# Name One Important Lesson You Learned in Last Year



## MDS (Jan 9, 2011)

In the past year I learned that it was not a good idea to attempt to winter a hive that lost its queen just before fall after two attempts to requeen.

I should have taken my losses early and combined that hive with one that had a working queen. I was stubborn and tried to get them to take a new queen twice. I went into winter with old bees in that hive and their numbers were not high enough to move the cluster even with short period of 50 degree weather. If I had combined that hive I may have been able to split them in the spring.


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## MARBIS (Jun 10, 2010)

Wish I read M. Palmer post about splitting non producing hives in the summer earlier. Had slow hive with slow queen, barely making any honey, gave it frames of honey from other hives, died early in the winter leaving 7 frames full of honey. I know there are no waranties in beekeeping, but if I split it in July and gave those splits new queens I would have something to hope for.


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## MDS (Jan 9, 2011)

Thanks for the post. I'm hoping others will post about that one event that happened during the last year that they think about all the time. Maybe some "older timers" will post. I'm sure Mike Palmer even learned a lesson and so did the Fat Bee Man. 

I just learned, from you, that I should think about splitting weak hives and adding queens as an alternative to requeening a poor hive.


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## muskratcreekhoney (Mar 30, 2010)

One of many lessons learned: make sure that nucs going into winter are jam packed with honey, 11 of 13 gone so far.


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## alpha6 (May 12, 2008)

Never try and stick the pin back into a grenade once you pull it. Just go ahead and throw it. :doh:

Oh...you mean with bees?? This year I pulled my supers two weeks earlier and it made a huge difference on the strength of the bees and how much their hives were packed out going into winter. Lession learned... don't be greedy with harvesting your honey...stong hives with lots of stores going into winter will mean strong hives in the spring (usually).


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## StewRoten (May 22, 2010)

I learned the value of drawn comb and of having a certain critical mass of bees going into winter.


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## NasalSponge (Jul 22, 2008)

I learned what bees with AHB genes looks like and how to terminate them.


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## WilliamsHoneyBees (Feb 17, 2010)

I learned to not mess with your bees at night with a flash light! I think I was just feeding them but wow!


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## Bill AR (Sep 28, 2009)

I learned that all beekeeping is local. You've gotta' learn what (and when) to expect things in your area like the main honeyflow ... and when to expect it to finish. When is "white wax" season... when is repo cut off... is there much of a Fall flow? It's all got to be tuned to you're particular location. Join a local bee club if you can.


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## Brooklyn (Nov 14, 2009)

I learned to not pump your smoker to much.
The bees hate the flames.

Don't wear plastic gloves when stuffing the smoker.
They do melt. ouch

Brooklyn


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## giant pumpkin peep (Mar 14, 2009)

The biggest lesson was to be more vigalent, and southern queens are in large part junk.


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## Lauren (Jun 10, 2010)

Bees really CAN fly at night. ouch.

If you just pinched the queen 15 min. ago, don't go lift the hood (without a veil) to see if they have noticed. ouch. 

Don't dump out the mass of bees on the empty feeder in front of the hive~ they may NOT be your bees and it starts robbing. ouch. 

After they have been robbed for days, they are EXTREMELY grumpy. ouch. 

If you are stung enough, you can indeed grow a resistance to stings (no pain, swelling) and your arthritis gets much better! Yeah!


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## Joseph Clemens (Feb 12, 2005)

I learned not to trust Mother Nature, this Winter she snuck in some record-setting cold weather on me. I should have been feeding them enough, so they would have enough stores to get them through any unexpected cold weather. I didn't feed them any more than usual and lost about 2/3 of my nucs because of it.

In the future, I plan to feed them whenever natural resources become scarce. Keeping them flush -- I can't afford to trust Mother Nature any longer (I'm sure now, I never should have) .


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## ChristopherA (Jul 20, 2010)

Dont put to much into something that seems better than normal


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## PeeVee (Dec 10, 2009)

I learned to keep a close watch on the summer weather, what the bees are bringing in and if they are gaining hive weight, maintaining, or losing. Got very lucky and fed a bit as I thought they weren't building up much. In retrospect I could have fed more and not only to a couple hives; they all would have benefited.


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## Bucksnort (Feb 6, 2011)

Wear a veil when cutting the grass near the hives, especially later in the summer because they will sting you in the head.

Bee stings to the head hurt a lot more than bee stings to the hand.

