Novices - What lessons have you learned in the 2011?

[The Riviera Kid]

2011 has been another year on the learning curve for me.

What lessons have other novices learned the hard way this year?

There have been the odd school boy mistakes of course but added to my list of "Things to remember in 2012" are:

1) You can never have too many wasp traps

2) Check new supers! The wood in one of the new supers I made last January warped enough to create a wasp-sized gap at a joint which was easy for the bees to defend, but once the bee escapes were on and the supers began to clear...

3) When I remove the queen excluder, to check, double check and triple check that Her Majesty isn't on it lest I find her roaming around in the supers again

4) You can never have too much drawn out brood foundation on hand for immediate use.

5) If you need something in May, prepare it in January.

 

[Suzi Q]

I've learnt that I should be patient in waiting for a newly mated queen to start laying.

 

[The Riviera Kid]

I've learnt that I should be patient in waiting for a newly mated queen to start laying.

I've been there too!!

Where are the eggs???!! Where are the eggs??!

 

[isc26]

Always have a swarm plan and enough spare equipment to put them in.

 

[dickndoris]

Block the holes up on the crown board with something solid and not wire! ;-)
Buy feeders long before you need them.
Have 2 of everything spare
Buy your frames in the sales as well as anything else you may need quick
Have plenty of foundation at the ready
Always have some apiguard to hand
A spare hive tool! The spirits seem to like hive tools;-)

 

[Suzi Q]

Always have a swarm plan and enough spare equipment to put them in.

and I did, but then a more 'experienced' beekeeper turned up and I ended up with a swarm and two casts taking off!

 

[The Riviera Kid]

and I did, but then a more 'experienced' beekeeper turned up and I ended up with a swarm and two casts taking off!

Damn those "experts"!!!!

 

[Suzi Q]

Yep, going it alone next year, I can make my own mistakes!

 

[Heather]

I've been there too!!

Where are the eggs???!! Where are the eggs??!

Go to specsavers!

Actually- a hint- if you wear specs for reading only- go to Tesco (other stores are available) buy 1 level up in strength -these are your bee keeping specs ONLY.

Yep, I now have 5 hive tools- and can I find one.....

 

[The Riviera Kid]

Yep, going it alone next year, I can make my own mistakes!

Alternatively, the expert is someone that you call in at the last minute to share the blame

Yep, I now have 5 hive tools- and can I find one.....

I'm glad it's not just me... I think that I'm gonna paint mine hi-viz yellow this winter so I don't keep putting it down and not being able to see where...

 

[BeeMoustashe]

Ah the amount of trouble I caused my bee buddy with eggs and queens! My first hive decided it wasn't going to make swarm cells in may, but a few supercedure cells instead- bearing in mind this colony was still on 5 frames and the queen was hatched about 8 months ago at the time!

New queenie left it to right to the last minute in the book timescales to start laying- terrified me. Bee buddy came and found a tiny patch of eggs- big relief.

Double bonus though- not only do I have my own, fresh queen now, but with about 6 weeks with no laying queen my varroa drop with Apiguard was about 8 mites a day!

 

[snoop]

Bees don't read the books

 

[BeeMoustashe]

A lesson I'm learning all too often. From now on I'm only taking advice from Winnie the Pooh when he said "You never can tell with bees". Of the opinion now that the books are fine as a guide but at the end of the day, the bees are the ones who tell you what needs to be done, and if you cock something up, they'll work their own way round it. Might cause you alot of grief in the process, but they'll manage, broadly speaking

 

[Winker]

My Biggest lesson this year is:


Don't buy anything from WPF

 

[Nose Ma]

Just after everyone has told you "they won't swarm now" they will.

It takes ages from losing a queen until the new one gets into gear.

The weather is a pain in the neck.

Don't ever, ever put your hand up at an association meeting. You will have volunteered for something.

 

[The Riviera Kid]

Don't ever, ever put your hand up at an association meeting. You will have volunteered for something.

My Biggest lesson this year is:

Don't buy anything from WPF

Who? Not sure what WPF stands for!

 

[Nose Ma]

Look here http://www.beekeepingforum.co.uk/showthread.php?t=14123

 

[Russel]

Don't volunteer for anything at your association, somehow Cathbee, WelshPaul and myself have gone from beginners to Membership Sec', Fundraiser and Treasurer in little over a year!
Halving the average age of the committee in the process but if we hadn't stepped up no one else seemed interested?

Even BI's don't see everything, a colony swarmed the Saturday after a Wednesday inspection and combining a weak nuc with a strong colony?

Oh and I'm still a p@nts bee keeper

Russ

 

[drstitson]

"Even BI's don't see everything"

they have a very specific remit - not their job to see queen cells.

 

[Headnavigator]

Still climbing my near-vertical learning curve, things I have learnt are:
1: That my own intuition and very limited knowledge may lead to as good a decision as simply taking advice from someone else who hasn't spent hours watching my bees. Whatever the experienced beeks tell me, I'm the one with ultimate responsibility for my bees and I need to own the decisions I make.
2: If faced with the unexpected and therefore in doubt during an inspection, shut the hive, go and have a cup of tea and think about it, and read up on it if need be, rather than make a hasty decision that I might regret later.
3: Make a checklist of my intentions before every inspection, and have everything I might or might not need in the way of equipment ready to hand before starting, so I can feel confident as I close up that I haven't forgotten to do something I meant to.
4: Don't take myself too seriously - I have now met more than a few beekeepers who actually don't seem to have very much knowledge at all, but they get by - and get honey!