1. Let us take the time to learn the meaning of words : this allows us to communicate with one another without the risk of unfortunate errors

For example, a hive is a container whose shape, volume, and construction materials vary greatly. A hive is therefore housing intended to shelter a bee colony, not a colony or a swarm. A hive can therefore disappear (in the event of theft), but it cannot die !

A bee colony consists of a queen, many workers, males, brood that may be more or less compact/open/capped, and food. By contrast, a swarm, whether natural or artificial, includes a queen, workers, and most of the time males … but it contains neither brood nor food, since this group of bees has left its hive, voluntarily or not …

Nucleus comes from Latin and means “kernel” or “core.” We could all agree and from now on simply speak of a “nuc.”

We are familiar with the nucleus of a cell, with its genetic heritage contained in chromatin/chromosomes. In beekeeping, the nucleus is the core of a colony:  a queen, nurse bees, a brood nest, and some food stores. This core is active, but it often needs a small feeding boost from the beekeeper in order to grow and form a future autonomous production colony.

The birth of a bee is probably an ambiguous term. We say that an egg hatches when it releases the very young larva, and that a bee emerges when the metamorphosis of the nymph is complete and the imago leaves its cell. That may seem a little pedantic, but when the beekeeper embarks on queen rearing, counting the days from egg laying, hatching, or emergence is extremely important in order not to miss the precise stages of the breeding calendar.

There are many other examples of terminology used in fanciful ways:  nectar, honeydew, forage plant, one type of queen cell or another, larva, nymph, mite, dysentery, nosemosis ...

2. Do not believe that you know : this helps you stay up to date

Just because a beekeeper has read “ L’apiculture, une fascination ” or followed the videoconferences held on the last Wednesday of the month does not mean that he or she will recognize the smell of a nectar flow or the song of the queen. One thing is certain:  the beekeepers attending introductory courses in their first year are the ones who know the least. But they are also the ones who learn the most, ask the most questions, and acquire the most knowledge because they read, attend educational meetings, are open to all information, and are grateful for the transmission of knowledge. The colleagues who think they know the most are those in the following years:  for every question, they have an answer;  for every opinion, they offer you theirs;  they no longer read because they could write it themselves;  they no longer listen because they could say it themselves … From the 4th year onward, knowledge begins to wobble, certainty falters, doubt sets in:  beekeeping becomes complex, and questions are followed by tentative answers … “it depends on …, it could be the result of several factors …, recent studies would suggest that …”. Experienced beekeepers see problems as increasingly complex and answers as increasingly diverse and requiring more research. The more knowledge progresses, the less competent colleagues feel that they know everything. After this “ trough ”, one must build true knowledge and self-confidence, which returns slowly as humility in the face of science is discovered.

 

Dunning-Kruger effect: The Dunning-Kruger effect, also called the overconfidence effect, is a cognitive bias whereby the least qualified in a field may overestimate their competence. It may be related to ultracrepidarianism.

3. Do not make simple tasks more complicated than they are : this allows you to focus on what matters.

To the question “ how often should a colony be smoked before it is inspected? ”, the answer should be “ when necessary ! ” and not “ I only use sprays of distilled water..., essential oils …, repellents …”. The decision whether or not to smoke a colony depends on many circumstances:  the purpose and duration of the inspection, population size, aggressiveness of the line, shortage of nectar intake, the beekeeper’s stress, the hour of the inspection, the stage of the beekeeping season, the weather … The experienced beekeeper will always have a lit smoker nearby. He or she will use it when judged necessary, because the saying tells us:  “If you never use smoke, you are not really a beekeeper.” 

4. Do not postpone an intervention that is waiting for you

As beekeepers, we have only a few unavoidable interventions during the beekeeping season. However, if an intervention is necessary, it must be carried out on time. If a necessary intervention is not carried out on time, it may become useless. For example, if an urgent Varroa treatment is delayed, the colony may fail to survive … If a starving colony is not fed quickly, it may die of hunger … If a robbed colony is not rescued, it will disappear in the following days … If a queenless colony is not dealt with, it may become drone-laying and be doomed …

5. Do not assume that a populated hive is always occupied by a healthy colony

We are constantly reminded that activity at the entrance must be observed. Observing activity at the entrance without looking more closely at the type of activity has no absolute value. Heavy activity may indicate robbing, all the more so if workers are flying chaotically around the hive, under the edge of the roof, under the Varroa tray, or between the super and the brood chamber … This hive certainly needs to be opened and the colony inspected for the underlying problem (defective queen, or even no queen at all …).

