---

   I had not seen my bees in over a month. When the temperature is below fifty degrees, bees ball up in their hive, slowing all activity, and try to keep each other warm. They move around the ball of their friends, eating, drinking, and moving back toward the center where it is warm. They should be able to survive, eating the honey they stored in the fall after I raided their stores they made in the spring and summer. Just as a precaution, I also put some sugar on top of the frames under the lid in November, just in case they ran low on honey. They prefer to eat honey in the winter and I am sure it is more nutritious, but sugar will keep them alive.

   Knowing how unpredictable bees can be, when the temperature rose to over fifty degrees on Saturday, I decided to check on them. Any number of things can go wrong in a hurry when a person is not watching. Not checking on them in over a month was making me concerned about their wellbeing. I waited until the warmest part of the day and went for a visit. 

   Pulling up to the front of the hive, I was relieved to see about fifty bees flying around. I knew now that had not left their home or died when I was not looking. The ones flying around seemed like the friendly bees that I have come to know and love. I put my bee suit on just as a precaution. The bees outside paid little attention to me as I suited up and got my gear ready. I pulled the strap that keeps the wind from blowing the hive over and lifted the top lid. I immediately discovered, the hive was full of what appeared to be healthy bees and that they do not like their hive opened on a cool day. 

   I learned last summer, bees do not like to be bothered on a rainy, windy day. I thought on that day, I would pull a couple of frames and see how they were progressing on making honey and new babies. I did not think much of it when the front opening of the hive was lined with bees and they seemed to be watching me. I had not put my protective bee suit on that day. When I approached the front of the hive, my normally docile, almost friendly bees attacked as fast as they could squeeze out of the front opening. I left quickly and went to the house to count my stings. That is the last time I did anything with the bees without at least some protection.

   I now know, opening a hive on a cold day annoys bees as much as messing with them on a rainy day. Hundreds of bees swarmed out of the open top and tried to get to my face. My happy little bees were not at all happy. I did my best to ignore the group trying to kill me and checked their sugar supply. About half of what I put in there was gone so I replaced it with fresh sugar and put the lid back on. This seemed to calm them down and for the most part, left me alone while I strapped the hive down. When I got back to the side-by-side, only two or three were still after me and they were losing interest as we got farther away from the safety and warmth of their hive. As I took off my bee suit and veil, the hostile little insects were calmly streaming in their front door, behaving like the gentle bees I know.

   There are many lessons to be learned in any endeavor. The most important lesson in beekeeping is; don’t annoy the bees.

---