that was a very clear and informative video. mow after 4 years of requeening 2 hives because of very mean bees now i understand why they always go back mean. and they really produce twice the honey of most hives but you cant get with in 20 or 30 ft of the hive or you will get attacked. the dogs wont go near the bees. i just bought 2 queens so ill try one more time but i see the end may be near of those 2 hives. TKS
😮 If you turn on the CC you can read what's being said during the hard to hear bits. (Might want to pin this or put that in the description)
Fantastic video! I don't have bees yet but trying to learn everything I can first and this was extremely informative and interesting.
Excellent video, and completely necessary in my humble opinion. Thank you for taking the time to document, and most important explain your reasoning. I learned a lot!
Glad it was helpful!
Jeez, the volume of the buzzing as the bees get riled up is incredible!
If I ever get into beekeeping, I'm gonna pray I never have to deal with this, but will prepare myself for all possible eventualities.
Very informative for a non-bee keeper. I also like the calm way you talk. Thanks again for such a good video and all the info.
You are very welcome
Great info...esp. the responsibilities of keeping hot hives
Thank you, a very balanced approach, some times sad actions have to be carried out for the safety of animals and people especially children, I totally agree with your actions 🤗
I really appreciate you steering clear of chemicals man, keep up the good work. Love the thoroughness
Thank you!
Come to think of it... Chickens are the closest living relative of T-Rex...
They are very reptilian indeed...
Meow Meow Woof so close in fact its not inaccurate to think of them as modern dinosaurs.
@@FrederickDunn actually, some paleontologists think that dinosaurs weren't even reptiles but closer to the modern avian class! Reptiles I'm sure aren't that far off in the evolutionary tree though...relatively speaking
@@philidor9657 birds are dinosaurs
@@nunyabisnass1141 because they are dinosaurs
I’m impressed that you know both your chickens and his bees 🐓🐝
I'm also a poultry technician :) they go well together :)
This was very educational. Thank you for sharing this information.
Thank you so much, I always enjoy seeing your comments!
Bees are an ancient fascination, one possible source for the name of the hero “Beowulf”, is “bee-hunter”. There is considerable concern in the UK about declining bee populations, and the problems this will bring to agriculture, and horticulture. Thank you for this sober and contemplative account
I'm surprised he didn't address the advantage of the camouflage bee-suit. Little known fact: if you're going into a beehive, you can wear a camouflage pattern; the bees won't detect the CO2 in your breath and therefore won't produce the "swarm" pheromone.
Great video, Fred. Thank you for that extremely informative wrap up.
Thanks Vino, always nice to get a comment from you, I hope all is going well in your apiary!
Excellent and informative video; the way you explained this video and the information you provide, is absolutely essential . ❤️🇨🇦🙏🏻
Thank you very much :)
That is the reason I have a beekeepers emergency kit which includes benydrill and an epi pen.
You never know.
Sounds like a wise preparation measure.
It will save your life. I can tell you From 1st hand experience. what got me was a hornet's sting not a bee stung. you should still keep an epi pen.
Very interesting...thanks for providing the hot genetics details. I've watched many bee videos, and yours offered the best explanation of this. Thanks!
Thank you so much :)
I watched this video last year when I was just starting beekeeping - the potential concerns me when getting packages from out of state for sure. So far I think that's a rarity up here in New York, but also in the tristate area as well - it concerns me that there was that hive down your way, but also must keep it in perspective I suppose as it's not a common thing. The Honeystead is dealing with a hot hive right now actually on her videos and they are trying a re-queen - but it's swarm and split season with those drones still buzzing around...the bees did the same thing attacking the wind breaker microphone fuzzy, but haven't gone after the livestock like the orange hive here in this video (so far). That's a tough situation to contend with, with a heavy responsibility to other hives, while being compassionate to the colony in general. Difficult!
I wish them all the best at the HoneyStead!
Great Video! I thought I had a got hive, but it was because the queen had died. I added them to a strong hive and all is well.