Bees can find the honey supers you took from them the previous day very quickly in the back of your pick up truck even though you only opened the truck cap up for a few minutes to let the "stragglers" out.


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## JamesYanco (May 6, 2010)

My important lesson from last year, more smoke is not better. A little smoke goes a long way and lots of smoke just makes them madder.


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## Nabber86 (Apr 15, 2009)

1 - If you have a hive that goes queenless, the bees will be really mean until they raise a new queen. 

2 - Dont extract honey on the back deck within wthin 100 feet of your hives.


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## Wyo (May 17, 2010)

If you collect a swarm, be vigilant to ensure you have the queen and she survives the move. Discovering a laying worker sucks. Having to shake out the whole hive out after several weeks of trying everything to get them queen right sucks more…


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## Growing Boy (Jan 28, 2009)

If you notice something is going wrong, FIX IT NOW! Tomorrow will probably be too late.


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## Ardilla (Jul 17, 2006)

I learned that you may worry about the newer pests and diseases, but American Foul Brood is still out there.

I also learned that a fire built of seven hives worth of frames and comb gets scary-hot quickly.


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## hoodswoods (May 15, 2009)

StewRoten said:


> I learned the value of drawn comb and of having a certain critical mass of bees going into winter.


Amen - and I would add stores!!! They may die because of pests, vermin or disease - they definitely will without mass and food.


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## RiodeLobo (Oct 11, 2010)

Knowledge is not better than experience and wisdom, but is a whole lot better than ignorance.
As a novice I study, read and learn. The experience will come.


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## Omie (Nov 10, 2009)

I learned that a hive is not a permanent unchanging thing. It's _not_ like getting a puppy and it being a fairly safe bet you'll have that dog for about 10 years.
Nothing is permanent, and that's not necessarily a bad thing, you just have to look at it all as a living evolving thing that changes. Things that change constantly keep us learning.


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## NCSUbeeKEEPER (Feb 28, 2011)

I learned that the more beekeepers you ask the same question to, the more confused you'll be.


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## Bee Bliss (Jun 9, 2010)

Bees wait for no one!

Opportunity knocks...........bees sting! LOL

I look at weeds differently.................hey look, bee forage!


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## blueline (Mar 15, 2010)

I learned that although swarms tend to be very non-aggresive, that changes (A LOT) after the property owner burns oily rags under the swarm, sprays them repeatedly with the garden hose, and hits them several times with a soccer ball all in an attempt to get them to leave. I also learned to ask the property owner if they have done ANYTHING to the swarm, before I approach the swarm in a t-shirt and shorts. OUCH!!

Blueline


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## ickyfritz (Apr 8, 2009)

I learned that bees on a ridge line really get cold in the winter when the wind comes whipping along. Had a weak hive going into winter without any wind break and they just didn't have the numbers or protection from the elements they needed.

The hive has been moved and new tenants are on the way.


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## treebee (Mar 7, 2009)

I learned. That the best way to learn was to go work for a large, long term, commercial outfits. In my second year of bee keeping I was in on making 1600 splits/checkbacks, got to work an East Texas spring build up, a North Dakota fall harvest and a Central California pollination build up, was able to open and manage more than five thousand hives at various stages. I learned there is alot of work invoved in bee management for profit (60+ hour weeks leading into 30+ hour weekends.) Weather is a hostile combatant. And it takes way more than a just few hundred stings to kill a man.Although it does cause one too rethink a variety of issues. All and all I learned that there are risks, rewards, travel, and a bit of adventure in beekeeping and I don't want to do anything else. John.


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## MDS (Jan 9, 2011)

NCSUbeeKEEPER said:


> I learned that the more beekeepers you ask the same question to, the more confused you'll be.


I learned that I was very lucky to have found the beesouce forums.

I think we get five different answers to the same question because there are so many variables involved. If I compare beekeeping to gardening one variable certainly is climate. If you are a gardener and check the USDA hardiness zones to see if a plant will live in your area you then have to worry about micro-climates such as the direction of sun, wind, shade, moisture and soil content in the exact spot you are planting in. Same applies to keeping bees in the north compared to the south or in areas where one disease or pest is more prolific. A micro-climate variable might also be you don’t want to spend a lot of money on the solution ect..

