- Even if you are just going to refill the feeders, bring the hive tool. You never know when you'll find a bit burr comb that needs scraping off, or what the bees will have glued together next.
- Give the smoker a little puff every couple minutes to make sure it is still burning in there. They can go out with just the air flow from the spout. Or just for no reason at all. You want to make sure that's smoking before you open the brood box.
- If you turn the smoker sideways, unless you are holding on to the lid, it will pop open. You have been warned!
- Sometimes even a happy, well-mated, healthy queen will lay two eggs in a cell. I theorize she does this to cause me anxiety, in revenge for digging through her hive.
- Sometimes bees make a hot mess. Even on foundation. When you clean this out it will make them very angry. Try to catch them early.
- The moment you say "don't worry I stand there and watch them all the time, and they never sting me," somebody will get stung. Or at least have a bee crash into their face and make them think they were stung.
- Grass can and will grow through your screened bottom board and out the entrance of the hive. This is not fun to clear out. Don't skimp on the landscaping cloth under your hives.
All together bees are really fun and rewarding, even before you harvest your first frames of delicious, delicious honey. They are not however as easy as beekeeping websites make them out to be, if only because every time a newbee starts a new hive, they (like us) will find new and exciting ways to derp it up. Fun!
No comments:
Post a Comment