How to Handle Your Honey Bees

Honey Bees are very familiar to us all. Beekeepers love to see their hives, bustling with activity, surrounded by sweet-smelling flowers.

The bees constantly dart from flower to flower and then back to the beehives.

Handling bees is not difficult. You just have to understand their habits and take some basic precautions.

Some beekeepers wear full beekeeping suits, while others wear beekeeping jackets. Some beekeepers don’t wear any type of bee protection at all.

Are Bees Deaf?

One of the main precautions when approaching the hive is quietness. For many years, people thought bees were deaf, but that has turned out not to be the case. A study found out that bees use special organs in the antennae to hear. They also are sensitive to vibrations.

One should approach the hive without a lot of noise. Be careful not to jar the hives or smash your equipment (such as a hive smoker, hive frame holder and hive tool) on the top of the hive.

Some beekeepers even treat their bees as pets. Now, they won’t come when you call, but the bees will get used to your presence. If you are kind to them, they will treat you as such.

When Bees Sting

In fact, bees seldom sting except in self-defense, or in defense of their hive. If you see a honey bee on a flower hard at work, it will almost never fly and attack you. Bees do not think about stinging, unless they are bothered or touched.

Now some bees are easily provoked, but sometime people are the same way. When they start to get aggressive, it is most often due how you handle them.

Generally speaking, the temper of our bees depends on how we manage them. Treat them with kindness and you will be rewarded likewise.

As the saying goes “Do onto your bees as you would have them do onto you”.