I can think of several other variables other than climate and cost. What equipment do you have, are you a two hive hobbyist or 200 hive part timer, what is the nectar supply in your area, what experience level are you at and many more. And of course just simple luck plays a role. For example, when I got started I was lucky to find a very good bee club whose members started me out slowly with simple things that are hard to change later. Such as what size supers and brood boxes and bee type. They started me out with basic needs and I've been able to add to my equipment collection from then on after more careful thought.

I like the one to “ask what they did to upset the swarm before you arrive to capture it”. That lesson applies to all of us regardless of climate or cost or whatever other variable you have.


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## iwombat (Feb 3, 2009)

Some years you really do have to feed all through June.

*sigh*


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## Merlyn Votaw (Jun 23, 2008)

I learnd that newspaper around the feeders around the fruit jar absorbs moisture ..The feeders were on top of the hives with s empty on top of thehive .From now on that willbe mu feeders in the winter


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## NeilV (Nov 18, 2006)

I learned that a really big hive with a big stack of supers still has to be inspected. Even a big booming hive can lose a queen and get infested with wax moths. I lost 3 supers worth of honey and comb on a hive that looked too good to bother taking apart for an inspection. I think they probably superseded the queen and something went wrong in the process. Then the population dwindled and the existing bees could not keep the wax moths at bay in the big hive.

Also, I learned that it would be a good idea to extract twice a year, not once.


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## wildbranch2007 (Dec 3, 2008)

I sold a nuc to a person, put it in a deep for the person, I drive by all the time and noticed that they hadn't put the second deep on. stoped and met her husband and he said go ahead and put the second deep on. I asked how wet it was by the hive, he said dry no problem. I said I would follow him, he drove down and left, I watched where he drove, put the second hive body on and tried to leave. what I learned is don't trust a land owner that has a lot lighter truck than you do, especially when it's 1/2 mile walk to his house.
buried it up to the frame as fast as you can say oh


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## kathyp (Nov 25, 2010)

tuck your shirt in when reaching for high swarms.


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## jmgi (Jan 15, 2009)

>One of many lessons learned: make sure that nucs going into winter are jam packed with honey, 11 of 13 gone so far. 


One of many lessons learned: Make sure that nucs going into winter are jam packed with not only honey but bees. 18 of 18 gone. John


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## Capricorn (Apr 20, 2009)

Don't gamble a sure thing away...

I had a really good looking nuc, and a colony that had been in decline. I found the colony queenless in late October and tried to combine the nuc with the colony in adverse weather conditions. It didn't take, and I lost that queen. My colony tried to raise a new queen, but it was to late, and they died out around January. I would have been better off leaving the nice nuc as is and letting the colony go...


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## bobber128 (Jun 6, 2010)

I learned a TON! As a first year beekeeper, I read everything I could get my hands on. 

I learned, when you get stung on the arm, DO NOT THROW YOUR HIVE TOOL IN PAIN!!! Almost impaled my foot! 

I learned that beekeepers' kids are fearless, watching my children stand in front of the hive on hot summer days, as they watched the bees come and go for hours, with no concern, just interest.

I also learned that, despite having plenty of honey, and what I assumed to be plenty of bees, sometimes they just aren't going to make it. Two dead hives, with probably 50+ lbs of honey. The dead cluster was touching capped honey, but just didn't move. Honey above, honey below, and honey beside, dead cluster in the middle. 

I learned that trying to find Russian bees in March is dang near impossible, but doable.

I learned I love bees.


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## AR Beekeeper (Sep 25, 2008)

It wasn't last year, but the first year I kept bees, the most important lesson I learned was that the book is not always right.


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## BigDru (Aug 4, 2009)

I learned it's not good to drop a frame full of bees.


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## Mike Snodgrass (Mar 11, 2010)

I learned that bees are smarter than me even on a good day!!! No matter how bad i mess up, they survive by avoiding the dumb human!!


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## MeriB (Mar 15, 2010)

That I havent learned enough. That requeening should be done early. That I can't wait to try again.


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## mmiller (Jun 17, 2010)

BigDru said:


> I learned it's not good to drop a frame full of bees.


I learned that one too. :doh:

Mike


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## cat (Jun 29, 2010)

I learned to recognize the signs of trachial mites before it gets too cold to treat with menthol.


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## jwalk (Mar 6, 2011)

whistling and yelling "here boy", makes my dog come back but not my swarms


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## NasalSponge (Jul 22, 2008)

Well there's your problem....their mostly girls!! :lpf:


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## rkr (Oct 30, 2008)

I learned that after a swarm you should not allow more than 2 or so queen cells to mature or they will issue an after swarm.
I learned what piping sounds like though.... that was cool.


