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Thursday, July 18, 2013

I've Been Robbed!

Hard Lesson Learned #354
Today, in the 100+ degree heat factor, I donned at bee suit to try and find some honey to extract...my local seller is needing more of the sweet stuff!  I found some hives had not even drawn comb on the plasticel, so I pulled those supers off the hives.  I did find some honey frames in assorted hives ready for extraction, and combined I had a full super.  Unfortunately, by the time I found the ten frames I was getting quite over-heated, sweating profusely, and getting a funny feeling in my head that says "Larry, get your but into the air conditioning NOW!"  By the time I drove the truck to the house I was feeling worse, so I quickly went inside, took off the suit, drank some cold water, and sat down in the recliner to relax....as you might imagine a nap soon ensued!  I woke up an hour or so later, feeling refreshed, and looked out the window only to find the back of the truck engulfed with a cloud of tens of thousands of bees!  Yes, the bees had found the capped honey and were going after it like a shark frenzy.  In the time that I was in the house the bees had managed to carry off all of the honey!!!  How much honey???  Between 2-3 gallons which had a retail price of over $200!!!  So, what have I learned???  25 hives has a lot more robbing potential than 2 or 6 or 10 hives, and in the future I had better protect my honey a bit better if I want to extract any!

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