My first year keeping bees has been very rewarding. 

There are a few things when I started out that wanted to achieve:

• I wanted to keep my bees near home, so it was important not to have unhappy neighbours. I informed them before I installed my bees and this seems to have worked out OK.

• I did not want to kill off my bees in the first year; again this seems to have worked well, as I have increased my stock from two hives to three, which should have been four except for listening to poor advice. But I still have to get through the first winter - again so far so good.

• I did not want my bees to be responsible for the spread of diseases to a neighbouring apiary, as they have good stock and I hope we will be related by marriage soon through my queens mating with their drones or my drones mating with their queens, even though they don’t know it yet. Being the good neighbour, I have stocked my apiary with AMMs.

• I have checked and treated my bees for diseases and all looks good so far.

I have put together some advice from my first year which I’ve called the Seven Deadly Sins of Beekeeping. I know there is much more I could add, but you have got to start somewhere.

1. Not attending a basic beekeeping course:

The importance of attending some type of course to get some hands-on experience of what is involved in keeping bees is invaluable. You can read all the books you want, but actual experience at the hive is of great benefit along with working with an experienced Beekeeper. I also attended a number of workshops by our association and the Native Irish Honey Bee Society. Everyone I met so far has been very generous with their advice and time to listen to me.

2. Not feeding your bees:

One of the important things to remember is that bees, like any other livestock or pets you have, need to be cared for and that includes feeding. When to feed and what to feed and how often is important. If you obtain a swarm and place them in a hive, they will have to build foundation and collect stores so a little help will not go amiss. If the weather is poor or they have not enough stores to survive the winter, they will probably starve to death unless given some food.

3. Not treating your bees for pests and diseases:

There are many pests and diseases that can affect your bees. Varroa mites are a common problem in all hives. I have not met a Beekeeper who has not had varroa mites in their hive. It is important to know what to look for when checking your bees, then to treat or not to treat - that is up to you the Beekeeper. Not treating will probably mean your bees will die and see diseases spread in your own hives or to other nearby apiaries, either through your drones mating or your bees robbing other hives or turning up at a different hive if they get lost. Wasps can be a nuisance around hives robbing stores, and the same goes for mice, although reducing the entrances can keep them out. There are many other problems, but if you watch out for these you will be well on your way to successfully caring for your bees.

4. Do not remove all queen cells:
I have done this, but why remove queen cells without there being a reason to do so. Is the queen dead, has she ceased laying eggs. It is the natural instinct of the bees to swarm and produce new queens and these new queens can help you increase your stock.

5. Never open a hive without a plan:
We need to open the hive to manage our bees and see what is happening inside. I’m sure the bees could survive fine without our interference, but since we are going to open the hive, have a plan. So what are we looking for? I usually look to see if they are drawing foundation, have they stores, are there eggs, brood at all stages, capped brood, can I see the queen? If I’m happy then I will close it up, other times I will check specifically for diseases and take a few pictures, then leave them alone, write up my notes and observe them flying in and around the hive.

6. Do not remove honey stores too early:

Do not take stores from the bees when they do not have enough for themselves, this can leave them open to starvation. If bees die of starvation, there is only the Beekeeper to blame. This being my first year and starting with a collected swarm, it was important for me to have them increase in numbers and draw foundation. Also as it was a wet summer, there was not a lot of nectar for the bees, therefore not enough honey for me to collect, although I must admit I did taste some honey from brace comb removed from the hive.

7. Do not always follow mentor’s advice:

There are lots of Beekeepers who will offer advice but what advice should you follow? Remove all queen cells. Bees will not swarm in their first year. Bees don’t need chemical treatments. Allow queens to fight it out, only the fittest will survive, and so on. Just because he/she is a third generation beekeeper and their grandfather did it this way does not mean it’s right. Our world is changing fast - their grandfather probably smoked a pipe and didn’t wear a bee suit, did not take notes. That should not mean you have to get lung cancer or get stung to death. Enjoy your bees, it is a simple way to stay in touch with nature and is an easier way to be involved in animal husbandry than keeping chickens, cows or pigs.

There is an incredible amount to learn about keeping bees, so take your time. Watch, listen and observe: there will be time enough to collect honey, collect pollen, breed queens, sell nucs, move the bees to orchards, oil seed rape or the heather.

(from An Beauchaire, The Irish Beekeeper, February 2016)