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## rgould (Apr 3, 2009)

I learned not to leave a wet super in the back of the wife's truck:doh:


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## Nabber86 (Apr 15, 2009)

jwalk said:


> whistling and yelling "here boy", makes my dog come back but not my swarms


I learned not to play fetch with the dog by bouncing a tennis ball off of a hive. But hey, the dog had to learn some time.


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## msapostol (Sep 6, 2008)

I learned when rubber banding comb to a frame, not to put it in upside down. Seemed convenient at the time, but I think it slowed the bees down and gave them more work.


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## stripstrike (Aug 29, 2009)

I learned that two hives really are the minimum a newbee should start with. I didn't have to share resources among my two or anything that drastic but the difference between two hives a foot apart can be amazing! Flying habits, kicking out drones, pollen collection, feed consumption, comb building, use of winter stores, cluster position, bringing out the dead, top entrance use, the list of differences is amazing. The true learning experience for me was, even though they may act differently, they are just being bees, and that one hive could never be enough! My two are looking like good candidates for splitting, and three more nucs are coming later on, I can't wait!


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## NY_BLUES (May 14, 2009)

Some lessons are harder to be learned than others.

Winter ventalation is key. Lost 5 hives to being wet and cold, wont let that happen again. Need more upper openings to let the hot, moist air out of the hive before it condenses and caused my bees to die.


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## oldenglish (Oct 22, 2008)

I learned "Dont tell the wife how much you made selling honey last year" :no:


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## Bee Bliss (Jun 9, 2010)

1) Remember to bring the camera with good batteries. 
2) Take notes on the hives. Too easy to forget "now I did what when?"
3) Even a beginner has some knowledge to offer to a beekeeper starting out this coming Spring. 
4. Have a plan/schedule with future goals in mind.
5. Get the kids interested in beekeeping. They are the future beeks.


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## johng (Nov 24, 2009)

I learned it is hard to keep a full size overwintered hives from swarming in the spring. I may try some early splits next year by moving the queen and two frames of bees into a nuc before swarm season starts. I have very good luck getting these type splits to build up and make honey in the same year so this might help me out. I will report back next year and let you know how it goes. Its too late this year as most of my hives have already swarmed. I also learned if you think you have enough equipment made for swarm season make some more!! I made a bunch of extra equipment over the winter and am starting to run low already.


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## MDS (Jan 9, 2011)

johng

Thanks for the posting, I'm thinking about doing the same thing.


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## EastSideBuzz (Apr 12, 2009)

Dont use queen excluder until supers are built out. :lookout:


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## MDS (Jan 9, 2011)

I just learned not to be over-confident when moving a hive, even if it is only a few feet.

I built new hive stands and was in a hurry. The girls in one hive seemed to be easy going so without smoke or any protection I broke them down and moved them to the new hive stand. Took a sting on the chin and I think one on the hand. The one on the chin swelled up but the one on the hand I can't even find after a day. Now I look like I have a "turkey neck" under my chin.

Oh well, a couple years ago I was afraid to even stand in front of a hive because I figured the girls coming in would be upset that I was blocking their path. Now, no gear and moving a hive without smoke - go figure. I'm either stupid or can't feel the pain any longer. Heck, by joints hurt more in the morning than a bee sting.


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## hoodswoods (May 15, 2009)

That I'm dumber than a bug.:s


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## topdog17 (Apr 6, 2009)

Stop digging around in the hive so much. I was way too curious and I believe it set my bees back the last couple of years. I'm checking about every 3 weeks now and I have more bees going into this spring than I've ever had. Maybe I will get some honey this year.


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## fisholot (May 23, 2010)

I learned that duct tape is my friend


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## Foleybees (Apr 4, 2010)

If you take a a frame with a queen cell on it and place it in a nuc with brew...you will have a nuc in approximately 3 weeks and then able to move to a regular hive box shortly. Did three just a few weeks ago and they all 3 look great (New queen and box full of caps and larvae).


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## BettSue 7 (May 9, 2009)

Without a mentor I learned the value of my county bee inspector. 
I learned the value of listening and reading advice, but in the end I had to decide for myself.
I learned to let the dog stay in the house when I work my bees.
I learned the value of advise of Simpson's bee supply.


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## BettSue 7 (May 9, 2009)

That most of my facebook friends do not get the bee thing and could care less about my victories, pictures and posts.


