The best advice

TheHoneyPump · February 13, 2021, 11:44:03 PM

What was the best beekeeping advice you have ever received? What are those overarching one to three sentence statements or principles that have stuck to you and have guided all of your bee husbandry decisions ever since? ....

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BeeMaster2 · February 13, 2021, 11:53:01 PM

When you?re not sure what to do, the best thing to do is nothing.

Jim Altmiller

Ben Framed · February 14, 2021, 12:06:57 AM

Quote from: TheHoneyPump on February 13, 2021, 11:44:03 PM
What was the best beekeeping advice you have ever received? What are those overarching one to three sentence statements or principles that have stuck to you and have guided all of your bee husbandry decisions ever since? ....

...

1. Use the same size hive and related equipment and stick with it, do not mix. ///.
Number 2 came later. Use plastic foundation. Number three and four, and not necessarily in that order. Study bee health. Learn about bee parasites, (meaning inside the hive predators) SHB, Varroa and virus etc. and how to deal with those.
I suppose the very best advice is use the same size wood ware, frames and boxes. It is very nice to have options to move and match frames as needed in different places without the restriction of frame or box size.

The15thMember · February 14, 2021, 01:18:47 AM

Great thread idea, HP! I read this on HoneyBeeSuite.com when I was in my research phase and it has guided me ever since. It's easy to get overwhelmed with all the beekeeping techniques that there are, especially as a newbee, but this cleared the whole floor for me.

"spend your first year learning everything you can about the two species you will be raising in your hives: honey bees and Varroa mites. By 'everything' I mean biology, life cycles, population dynamics, and the interaction between these two housemates."

Somewhere else on her website, and I can't seem to find it at the moment, she says, "Learn about bees, not beekeeping". As a beginner I felt that I was drowning in all the options, but biology was something I could do. By learning about how bees work and what bees do, I felt like I was able to understand the "why" of the bees' behavior and the beekeeping techniques, which enabled me to problem-solve with no prior experience or hands-on mentoring. It was much less daunting, and a more direct route of educating myself, to learn what the bees need and to figure out how I personally could best provide it, than to learn the different mechanics of the methods people use to provide for their bees without truly understanding why.

JurassicApiary · February 14, 2021, 02:47:53 AM

Quote from: Ben Framed on February 14, 2021, 12:06:57 AM

1. Use the same size hive and related equipment and stick with it, do not mix.

This has been one of my most helpful lessons for me as well. I acted upon it when I read through comments by beekeepers more experienced than I who wished as they got older that they had used 8-frame equipment due to the lighter weight. I opted to go with 8-frame equipment after reading into this and have been very happy with my decision. An 8-frame deep super full of honey is plenty heavy!

Ben Framed · February 14, 2021, 03:26:30 AM

Quote from: JurassicApiary on February 14, 2021, 02:47:53 AM
Quote from: Ben Framed on February 14, 2021, 12:06:57 AM

1. Use the same size hive and related equipment and stick with it, do not mix.

This has been one of my most helpful lessons for me as well. I acted upon it when I read through comments by beekeepers more experienced than I who wished as they got older that they had used 8-frame equipment due to the lighter weight. I opted to go with 8-frame equipment after reading into this and have been very happy with my decision. An 8-frame deep super full of honey is plenty heavy!

Yes it is Jurassic! Plenty heavy lol. I respect your reasoning. Your guidance may be a miship on my part which I overlooked. I did not take in consideration of 8 frames. I went with the 10 deep. If I do not come up with a good solution I may wind up in trouble some day! Have you considered a hive lift? Brian, (Acebird), invented a lift that separates one box from another. I like his idea. Youtube has several videos of hive lifts which lifts the whole hive or in parts desired. I really believe I can build one and intend to do so before I come of age.

Oldbeavo · February 14, 2021, 06:02:26 AM

To what age you intend to keep bees? Pick a size and stick to it.
I started in my 50's and the first hive I got was 10 frame, full depth, heavy super when full.
So I ended up with 8 frame all full depth, manageable till you get to 5 high, we only work to 4 high.
Its not the individual weight that is the biggest problem, its when you are lifting 100+ for the day that they start to get heavier as the day wears on.
We use a crane, Easyloader to load the trailer, easier on the bees and me.
Second thing is that beekeeping is not time critical, can't find the queen today, don't stress the bees, put it back together and tomorrow you will fall over her.
Whether that super goes on today in poor weather or in 2 days time on a nice sunny day, the bees and you will appreciate it.

iddee · February 14, 2021, 06:16:22 AM

Don't do building removals for free. It is too hard of work and most colonies will die the first year.

AR Beekeeper · February 14, 2021, 07:13:01 AM

When I started beekeeping my mentor told me the secret to beekeeping. He said to learn what to do, how to do it, when to do it, and then DO it.

Bob Wilson · February 14, 2021, 08:35:46 AM

"After all is said and done... the bees will do what the bees want to do."
This first year advice I received here, helped me to stop feeling like I was in ultimate charge, pressuring my decisions.

beesnweeds · February 14, 2021, 12:31:35 PM

Best advice I ever got: "Raise your own queens."

Brian MCquilkin · February 14, 2021, 03:15:42 PM

Best advice I ever got: have at least 2 colonies. one for spare parts, brood, bees and queen etc.

rast · February 14, 2021, 03:24:29 PM

From Ron Miksa, "Keep it fun".

seanconnery · February 14, 2021, 03:40:12 PM

"The worst thing you can put into your hive, are your hands."

TheHoneyPump · February 14, 2021, 10:31:59 PM

All great. Keep them coming. ;)

Oldbeavo · February 16, 2021, 02:52:12 PM

There are always contradictions in bee keeping.
Regarding hands in bees.
Our mentor who ran 1600 hives has a saying, " the more time I spend in the brood box the better my bees become".
I suppose in a large operation it is easy for poor hives to pass under the radar and not get attended to. But we have a group of 50 that for what ever reason we seem to have been always doing something with and they are our best group.

Beeboy01 · February 16, 2021, 05:58:14 PM

That's a hard one but the best three for me have been 1) Standardize your equipment and stick with it, 2) Keep it simple, there are a lot of neat new gadgets out there you don't really need, 3) Control the hive pests like mites and small hive beetles.

Finally something every new bee keeper needs to hear is that you will loose some hives no matter what you do.

I could list another fifty more caveats which will probably get covered in this thread. ;)

Michael Bush · February 19, 2021, 08:06:44 PM

"There are a few rules of thumb that are useful guides. One is that when you are confronted with some problem in the apiary and you do not know what to do, then do nothing. Matters are seldom made worse by doing nothing and are often made much worse by inept intervention." --The How-To-Do-It book of Beekeeping, Richard Taylor