The Fear

I met with one of my clients at work today and it just so happens I'm sporting a badly swollen top lip from a sting at the weekend. When the client learned this was the result of a bee sting and not Botox he went on to explain that he had kept bees for just over ten years. I asked why he had stopped and he replied that after one aggressive inspection he, out of nowhere, developed something of a bee phobia. He sold off his hives and gave up on the hobby, apparently no longer able to open a hive without getting the shakes.

I've had a few shaky encounters in my first three years and have a couple of times walked away from an inspection when the homicidal tendencies of my little girls was in full bloom. But I've never had an experience that left me feeling fearful of the hive.

I guess fear is healthy, it stops us getting to blaze, but when it ruins the hobby what's the point.
Any anecdotes?

How on earth were you stung last weekend?

I think it is the sensible thing to do, to close up and walk away, if they become too unmanageable. Try again another day.

In my very early days, I once had a colony that was absolutely horrid, that swarmed into a Warre hive. They were so nasty that I did not inspect very often at all. Having had words with my mentor, I put on triple layers of protection ( two suits) and went through the nasty lot in a national hive and as soon as I saw the queen she was a goner. Took many stings. Could not face doing the same in the Warre hive so they got petrol.

I am apprehensive always at my first inspection of the year, whether through excitement or anxiety I do not know

Swarm said:

How on earth were you stung last weekend?

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I have an entrance block in and the snow had dislodged it a bit, I was just straightening it up and brushing a few dead bees from the landing platform when one of the door guards surprised me. I know I should have worn a veil but I thought the freezing temperature would keep them from kamikaze attacks

Fear is what happens when you get a veil full of bees from a hot hive you’ve been trying to inspect. They got in through the small hole at the back where the zip meets. I tell you, knowing what’s in store, the buzzing around my face that I can’t locate as I run away from the hives swatting my head is something I never want to repeat

I used to feel awful just before an inspection. Then one day someone asked me if I could help them with their hive. I suddenly found that I was doing things for the benefit of this beginner that I had never done before and without even thinking about it. I went on to mentor many others over the years and my confidence grew with every person I mentored. Now not a lot worries me about bees, so my tip is to help others and explain to them what you are doing........any fears just disappear!!!
E

Beagle23 said:

I have an entrance block in and the snow had dislodged it a bit, I was just straightening it up and brushing a few dead bees from the landing platform when one of the door guards surprised me. I know I should have worn a veil but I thought the freezing temperature would keep them from kamikaze attacks

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I don't know what the weather was like near you last weekend here was Baltic and i suspect the bees where tightly clustered, are you adding anti freeze to any sugar syrup you feed..

On the fear side of things they do not frighten me, i am just a bit more cautious and slower to move in certain situations, i am sure i have read somewhere that fear can send bad vibes out and also cause you to rush and bang about a bit more than you would if you where in a calm relaxed manner, at the end of the day though i suppose it is down to the strain of bees you keep.

Fear will change your breathing, I've heard it recommended that you should sing to your bees, the reason behind this is that it regulates your breathing. Bees are hard wired to attack co2 sources. So stressed out breathing will do it.
I've been driven off a hive once or twice by weight of stings when it would have been smarter to close up when they made it clear I wasn't welcome.
As my dad always said " no sense, no feeling"

enrico said:

I used to feel awful just before an inspection. Then one day someone asked me if I could help them with their hive. I suddenly found that I was doing things for the benefit of this beginner that I had never done before and without even thinking about it. I went on to mentor many others over the years and my confidence grew with every person I mentored. Now not a lot worries me about bees, so my tip is to help others and explain to them what you are doing........any fears just disappear!!!
E

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"LIKE"

enrico said:

my tip is to help others and explain to them what you are doing........any fears just disappear!!!
E

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Its also a good way of finding out what you don't know

I had some very shaky moments when I first started and seriously considered giving up. I was on an American Forum explaining my issues and one member PM me with the phone number of Golden Bee Suits. Their bee suit was supposed to be beeproof. I spent a fortune on my first suit and 2 more since. Attired in my first one, believing the hype I rapidly gained confidence and now do not worry too much.
I have the horrible experience of failing to fasten the suit correctly and realizing that those bees are inside the veil and I am their victim but that has been my error.
Last year I had 2 most nasty hives and I must admit i felt great fear when they burst out of the hive and were attacking en masse. I am, however, always cautious and wear protective clothing. Never take anything for granted!!! The two hives were so bad I was forced to destroy one as they were a danger to life and other people.

enrico said:

I used to feel awful just before an inspection. Then one day someone asked me if I could help them with their hive. I suddenly found that I was doing things for the benefit of this beginner that I had never done before and without even thinking about it. I went on to mentor many others over the years and my confidence grew with every person I mentored. Now not a lot worries me about bees, so my tip is to help others and explain to them what you are doing........any fears just disappear!!!
E

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I have far less experience than you but I feel the same..