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## LBF (Mar 28, 2011)

NY_BLUES said:


> Some lessons are harder to be learned than others.
> 
> Winter ventalation is key. Lost 5 hives to being wet and cold, wont let that happen again. Need more upper openings to let the hot, moist air out of the hive before it condenses and caused my bees to die.


I learned that lesson as well. 

Another I learned is that going into fall it is not a good idea to clean burr comb off the frames and let it drop in the grass next to the hive...especially if any of the comb has honey in it....and there is a light shifting breeze. I set off a robbing situation that was of epic proportions. I had every bee in western wisconsin in my tiny yard (w wi beeks should be thanking me for the honey I know I severely weaked my only hive that died off finally in February after a warm snap followed by a really cold snap. Live and learn.


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## lakebilly (Aug 3, 2009)

I learned that the size of your colony has a lot to do with the size of the entry. I didn't know that large colonies will rob out smaller colonies. Smaller entries take fewer sentries. I'm a poet & I didn't knowit, aint my feets Longfellers!

I learned that anxiety from learning something that you didn't know & crossing your fingers through a LOOOOONG NY winter is a major drag! Learning from your mistakes is easier said than done.

I also learned (though I already believed) that "in a multitude of counselors wisdom resides" or was that confusion? All the same I make the call & reap the consequences. Thanks to all that share their knowledge.

I learned to take a deep breath & let it out slowly when I read a text & think whoever wrote it was in need of an old fashion thrashin like I used to get for being a troublemaker....Blessed are the peacemakers....

I learned that no matter how much I want to be good at something, gots ta pay my dues.


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## tommyt (Aug 7, 2010)

I learned a Picture is worth a thousand words 
I learned if you want to continue to read and Post a 1000 words
Don't break the rules on Posting Pictures 

True story

Tommyt


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## mntransplant (Mar 20, 2009)

I learned..
- Do NOT open your hives when an electrical storm is approaching, even if it's for a few seconds; you may end up in the ER!:doh:

- Bees get really cranky when its time to steal their honey


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## camero7 (Sep 21, 2009)

To use only northern queens - no more southern Italians.


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## gjd (Jan 26, 2011)

I've got 3 for cold climates:

Leaning some scrap lumber against the front of the hive so the bottom entrance is covered from direct snowfall is a good way to keep it clear when it snows 12" every week for a month, if you worry about air flow.

Stapling a piece of clear 6 mil plastic over the top entrance, pushed together to make a 1" vertical fold over the hole, blocks wind without restricting ventilation or emergency cleansing flights (much), and the condensation reassures me they're still alive. I eventually rigged up little clips that let me fuss with it and tie it back in warm spells, replacing it during strong cold winds. I have no idea if this actually helps much, but it entertains me without disturbing them.

Fill a honey super with insulation and put it on top. It's the temperature of the inner cover with respect to the relative humidity in the top of the hive that causes condensation. It's easy and cheap (free if you've got a hunk of unused batting in your attic and a trash bag), even getting unused supers out of the way for winter, and I don't understand why this isn't common practice. It's got to help somewhat. Next winter I'll also try an inner cover of homasote for absorption.

Greg


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## cmonkey (May 6, 2010)

I learned that I shouldn't move a frame of bees and brood into a split without checking *really well* for the queen first. Yeeeaaaah. :doh:


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## Adam Foster Collins (Nov 4, 2009)

I learned how to build a top bar hive - and built seven.

I learned that bears do in fact like to eat bees and larvae, and they will come very close to your house (dogs or no dogs) and tear apart your two-week-old, freshly-installed top bar hive. (so much for keeping the bees out in the country at a friends place...)

I learned that you can keep bees in the city, and that neighbors can be very cool - and that some are not so cool.

I learned that continually adding empty bars into the broodnest can lead to an enormous number of bees.

I learned how to do a walk-away split.

I learned that a late season inspection can turn into a crazy robbing frenzy in a very short time.

I learned that an my bars hold an average of 5.5 - 6 lbs of honey each, and that eating it fresh; comb and all is like a magical fruit from heaven.

I learned that mites can overrun things pretty fast.

I learned what DWV is - and it sucks.

I learned how to make and use an oxalic acid vaporizer.

I learned how it feels to lose a colony late winter.

I learned how it feels to still have a colony when the crocuses appear.

I learned that I love having the bees around even more than I would have imagined.


