> > You will NEVER become a beekeeper if you wear gloves.

> I used to think this was true. I used to get 50 or more stings a day
and
> think nothing of it. But when I got this job at the bee lab I was
> introduced to latex dishwashing gloves.

I realise that some like to have simple rules for everything, but
beekeeping is not simple.  Everything, from the beekeeper in question,
to the bees, the climate, and the locality are variable.  Like many, or
perhaps most, categorical statements regarding beekeeping, the original
pronouncement is easily demonstrated to be false. There is an element of
truth, but, if one considers that some people have skin conditions, some
work on Africanized bees, and that it is obvious that there are other
good reasons to wear gloves, at least some of the time, and that there
are many good beekeepers who always wear gloves, and we must judge the
statement false.

As for me, I used to always work without gloves and also without a bee
suit, but as I get older, my skin is not what it once was.  I find that,
if I wear gloves, my hands remain in much better condition, since
washing off wax, propolis, etc.  dries the skin and makes my hands rough
and sore.  A white suit keeps the sun from injuring my skin (and also
enhances the appearance that I know what I am doing).

I suggest that the original statement might be amended to something
like, "Working without gloves can make a person a better and more
sensitive beekeeper, but there are good reasons to use gloves at times,
and a wise beekeeper who works barehanded keeps gloves handy in case
things don't go as expected".

Different strokes...

allen
http://www.honeybeeworld.com/diary/