@12:41 watch how the box in the background reacts to you removing the wind sock.. Immediate change in gears in the hive, activity increases by 2x and more guards taking to the air. You can see every one on the landing board start double stepping and "running"
Great video as are your others. First year with bees with one colony in downstate NY. Everything was going well until late July when the formic pro treatment ended. I noticed a dramatic change in the colony's behavior. Any inspection from late July thru Sept, 4-5 guards would follow and stay with me for a good 1000 ft. I'd return to the house and hours later, it seemed they were waiting for me if I came out of the house. It had me concerned and I did consider extermination, but I wanted to give them the benefit of trying to calm down. Lately as it's getting cooler in October, they are a nice hive again and a pleasure to work with and feed. I'm wondering now if the original queen was harmed after formic pro and a new queen may have mated with a drone with rogue genes as you suggested. Hoping to overwinter this colony, I'll have to see how their behavior is in the spring. Thanks again for sharing your knowledge! 👍
Hi David, when you mention that they followed 1000 feet, in what numbers? 30, 50, or hundreds? Even I sometimes get the few angsty guards that seem to want to follow me everywhere I go at this time of year, particularly if I've been IN the hives. But the difference is with the numbers that chase you or others. Please keep us posted.
@@FrederickDunn Thank you for the response. The number that would follow me were in the single digits and I would actually guess about 5 that wouldn't give up. Makes me feel better as you mention much higher numbers. And yes, this would happen each time I was in the hives lifting frames for inspection. Thanks again.
@@davidvanway5891 Nothing to worry about, they are just a tiny group of haters!
@@FrederickDunn 🤪🤪🤪🤪🤪
This is an amazing video. This is information everyone can benefit from regardless of whether or not we keep bees or are even interested in them or not. Education is a key preventative to mishaps that can occur if people are not able to deal with situations that could be avoided or dealt with effectively had they known how to deal with them. Thank you for sharing the message.
thank you!
As a paid professional firefighter our policy for handling such a hive in an emergency was to suit up in our bunkers and air packs then do a rain drop effect with fire fighting foam from our 1-1/2” hoses knocking the bees out of the air. Then washing off people first and animals second. The foam is a surfactant breaking the water surface tension allowing the water to knock the bees down and drown them. We found it to be very effective. Liquid dish soap does the same thing. Food for thought.
My bag method allows the owners to still harvest the honey after. I don't think AFFF is necessary unless there was a major bee event in progress.
11:48 😂 i was like “Yep... thats them...”
They were so loud and angry 😂
Serious inquiry. Wouldn’t a more aggressive Clooney be protected by predators much better in the wild. For a good example, because it was just introduced to the west coast, killer wasps? The bees on people’s land would slowly breed with “wild” bees making them more docile then more prone to attacks, as well as landowner bees being attacked themselves, like how some have been already? Genuine question.
Uggh. Reminds me of when one of my dad's hives got taken over back in the 80s. "Aggressive" was an understatement! They would literally chase you down the road a mile or two.
Not good. I hope that was a one time incident.
@@FrederickDunn yeah, thankfully, that never happened again. When Dad went back to deal with them a few days later, they had absconded.
I just had the opportunity to view this. Thanks for a wealth of information.
I don't recommend rehabbing aggressive bees to beginners, I do it, it can be risky if you are unfamiliar with bees that aggressive.
I've seen what I considered hot bees but nothing like this hive. I've never seen bees act as defensive as this hive ever. A hive like that is straight up dangerous.
Thanks Ron, I agree. This was a potentially bad situation and it's something that beekeepers need to be prepared for, even if it never happens for them.
Oh wow. My grandmother kept bees for years in Korea. You could walk right up to them without protection and never have any problems. This is pretty scary.
Very informative. Thanks for the video.
I am from South Africa. Our bees are wild and aggressive, but we live very happily with our very aggressive little sisters.
How do you deal with hives when they get hot? What's the trick?
@@sydneyp3357 hives get removed and re-homed on farms that farm honey.
"i'll just go walk in fron of these boxes and see which ones respond. oh this one is normal...normal landing board here....all very typical bee stuff...."
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Opulent hear you as you got to the orange hive, but watching them come out and attack you and your wind guard. Gheez !!! Thanks for the amazing education on hunny bees 🐝
Im in Australia and have always wanted to interact with bees ever since a honey extraction as a kid. They are fundamental. Unfortunately i rent. lol. Great channel. Learn or burn, right. :)
Tbanks for filming this, very interesting mate 👍
I don't kill spiders and always think about what harm any insects ever did to me to warrant being killed. I usually open a window to let flying insects out of the house. But I fully understand why the crazy Bee,s are a problem.
I wanted to stop here (I'm only 81/2 mins into it) to say, how much I am enjoying and appreciating the manner in which you are approaching this situation. It is very interesting and educational. One thing, I personally had not heard of (obviously because I don't follow bee keeping) is what you referred to as "Honey-Bee Healthy" [3:40-50] .
