I believe a combination of problems causes a lot of hobbyist and part time beekeepers to be frustrated and or fail. Beekeeping is both an art and a science. If you ignore one side of beekeeping you will have many problems.
I have noticed people posting about a beekeeping test (
http://www.gobeekeeping.com/) but they do not mention that most 99% of the answers in the test are in the free classes (basic and intermediate course) five paragraphs above the test. I took the free classes and scored a 46 out of 50 (and that was with 2 errors on my part for not reading the question correctly) after re-studying the free courses I scored a 49, then a perfect 50. Enough of my bloviating.
Obtaining a solid base in knowledge about any subject is the first stage of becoming an expert. I wont boor you by going into the old saying of “You cant build a great house with a weak foundation†but I see this all the time. I see a lot of posters asking questions (What's this, how do I treat for that, ETC) that I know to be basic beekeeping knowledge.
I have yet to see a posting of a professional or Hobbyist sharing their finding on the results from sending in a sampling of bees to a professional laboratory to test for tracheal mites or chemical resistant mites (
http://www.ars.usda.gov/Services/docs.htm?docid=7473) The service is FREE!!!!!
Without knowldege and scientific study we are doomed to wander in the dark bumping into treasure (good honey production) and problems (that kill our bees) scratching our head as we go.
Easy example: Treating tracheal mites with menthol crystals after Sept 1 when there are not a lot of 84 deg days (84 deg being the temp that the crystals sublime, turn from a solid to a gas without turning into a liquid)
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I would suggest the following for anyone who would like (or already is) to be a hobbyist beekeeper BEFORE you purchase your hives and bee packages.
(1) Take the basic and intermediate free courses from (
http://www.gobeekeeping.com/) and purchase at least one book with a publish (not republished) date of 2000 to present. The nearer the present date the more current the information (should be).
(2) Take the free test (same web site) and free courses until you achieve a 45 or higher (you will have to refresh and hit the ‘back’ button many times (3-15X) but it will eventually work.)
(3) Read all of the articles from George Imirie (
http://www.beekeeper.org/) Master (certified) beekeeper. You will learn the difference between a beekeeper and a beehaver.
(4) Consume information from (
http://bwrangler.madpage.com/bee/ttbh.htm) On TBH. I believe the TBH is the best way to start beekeeping in terms of expense, stings, and education. If not for just the section on the Varroa blaster...
(5) Be scientific in your beekeeping. Make records that include weather, temp, rainfall, observation of hive from outside and inside, condition of hive (dew still on hive at 10am, scratches from skunk, ETC). Inspect for dead bees within 30ft of hive. Check water source (Is it muddy, clear, smelly, oily) for water condition. Check with local farms (and local gov. for insect spraying time/dates) for chemical spraying time/date.
(5a) Register with state inspector and be familiar with him/her. (IF you call them and make an appointment to take them to lunch when they come around they can tell you of problems in your area and you make friends with a knowledgeable certified expert!)
(6) Have a beekeeping calender for general dates of hive manipulations. You don’t want to forget about important items (usually due to life’s little problems) such as placing menthol crystals when temps are too cold for the treatment to work!! CEO’s, scientist (and successful people in general) have calenders, planners, PDA’s to make their life easy and less full of bad surprises.
(7) Know the flora and fauna in your neck of the woods to make sure there is no dearth of pollen or nectar (some plants produce nectar but no pollen and this may affect the health of your bees, especially larva as pollen has vital nutrients honey just does not have. Remember: Bees do not live on honey alone. Consulting the library or nearby college to find out the plants, what and when they produce nectar and pollen. Plant flowers, bushes, and trees as needed to fill in missing pollen, nectar dates. Don’t wonder why you see lots of one type of flowering plant and have small honey production, few larva and pollen when these plants may produce small or no nectar during the daytime (whey your bees are out foraging) and limited pollen!!! This will help you identify warnings of hive problems. If your local flora is producing nectar and pollen in good amounts and you have little to see for it, you may have disease, pest, or queen problems!
(8 ) Leave your bees alone. Don’t be the typical new guy and check your bees every day when you first get them. This places stress on the hive and may lead to it being weekend. Do you enjoy your boss checking on you every hour, every day. Well neither do your bees. By having a Beekeeping calendar you can reduce the mandatory stress on your hives.
(9) Do not experiment with your hive the first year. Yes, I know you want to try this and that (Like J. Clayton placing a pollen trap on day 7 (2001 journal) of his hives life !?!) to try out what you think will improve your honey production. Remember #5 (be scientific) Establish a baseline for comparison of future results. Your new hive should be free of pests/diseases and should show what a new swarm hive should produce. Save the experimentation for year three AND have an observation hive when you do so.
(10) Learn, learn, learn. Join a local beekeeping club, take classes and become a certified master beekeeper. Search, search, search the internet to learn. I found a web site that showed most bees in America have AHB (Africanized Honey Bee) genetic material in their DNA another site had a man who worked with AHB in the 1920's and 30's (in the USA), while another one had the % of AHB DNA from the state of florida showing all Feral bees in the state have some AHB DNA in them!!!. Sites for removing drone comb to reduce or control Varroa are out there. One site told of conditions and cues given by bees that they are preparing to swarm (not just queen starter cells, that is the final cue) from a hive. The thirst for knowledge should never be slaked. And Yes I deliberately left out the web sites so you will have to hunt for them and read each site to glean good information that is out there on the W.W.W. John's site is great in that it has several search engines to help in your search for knowledge.
(11) Have fun!!!
Topic: Beginners map to success (Read 1859 times)