Adam


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## HONEYDEW (Mar 9, 2007)

I learned there are two kinds of beekeepers...those that treat for disease, and those that buy new bees every year :doh:


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## NCbeek (Mar 23, 2011)

1) I learned if a bee lands on your next to your eye after bumping you a couple of times, she is not going to leave quietly, so don't wait and see!:doh:

2) The story is funnier after the swelling starts going down! See #1

3) The smoker WILL go out just before you need it.

4) You're either interested or you're not. Most people (the wife) just shake their head in disbelief that you would want to go back out there ever again! See #2

5) The sound of bees in the garden is music to the soul!


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## MDS (Jan 9, 2011)

I learned from another on these forums not to worry if they put nectar in the center of the hive above the queen because they appear to do that before she moves up to lay eggs. They cleared out the space on their own and she moved up, putting eggs where only a week ago there was uncapped nectar in the cells. This was a big lesson for me because I don't rotate boxes. I just open up the brood space with empty drawn comb and was worried when they started using it for nectar and not brood.


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## ParanoidBeek (Aug 1, 2010)

I learned, that if you are dumb enough to put on your veil and take off your baseball cap and set it near the hive you are going to work, you better check your baseball cap realllll good before placing it back on your head.


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## GAnewbee (Apr 7, 2011)

I've had bees for one week and I've figured out that I know enough to know that I really don't know anything at all


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## wildbranch2007 (Dec 3, 2008)

If you use the tops of your nuc boxes for notes, remember to paint the tops before the next year, don't bring the nuc box that said nasty on it last year to someones house. they will tell you every time they see you how nasty that hive is!


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## Montana Bee (Feb 1, 2011)

Adam,

I am a newbee this year and I built 2 TBH and one Lang. I live in Helena Montana and will experience the same winter challenges you did. I really enjoyed your advice. Good luck this year. My bees arive May 6. Keep in touch.

John Q


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## LeeB (Mar 2, 2011)

I've learned that beekeepers are people worth listening to, and not just about bees. BeeSource has got the best forum in the business.


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## MDS (Jan 9, 2011)

Okay so maybe I learned more than one thing in the last year so I'm posting it anyway.

Put an empty hive out with new plastic foundation about a week before packages of bees arrived (so would not have to store inside). Wasp started moving into them.

Replaced some of the new foundation with left over capped honey, pollen and empty brood combs the day before packages arrived with an entrance reducer. Bees started to rob from other hives and I found uncapped wax at the entrance and on the frames. 

So what I learned was to close off the entrance all the way and more important an easy way to see that robbing is going on is ground up wax particles left behind from uncapping. Seems like simple stuff but sure is an easy way to tell if they have been robbed.


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## Adam Foster Collins (Nov 4, 2009)

Montana Bee said:


> I am a newbee this year and I built 2 TBH and one Lang....will experience the same winter challenges you did....bees arive May 6.


Let us know how it goes, John. I'll be working on second year challenges, so if we share our experiences, maybe we can minimize how much trauma we put the bees through  At some point I'll detail what I did to set the hives up for winter.

Adam


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## jusme (Mar 28, 2011)

I learned how to set up a much better hive for Michigan. I lost all 4 of my very strong healthy hives my first year. I wrapped them in tarpaper with no upper ventilation. Moisture killed them all. 

Now I don't wrap with anything. Have a notch in my inner cover, put a piece of homosote ontop of the inner cover with an empty super ontop of that. I also use a two inch thick piece of pink foam on top of that. It still left me room to put a layer of sugar in between the homosote and the pink foam. I cut a hole in the homosote that matches the hole in the inner cover so now even though it's snowing in April I can pop off the lid, lift the extra super and feed my bees without chilling the brood!! 

LOCATION, LOCATION, LOCATION !! Northern beekeepers should listen to other Northern beekepers. 

I was blessed to have run across a REAL BEEKEEPER from Canada that calls himself "TROT". If you're ever lucky enough to see posts from "TROT" on a beekeeping website, absorb everything the man tries to teach you!!


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## Growing Boy (Jan 28, 2009)

Never bait a hive with Lemon Grass oil where you don't want the bees to congregate. I put a few drops on the inner cover of a hive that I put a swarm in. After 2 weeks half the hive is clinging to that cover. I mean I open that hive and the inner cover is completely covered, both sides with bees.
Makes inspections difficult and a few deaths inevitable. Live and learn.