I opened another TH-cam to research this. OK. Now I get it. Onward.
That was extremely informative. It was well documented. I never knew a lot of the things you said. Bees are amazing creatures
Glad you enjoyed it!
"as you can see-" *AGRESSIVE BUZZING*
An old guy long ago showed me his trick for dealing with aggressive bees. He had a large electric fan without a grill over the metal blades which where alternatively painted black and white and set on slow speed. The aggressive bees went at the motion and you could hear the 'pings' as the bees would be hit by the blades - I thought it was very clever : )
That's cool
Problem is that other colony bees would also fly into it.
When you have to turn on closed caption to hear past the *BEES*
THANKS. I AM IRA EUGENE DUNN-SWIHART; ON MOMS FAMILY SIDE IN MANKATO, KS. WE WERE TRAINED BY AN LOS ANGELES, CA. BEE KEEPER DAEL WILCOX. PASSING YOU VIDEO ONTO HIM. BOD BLESS YOU VIDEOS!
Why didn't you or they use soapy water? It is a quick kill. Former beekeeper N/E PA.
I teach methods that can be used anywhere at any time. Not everyone has water available at their apiaries. Heavy duty black plastic bags work in every situation and are easy to have as a kit (bags and shipping tape), they don't require water/soap. After the die off, all of the hive equipment is available for re-use with no additional clean up other than the removal of the dead bees and brood frames. This couple opted to attempt the bagging on their own, but left some air gaps.... it's very important to make a complete seal. I personally prefer bagging over soaping, though both would work.
@@FrederickDunn How did they kill the capped and uncapped brood? Freezer? Thanks.
Awesome video and great explanation. Thank you.
That's funny about the FlowHive. I was one of the first to have some FlowHive frames in the US back in 2015. I tried them out in a regular hive first and the bees never took to them. The hive beetles loved them and were able to escape the bees in the little voids in the plastic. I always wondered what kind of luck others had with them.
Hi Tony, the Flow Hives work very well for me. Hmmm, I'm wondering where the small hive beetles found sanctuary in those flow-frames, every cell is available to the bees, and the parts other than the cells are not open enough for a small hive beetle. Interesting issue you had there. Thanks for sharing.
@@FrederickDunn If the flow hive frame is either all the way open on closed then what you are saying may be true but sometimes I would open the hive and the comb cavities would be misaligned and the hive beetles would get in the cracks where the bees could not get them and also down in the reservoir. It seems like you probably have a bias and have found that people who are fans of flow hive really can't talk about the negative sides of them. I consider myself an objective person and can see both the pros and cons. I don't think flow hive has revolutionized bee keeping as they have claimed.
Other bees: There goes the neighborhood....
that chicken is so chill
I live in Puerto Rico . We have africanized honey bees here . Had to get out of been a bee keeper because of the danger they represent . I was not allowed to replace bees . Thank you .
Wow, I'm very sorry to hear that. Africanized colonies require intense management and it's an area where we need more genetic research if an area is to be reclaimed by more manageable genetics.
I have always wanted to start bee keeping but I live too close to other people to raise them. Back home I would have gladly gotten boxes but after relocating, I can't. Instead I watch you and other bee keeping channels. Even feral bees here are rather docile, so I have no problem being around feral colonies where I am currently, and even enjoy letting them land on me on the rare occasion that they do. I may be a weirdo, but talking to them and telling bees how pretty they are is my favorite past time.
Now I know how Suzuki came up to make their muffler sound.
A sad thing, that sometimes must be. Loved the thorough eval.
Great video. Thanks for your thoroughness in sharing your expertise. Love your calm voice.
bees are hella loud they drown at your mic when u get close to the hive
great video by the way
Frederick, great video and I apologize if you’ve already answered this. But I heard you say something about how she painted her hives colorfully so they were non-offensive. Did I understand that correctly? Colorful hives can help keep bees non-offensive? I’ve painted all mine white, but made a few different colorful patterns to help the bees find their own home and avoid drift. Thank you for your time and the effort you put into your videos. Your channel is definitely a resource for newer beekeepers like myself.
I should really not make jokes when I'm making bee videos. I was just teasing them about their pastel colored hives and how that may impact the bees. Colors do have emotional impact on humans, it's not known that one color over another can cause bees to react based on Hive Colors. Sorry about that.
It’s crazy how loud and aggressive they are to a point where you can’t even hear him.
Awesome video. This guy obviously knows bees.