What have you learned this season?

[trapperbob]

Patience,patience,patience and not all addictions are so bad. You know? Buy one hive and ask the wife for three more pluse the split you intened to do :-D

[qa33010]

   My wife wants me to double that next year and folks want me to bring them out for pollenation. :-\

[Fannbee]

I have learned to keep a close eye to the bee activity outside a hive.  Lost a hive and might have save it because I did not pay attention to the decrease activity.  Also, if a hive has a ton of activity, leave it alone except for regular maintenance.

[shawnwright]

Leave them alone unless there is something that needs to be done, or it looks like something is wrong.

[DennisB]

Never trip over a sapling stump while holding a super full of honey and bees. And smile big, like you meant to do it, when you try to explain what happened to your spouse!

[Tug Fork Bob]

I tried to combine a baseball-size swarm this fall with an existing hive--used a sheet of newspaper and an empty shallow super with telescoping cover on top.  It was 90 deg. or so and I learned that it would have been a good idea to give the bees some ventilation. (They were all "roasted")   


Bob

[Cindi]

Hmmm.....this is one interesting topic.  So many events that have occurred to us all and every last one tells a great story.

Me thinks that the biggest thing that I learned this season was:  never wear a dark hoodie coat on a dark and gloomy day and look into a hive, thinking that there isn't many guard bees hangin' out.  I did this, you'll probably remember my story.  I was checking the bees quickly one evening, after me being confined to the house because of rainy weather, to see if they had sugar syrup still.  My hoodie was pulled over my head and a bee flew inside (amongst into my coat as well and into my shirt and stung my bicep later on) and it went into my ear.  That is one eerie feeling.  I remember that I wasn't too sure what to do. And I was walking back to the house, I was going to get my Husband to catch it with tweezers and pull it out, but the bee eventually backed out (probably figured out that this was not the entrance to her home), and must have turned around and stung me on the way out.  Oh brother.....that was one of my lessons and not the last of probably hundreds yet to come, yeah!!!!  The world of our bees.  Have a wonderful and eventful life, full of learning lessons about our bees.  Cindi

[mgmoore7]

1. Having a queenless hive is no fun.
2. Having a laying worker is even less fun.

Just started this year in Aug, I have learned much.

[randydrivesabus]

I learned that wearing the proper protection and not getting stung is way more enjoyable. i learned that honey sells very well at the farmers  market and if I want some for myself I need to leave it at home. i also learned a lot of other things but those will do for now.

[Finsky]

.
I learned after 45 years that I crossed several different bee strains and I got nasty swarmy hives in my yard.
I returned to basics, to Italians.

[tillie]

Hey, Finsky,  Like the light bulb avatar -

Linda T in Atlanta

[Mklangelo]

I learned that you always wear long pants and gloves and SHOES not sandals even when just popping in to remove some empty entrance feeders.

[Mklangelo]

.
I learned after 45 years that I crossed several different bee strains and I got nasty swarmy hives in my yard.
I returned to basics, to Italians.

I'm going to be doubling my hives from 3 to 6 next spring.  I have carnis right now but I'm going to do Italians.  I hear they make more honey that carnis.

[tig]

i've learned to never presume you've learned everything or know everything about beekeeping because the girls will constantly surprise you, to expect and accept the unexpected, to laugh and see the humor from some disasters and mistakes i've made and most of all...to be thankful for being a part of this forum that shows me i am not alone in my trials and tribulations!

[Moonshae]

I also learned to compare prices between companies, not everything is priced competitively.

[JP]

Each season I learn more about how adaptable insects honeybees are, how they put up with our intrusions and our attempts to evict them from their homes, and most of all how I never seem to be even the littlest bored by their workings, and sense of purpose. One more thing, people will often exaggerate how aggressive a hive is because of different circumstances. Do investigative research and see for yourself if it was just a hive that was aggravated by a lawn mower or weedeater or other noisy contraption. I find most feral hives (of course unless they are africanized) generally pretty downright accepting of our intrusions.

[qa33010]

   Since we can do only one or two I'm going to bank mine and use them over the next twenty years.  Of course by then I should have enough for a few centuries! :shock:

[latebee]

 Lets see---this season I learned that bee genetics(more appropiately,the queens genetics) determine the management styles that I should use on different races of bees.I have more success reacting to the bees,rather than them reacting to me.Also became a big fan of using drone comb to trap varroa,in addition to alternating other mite controls. :)

[gottabee]

I learned that I much prefer 8 frame equipment.
I learned that good results against SHB may be had with apple cider vinegar and beetle traps when checked often.
I learned a great deal from reading your posts. You guys are great. Especially when you politely disagree with opposing opinions. It is very helpful to consider an issue from different prospectives.