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## Justin3 (Jun 10, 2010)

Heard that I could make splits in fall late august or early september in California.....well, it didn't work. Lost 6 of 8 strong hives, most of the splits and $200 bucks in queens!


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## debraC (Mar 9, 2010)

As a newbie who has just installed two hives, I have learned that if financial planning is a necessity, (and if you plan to feed) be SURE to figure in the cost of sugar. Yikes.

Debra


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## HeatherM (Aug 6, 2010)

1) I learned you can ask 3 beekeepers the same question and get 9 different answers. :scratch:
2) I learned the importance of ventilation and have new supplies on the way. 
3) I learned that being chemical-free isn't as important as keeping your hive alive. Mites kill. :no:

This will be my second year, will have two hives when the girls (finally) get here May 1. Hope I am successful this time around!


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## MDS (Jan 9, 2011)

debraC said:


> As a newbie who has just installed two hives, I have learned that if financial planning is a necessity, (and if you plan to feed) be SURE to figure in the cost of sugar. Yikes.
> 
> Debra


Gets easier on the wallet after you have a few drawn frames that they can easily store honey (sugar water) in. Can move it to week hives. When you have a dead out you will be wondering where to move the frames and that will be to new hives. Established hives need less feeding normally. What I'm saying is new bees with undrawn frames is not the way to judge what amount of sugar water you will need. I've feed a total of 3 quarts of sugar water this year with three established hives.


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## MDS (Jan 9, 2011)

Hate to post to a thread I started but had interesting thing happen.

I learned pesticides from last year inside a building can kill this years bees.

Had a swarm call. They setup temporary quarters outside a clothing store (rain was coming so think they found a place to hide). 

A few went through the mail slot in the door of the business and gathered in a display area. I watched as they started dieing off and asked the shop owner about any bug treatment. They said had not used any this year. Well, the ones that were dieing were at the bottom of the window where they used spray last year. The ones at the top of the window were doing good.

Swarm left the next morning after rain stopped. Glad they did because if would have meant a cut out I'm sure.


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## debraC (Mar 9, 2010)

MDS said:


> I learned pesticides from last year inside a building can kill this years bees.


That doesn't surprise me! I quit having 'the bug guy' spray our house 6 years ago. Things are _still_ going belly up when they pass thresholds and baseboards. Kind of makes me wonder what it's doing to me! 

Debra


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## Sid from Texas (Jan 24, 2011)

Never feed in the open. I was mistakenly sent nuc hive top feeders, before I could get them replaced. The nucs were here, and I only had carboard nuc frame holders and deep hive bodies.

So I searched, and some folks advocated using poultry waterers with sugar syrup in the open. I tried it, and lost hundreds if not thousands of bees. It was a very painful lesson.


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## MDS (Jan 9, 2011)

Anyone else learned any lessons the hard way this year?


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## Hokie Bee Daddy (Apr 1, 2011)

I learned that 5 gallon buckets with strainers on top, when the strainers are full of honey are top heavy. When you carry them by the handle they like to tip over spilling honey all over your basement carpet!

I also learned that wives don't like honey on their basement carpet.:lookout:


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## MDS (Jan 9, 2011)

jmgi said:


> >One of many lessons learned: make sure that nucs going into winter are jam packed with honey, 11 of 13 gone so far.
> 
> 
> One of many lessons learned: Make sure that nucs going into winter are jam packed with not only honey but bees. 18 of 18 gone. John


John, what did you end up doing after your terrible loss?


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## spunky (Nov 14, 2006)

Pinch the queen of my crappy package. Shoulda, now I wasted another season and had to start from scratch again


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## Charlie B (May 20, 2011)

Two lessons I've learned so far:

1. Make sure you *secure* your Nuc box to the tree after you've retrieved the swarm that just left one of your hives. (The wind kicked up and the box came tumbling down 30 ft to the ground while I was still on the ladder patting myself on the back for such a flawless swarm capture). :applause:

2. Don't use saw dust in a smoker. It doesn't calm the bees when your smoker goes out and you just spray them with saw dust. It actually has the opposite effect .


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## sqkcrk (Dec 10, 2005)

Learned today that when someone gets an idea in their head, asks about it on beesource.com, gets advice about how unnecassary the thing is to do, they go ahead and do it anyway. So, let people have their misconceptions. It makes them happy.