6. Do not start beekeeping with only one colony

A beginner beekeeper who wants to maximize the chances of success should start with 3 colonies. At first glance, one might think that one colony is already more than enough when there is everything to learn. The problem is that when there is an issue with one’s only colony, it is not possible to find the solution in another colony. For example, during an inspection, one notices that the queen is absent (perhaps she was accidentally crushed during the last inspection …) and that there is neither open brood nor an emergency queen cell. The solution is simple:  one must introduce a laying replacement queen or open brood on which the queenless colony can rear a new queen. If there is only one colony in the apiary, the local breeding instructor or bee advisor will have to be called for help. If there are 3 colonies in the apiary, one is autonomous and can take the queen or a frame of fresh brood from a neighbouring colony. Any honest banker will tell you that investments must be diversified and that not all eggs should be put in the same basket …

7. Feed the colonies ?

Many beekeepers with a nature-friendly orientation would be tempted to categorically refrain from feeding their colonies. While this approach may be appropriate for production colonies during a nectar flow, things may be very different for other colonies. Typically, newly created nuclei do not have sufficient food stores, and the small number of foragers does not make it possible to cover the needs of the nurse bees tending brood that must be heated and fed. Without the beekeeper’s help, offering small quantities of syrup regularly, this nucleus may decline and take a long time to reach a population of 20'000 individuals, allowing it to overwinter without difficulty. A different problem may arise at the end of winter when the queen of a fine colony has started laying and a cold spell returns in February-March. This colony will multiply its consumption of stores tenfold in order to keep the brood at 34°C and may require one kilogram of honey per week. If stores are somewhat low, for example in the mountains, the colony may be unable to maintain optimal homeothermy, the brood may become chilled and be abandoned, and thus become a source of infectious disease. The starving colony may die from cold.

8. During a colony inspection, always look for signs confirming the presence of a queen

At the entrance, one sees the orderly activity of pollen foragers, water or nectar carriers, and guards. As soon as the crown board is opened, one hears the discreet rustling of the workers;  the population and the number of occupied frames can be estimated in relation to the previous inspection. However, the brood frames must be examined for single eggs or young larvae, which are undeniable signs of the presence of a queen. If the beekeeper has time and experience, he or she will look for the queen herself in order to make sure that she is still marked as during the last inspection and that she has not been superseded. If the presence of a queen is not sought (directly or indirectly), one may miss a queenless colony, or even a drone-laying colony, doomed to disappear sooner or later.

9. Never persuade yourself that your Varroa mites are under control !

One often hears:  “I haven’t observed natural mite drop recently” … “no or little drop after my treatment” … “the harvest was excellent and my colony is doing well, I will treat later” … “I do not have too much of a Varroa problem” …

Varroa is always a problem ! The best way to convince oneself of that is to study carefully the relationship between bee/brood dynamics and Varroa dynamics, which are intimately linked. One should remember that 90% of Varroa mites reproduce in capped brood;  they are therefore invisible. The remaining 10% are on the bees and disperse into neighbouring hives through drifting, robbing, or host switching … A colony that has reared abundant brood throughout the season and enabled a large harvest is threatened by a higher Varroa level than a nuc created in mid-July from bees from the supers.  The strong production colony is more likely to collapse in late autumn than the nuc established on new foundation, treated with oxalic acid in the absence of brood, and fed generously by a careful beekeeper.

 

Photo: Serge Imboden

10. A colony should not be inspected only for pleasure

A colony is always disturbed by an inspection. The beekeeper will stress the bees, break propolis seals, disturb the order of the frames, injure/kill a few workers, chill the hive interior/the brood, and possibly inoculate germs from other colonies … A colony should therefore be inspected with a precise purpose, for example to assess colony strength, check the presence of the queen after an introduction, estimate intake or stores, or introduce additional frames to increase the volume intended for egg laying or honey stores. During this inspection, observations should be related to the notes taken during the previous inspection in order to assess the vitality of the colony or, on the contrary, signs of disease, stagnation in development, or even the onset of collapse. The meticulous beekeeper prepares the material that will be needed for this inspection;  but also prepares everything that might be useful in the event of the unexpected:  paint if he comes across a superseded and unmarked queen … a ready-to-use nucleus box if he has to split an overly strong colony … a frame with foundation or a super if space must be provided for egg laying or incoming nectar … food if the colony is starving … etc. But even when everything is planned, there are always unforeseen events:  capped swarm queen cells, a frame falling to the ground, a queen flying off, a sting on the eyelid … One must then improvise and change plans very quickly. Beekeeping is decidedly not an exact science, and that is what makes it so appealing ...

Fortunately, the above list of 10 mistakes not to make is not complete;  there are dozens of others. Reading selected articles, meeting at courses, and exchanges in the apiary are all opportunities to learn and pass on tips, tricks, anecdotes, surprises, mistakes … in short, everything that advances knowledge and know-how.

 

Sources:

17 costly beekeeping mistakes and how to avoid them - Honey Bee Suite

See also :

► The qualities of a good beekeeper

► Apiary management : operating concept

► Integrated Varroa control throughout the seasons

► Introducing a queen : conditions and methods