Okay, so today started like any other hive check day. Pulled on my bee suit, grabbed the smoker, and headed out back. Popped the lid off Hive #3 and – dang it – saw this tangled mess of bees right under the inner cover. Like a clump of fuzzy grapes wrapped in chaos. Classic “twisted bee” moment, where they ball up around the queen instead of working right. Had to fix this fast or that hive’d turn into a lazy disaster.
The First Panic Move
My dumb brain said “just shake ’em apart!” So I grabbed the frame they were bunched on and gave it one good wiggle over the hive box. Bees went everywhere… and the queen flew off. Saw her land 15 feet away in the dang clover patch. Almost stomped her running to scoop her up with bare hands. That was rookie hour right there. Nearly lost her. Sweat pouring down my neck under the suit thinking how bad that coulda gone.
Regrouped With Tools
Took a breath. Went back to the shed for:
- My empty nuc box as backup housing
- Extra frame of capped brood from Hive #1 (solid workers)
- A spray bottle with light sugar water
This time I sprayed that knotted ball lightly with sugar water. Makes them lick each other instead of fighting. Gentle nudges with my hive tool separated the clump without angering them. Slid that confused queen into the nuc box fast with a handful of workers. Let them calm down in there for 20 minutes while I reassembled their home base.
Preventative Mess-Ups
Shoulda seen Hive #3’s frames afterward. Barely any honey stored, brood pattern all patchy. Realized I got lazy checking them last week when rain hit. Bees gotta feel crowded or underfed to twist up like that. Swapped in that good brood frame from Hive #1 to boost morale. Added another super of empty frames too – space is like therapy for stressed bees. Stuck a pollen patty near their cluster zone because, hey, nobody works hungry.
Queen Reunion Fail
Tried dropping her straight back into the main hive like nothing happened. Workers got aggressive real quick – guess she smelled wrong after the nuc vacation. Had to cage her with candy plug for slow release overnight. Wrapped the hive with a towel blocking wind too. Next morning? Cage empty and queen strutting like she owned the comb. Lesson: Never rush bee politics.
So yeah. Took one botched shake, near-disaster queen chase, and two extra hours of fussing to untangle a simple problem. But that hive’s humming steady now. Moral: Twisted bees just need patience and sugar water… not clumsy hands.
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