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## woodedareas (Sep 10, 2010)

I have learned that I will no longer simply purchase a package of bees and a queen without learning more about their source and queen breeding and type.. I am convinced that many of the bee health problems emanate from the fact that our bees are transferred all over the US and most of us have no idea as to their health, source or even the type of queen. Next year I will have at least done some research and purchase from a supplier that has made a superior effort to produce healthy stock.


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## alpha6 (May 12, 2008)

To never start a land war in Asia and to never, ever bet a Sicilian when death is on the line!


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## ChickenChaser (Jun 6, 2009)

...that it is ok to NOT clean up and store dead out hives from the previous year - or longer. 2 for 2 on swarms moving in.


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## MJuric (Jul 12, 2010)

topdog17 said:


> Stop digging around in the hive so much.


Similar lesson here although I think it was very helpful for the first 3-4 weeks to get an idea of what normal looks like.

Less looking, less disturbing the hive, less chance of killing the queen, less time spent. 

Seems they survive quite well even when something goes wrong. Just do what you want to do, split, add boxes for honey/comb etc and let them do their thing. 

~Matt


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## Charlie B (May 20, 2011)

treebee said:


> I learned. That the best way to learn was to go work for a large, long term, commercial outfits. In my second year of bee keeping I was in on making 1600 splits/checkbacks, got to work an East Texas spring build up, a North Dakota fall harvest and a Central California pollination build up, was able to open and manage more than five thousand hives at various stages. I learned there is alot of work invoved in bee management for profit (60+ hour weeks leading into 30+ hour weekends.) Weather is a hostile combatant. And it takes way more than a just few hundred stings to kill a man.Although it does cause one too rethink a variety of issues. All and all I learned that there are risks, rewards, travel, and a bit of adventure in beekeeping and I don't want to do anything else. John.


Wow. Talk about baptism by fire. That's like learning a new language by immersion in the culture except a little more painful . What a valuable experience.

Thanks for sharing


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## Charlie B (May 20, 2011)

BigDru said:


> I learned it's not good to drop a frame full of bees.


Ain't that the truth. I pulled a top box off not realizing that three of the bottom box frames, (three heavily populated middle brood frames) were stuck to the bottom of the top box frames until all three frames came loose and landed on the ground at the same time. . That was probably one of the dumbest things I've ever done. I was fortunate the queen was not harmed.


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## johnpfaff (May 12, 2011)

Sid from Texas,
Put marbles or glass beads in the bottom of the waterers. The bees will stop drowning.


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## Davebcrzy (Mar 12, 2011)

When I extracted honey earlier this summer I wasn't able to decap and extract in one afternoon. Ended up having to stack seven supers all of which I had not decapped. Used two tight fitting telescoping tops as bottom and tops to close up the stack of supers. I THOUGHT I had gotten the top cover on good. Howerver, it was ajar. I knew when I went back out to finish the job and bees were covering the top of the stack something was up!
In less than 24 hours robber bees had gotten into the stacked supers and had eaten three supers full of honey. Lesson learned, make sure the lid is on tight!!!!!! Dave


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## sqkcrk (Dec 10, 2005)

No, lesson learned should have been, only take off what one can extract. Do what you need to when you need to not when you want to. Get 'er done.

I thought you were going to say you found them slimed by SHB. Lucky you didn't.


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## ralittlefield (Apr 25, 2011)

sqkcrk said:


> Learned today that when someone gets an idea in their head, asks about it on beesource.com, gets advice about how unnecassary the thing is to do, they go ahead and do it anyway. So, let people have their misconceptions. It makes them happy.


LOL! Translation: People do not always take my advise.


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## sqkcrk (Dec 10, 2005)

Not only mine, but almost everyone on a particular Thread who told someone something was unnecassary. But, no one died. So no big deal. Advice is worth what you pay for it. Right?


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## honeyman46408 (Feb 14, 2003)

sqkcrk said:


> Learned today that when someone gets an idea in their head, asks about it on beesource.com, gets advice about how unnecassary the thing is to do, they go ahead and do it anyway.


Not only on "beesource" we have guys in our club that will call 3 people and ask then do it their way but they never call the same people to correct the mess they made :doh:


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## dputnam (Jun 13, 2011)

I learned that watching a swarm descend upon my garden on a sunny spring day can turn into an obsession. First year Beek and find the Forum priceless.


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## BoWo (Jun 26, 2005)

I learned that you need 2 or 3 holes in the inner
If you are feeding raw sugar on the top of it in the
Winter. One of mine plugged the hole with dead bee
So the hive starved out in the spring.


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