What I learned in my first year....

[Neils]

This is a shameless rip off of a similar post on a similar forum but now I'm entering year 2 and hence now know everything there is to know about beekeeping I thought it might be interesting and hopefully useful.

1) Don't buy anything until you've done a couple of inspections at your local association or with another beekeeper.

The first time we opened up a hive I will admit, in my best Asterix, to thinking "@*!%%^". This wasn't a Nuc, but a full on, packed to the rafters double National hive that I don't think would be an exaggeration to say was boiling over with bees. it's one thing watching stuff on TV or You Tube, very different when you've got bees pinging off your veil. Despite that, I loved it, nerves put to one side, curiosity took over. With the inspection over and with hair in my eyes I retreated to a safe distance, removed my suit to try and regain some vision and was promptly stung twice by two hangers on. Stings on my first visit! No reaction! I'm hooked.

I think, as a prospective beekeeper, you're allowed to feel a little intimated when confronted with this sort of thing:



I used to dive a lot and help out my local dive club training new divers and this reminds me a lot of what I saw then. People get really keen, run out and buy loads of really expensive kit and then baulk at the reality of it. In the case of diving, it's taking your mask off in open water. In beekeeping I suspect that it's the first time a beekeeper encounters a hive that is a broiling mass of (possibly angry) bees.


2) Don't be afraid to have an opinion.
Especially if you don't think something is right. We shook swarmed my colony last year far too early. I thought so at the time, but I'm the new guy and he knows what he's doing so I'll shut up. If you've done an introductory course you should already be familiar with the equation:

Opinions = (number of beekeepers present + X)
Where X is a number between 1 and infinity.

3) Your bees have read the same books you have.
They know what you're expecting. They're doing something different to mess with you. Mine swarmed in August, that's not supposed to happen, all the books say get past June/July and swarming season is over. I do at least think I know why it happened but it still brings me to...

4) You will lose a swarm.
My aim this year is to try not to. It's my aim for next year too.


And the year after.

5) To limit my Inspections.
The temptation is to go up and open them every couple of hours.
Remember when you were a kid and your Mum was always going on at you at the state of your room? It's the same thing, except bees don't panic when you start rummaging around under the bed.

Why are you going to open up the hive? What will it tell you that sitting in your apiary with a flask of coffee or a bottle of pop wont? You can learn huge amounts about what is going on just watching your bees come and go. And it's a lovely way to kill an hour or two on a sunny afternoon without having to fanny around suiting up and lighting smokers and all that jazz.

6) You can never have too much kit.
Year 1 sucks. You've bought the bare minimum of gear and the cost of that made you gasp. All your frames are foundation and you could really do with a frame of comb. A spare broodbox yesterday would have made all the difference.

I keep bees with another guy I met on my beginner's course and it's been a godsend. We've got two colonies, and enough gear between to switch things around when we need to. Having two colonies on the same site has come in especially useful. With one colony your options are limited, with two you can help one out with the other.

And here also seems a good place to mention the quote "There is little in Beekeeping that cannot be solved by putting something into, or taking something out of, a Nucleus". Expensive I know, but handy.

7) Find a backup Apiary site.
This goes double if you're contemplating keeping bees on an allotment. Personally I think you want somewhere where you can put several hives, having to go 20 minutes out to inspect 1 hive quickly becomes a chore.

I live in a city, I have my bees on an allotment, I know that if for some reason there's a problem I have to sort it now or I'll be told, not asked, to take them away. I now have two alternative sites I can move hives to if I need to. One will hopefully become a second apiary, the other is a stop gap measure I could put a hive on if I have to.

8) A forum like this can be an incredible resource.
You can come back and post "I've just seen this..... What does it mean?" and you'll get several answers. They'll probably all tell you different things, but that's part of the fun.

9) Don't fixate on finding the queen.
If you don't need to find her then you don't need to find her. Even marked queens can be elusive buggers. Have you got eggs? Have you got eggs standing up on end? If yes, you've almost certainly got a queen. She'll either be on the QX, the sidewall or that frame full of pollen that you're ignoring by the way.

And the number 10....

10) It's an incredible hobby.

I love it, I really do. I'm "that guy who keeps bees". You'll never be short of conversation beekeeping and I learn so much just from questions everyone else asks me because I hate having to say "Honestly, I really don't know." more than once

[POPZ]

Nellie - rip off it may be but very weird at the same time! Parts of it must have been written about me??? Love it

[Trog]

Brilliant! I vote this goes on the homepage!

[Calum]

Hi,
this got my five stars (don't forget you can rate threads at the top)!

[Neils]

I forgot something!

If you have long hair, tie it back and wear a hat before you got within 2 miles of your apiary. Bees love nothing more than long hair, seriously, they love it. They must do or every single time I've gone near my apiary with my hair down the little buggers wouldn't fly straight into it.

There are numerous ways you can try to deal with this

1) Put your head down, and try to brush the bee out with your fingers, a hairbrush (I always have one in my suit ) an uncapping fork, twigs or anything else that comes to hand while remaining calm
2) Tell whoever it is stood next to you to stop laughing and come and help, you will never locate the bee on your own.
3) Apply a Mk I open hand swiftly and sharply to the vicinity of the buzzing. This will achieve two things, one it will kill the bee. Two, it will give you the slap about the head you deserve for being stupid.

I absolutely do not recommend waiting until the other beekeeper has one boot off, his suit wrapped round his head and then tearing off down the path, squealing "There's a bee in my hair! Get it out! Get it out" at a pitch only bats, dolphins and navy sonar operators can hear. Especially if you also intend to complain that said beekeeper didn't rush quick enough to your aid for the rest of the week.


And thanks for the nice comments

[POPZ]

I forgot something!

If you have long hair, tie it back and wear a hat before you got within 2 miles of your apiary. Bees love nothing more than long hair, seriously, they love it. They must do or every single time I've gone near my apiary with my hair down the little buggers wouldn't fly straight into it.

AND, at this time of the year, when the odd lady pops out rather drunkenly, they usually make a beeline for a lovely warm landing site - a bald head. This requires enormous patience whilst alowing her to recover her senses, reorientate herself, and return to her wee hoosie. By this time, another lady has spotted what the first lady was doing, so decides that this must be a grand idea. And so it goes on. Just as well it gets dark pretty early! Also, it does give a feeling of being needed.
POPZ

[Neils]

Your secret is out! You're not keeping bees for the honey, you're keeping them for the fur aren't you.

This year's must have fashion accessory, a hat made from bee fur.