Sweeeet Smoker

[rdback]

Long ago I bought a little “smoker”. It's a small, propane fired, Brinkman. It was eventually replaced and got retired to the pole barn, where its been for at least 15 years. In early May I noticed a few honey bees flying around it, and didn't think much about it. By early June, there was a steady stream of bees, coming and going. They were going in and out of the bottom vents on the smoker. Since the Kubota is parked about one foot away, and I use it almost daily, I figured something needed to be done.

I've toyed with the idea of keeping bees, but I'm still not there yet. I had read about the creation of an apiary in a local State park that opened recently. I thought they might be interested in rescuing these bees and, sure enough, they were.

The following week a lady from the county beekeepers group (they manage the apiary for the park), along with a helper, came out. She took the cover off the smoker, but couldn't get the lid off. The bees were being really cool, so I grabbed a piece of 2x4 and used it to pry the lid loose. Here's what we found:

The bees had built their honeycombs on each of the bars of the smoker grate. And they built all of this in about 30 days. I was quite surprised. The beekeepers transferred the comb to the hive racks, holding it in place with rubber bands. The bees were getting more and more agitated, so every few minutes I had to take a step or two back. Then, all of a sudden, a bee landed on my right ear, ran into the ear canal, and stung me. Rat bastard! I then vacated the area pronto, lol. Sorry, no more close-up pictures.

It took a few days for the bees to transition to the new hive. Then the beekeeper came back one evening right at dusk (almost dark) and moved the hive to the apiary. Last I heard they're doing great!

[woodeye]

That is an awesome success story, rdback. Sorry you had to sacrifice your ear as the story unfolded, but hey!, it was for a good cause. I also apologize for giggling about it, I could not stifle myself.

I must say that bees are very industrious insects. So happy that their move turned out well...

[heavyhitterokra]

rdback,

What a surprise! Thanks, for sharing that.  I can surely relate to the bee-to-the-ear thing. One day while George and I were working bees, one of them got inside my beekeeper's veil and crawled up my nose. I had my gloves on and was wearing a full beekeeper's suit when it happened, so I was unable to get to it right away. Thankfully, it crawled out of my nose by the time I got my gloves off and only stung me in the face.

I'm glad to hear you got them re-hived.  That was a good ending to a good story.

[macmex]

What a great story! Everyone, including the bees came out ahead. Well, Rick, you managed to find them a home and reclaim your smoker.

I have never been stung in the ear but that sounds very unpleasant. One time, however, I had a bee get inside my veil. Normally, when they do, it's no big deal, as they are trying to get out and therefore they aren't crawling on the beekeeper's face. I casually removed the veil and, somehow, as I did, the bee made contact with the tip of my nose and stung me there. WOWEE KAZOWEE! The nose has lots and lots of nerve endings! It hurt so badly that I literally fell over. Worse yet, I couldn't remove the stinger, which was still pumping. I yelled for my wife, and she came over to remove it. That, in itself, was quite the feat, as she was laughing while she tried to do it.

An observation on agitated bees: as in the case with this hive, the bees were obviously of a good disposition. They were not inclined to be aggressive, but once they feel that you are harming their hive, then they become very defensive. I can work a hive without getting anyone riled up if I don't have to pull comb apart (or at leave very little of it). Once I start breaking and exposing comb with brood in it... well, now they're going to let me know their boundaries.