(My experience in life is confront your fears and they tend to disappear)

I always advise people to talk to their bees. Say hello, explain what you are doing, tell them how well they are doing, it creates a relaxed atmosphere. When helping another beek, the explanation of what you are doing, while you are doing it, is another distraction. After one association apiary session, one of the ladies thanked me and commented how calm and gentle I was ... and with all those bees. I was focused on what I was telling them, I didn't take any notice of the bees. If your hive or hives are playing up, employ some help and things get much easier.

Swarm said:

I always advise people to talk to their bees. Say hello, explain what you are doing, tell them how well they are doing, it creates a relaxed atmosphere. When helping another beek, the explanation of what you are doing, while you are doing it, is another distraction. After one association apiary session, one of the ladies thanked me and commented how calm and gentle I was ... and with all those bees. I was focused on what I was telling them, I didn't take any notice of the bees. If your hive or hives are playing up, employ some help and things get much easier.

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That's the best tip I was ever given when I first started with bees ... and I still do it now.

My worst experience was with someone else's hive .. I knew it was going to be bad and was well suited and booted but the experience of being absolutely covered in bees that were trying to kill me and (as it happens) the beginner I was helping was pretty edifying. After a really rank inspection and de-queening the colony, these beggars followed us and even 10 minutes under a tree didn't deter some of them ... We finally escaped to the patio 50 yards away and I took my veil off only to find that two of the little beggars were still there and I got two stings - one on the side of my nose and one above my eye ... not an experience I ever want to repeat but ... didn't put me off. The beginner I was helping, however, was not as committed as she might have been and gave up..frightened her to the point where she couldn't go near them even after they had been subdued with a new queen.

Get a bee buddy even if they are brand new

I found bring alongside someone during inspection gives loads of confidence

I have the fear but it is as much a fear of not feeling confident in what I'm doing as much as the fear of being stung. I've got through my first year with my colonies intact (as at 10 o'clock this morning when they were so numerous I wondered if they might be going to swarm!) so I guess I'm doing something right. I am looking forward to putting my nuc colony into a full hive.

Two things I want to do this year:

1 Stop seeing them as individual bees and more as a whole organism and...

2 be able to see the queen!

This is a good thread.Too often on this forum you can feel inferior, useless, not knowing anything. It does us all good to remember the days when we were learning, when that pit in the stomach before an inspection made you wonder if this was the hobby for you, thinking you will never see a queen or ever stop them swarming. It does get easier, but it never gets easy, if it did it would get boring and never be a challenge. Chin up folks, we are all in the same boat but we might not all make captain!!!!!!
E

Erichalfbee said:

Fear is what happens when you get a veil full of bees from a hot hive you’ve been trying to inspect. They got in through the small hole at the back where the zip meets. I tell you, knowing what’s in store, the buzzing around my face that I can’t locate as I run away from the hives swatting my head is something I never want to repeat

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They certainly like burrowing, if I have a nasty hive or hives, I cover the front and back part of the zip with a small amount of gaffer tape to stop any determined attack through the zips. I have never resorted to that defence with my sheriff suit.

I always try and explain to people that they should avoid starting out with a swarm because of their unknown temperament. Yet many associations still advocate swarms for beginners.
More beginners stop beekeeping because their first experiences with bees are not pleasant and it stops being the "romantic" pastime they envisaged.

Experience of watching a beekeeper wearing but a hat and veil and with shirt sleeves rolled up, bare armed and ungloved hands, confidently handling a so called agressive colony of bees on a warm summers day, with hardly any smoke in the local training apiary... made me realise that the fully suited bang and crash approach was not the best.

Becoming a vegetarian and practicing Zen may be the way to go?