The thing that bothers me about bee school is anyone can teach a class. The
public doesn't have a clue that all the teachers knowledge is gained from
books not experience. Here we have people teaching beginner classes who
have had bees two to four years. Beekeeping has become so popular bee
supply shops have been springing up all around the past two years. I manage
a shop that has been open 45 years with a beekeeper who has had bees over
80 years there has been a big reduction in the amount we sell since these
new shops have opened. Not much to do about that but it does bother me to
see classes taught at these shops by the inexperienced owners. They may be
good shop keepers but they only can offer book or internet knowledge when
it comes to bees. When the beginners screw up because they listen to or are
taught by beginners they call our shop, since the owner of the shop is 93
it falls on me. I got a call from someone who asked me to help them
catch their bees and put them back in the hive. They opened the hive on a
bitterly damp cold day, wind gusts up to 45 mph, to put on a candy board
which they probably did not need but by email they were told it was
"insurance" so they went to that shop and purchased a ready to go candy
board. They got one hive open of their two and the bees exploded out, they
got the board on but squashed a lot of bees, they had bees flying
everywhere and called me to come catch them. I could of gone there and
charged $40 an hour and they would have paid but I told the truth, I am not
a bee whisperer I can't whisper the bees back into the hive. She wanted me
to come put on her second candy board I told her about checking the weight
of the hive that they may not need the board, something she never heard of
checking the weight. I told her call me in February and I may consider
helping put a candy board on and it would be on a day when the sun is out
and the wind is not howling.



I needed to gripe to someone,

Karen T-K

Maine

             ***********************************************
The BEE-L mailing list is powered by L-Soft's renowned
LISTSERV(R) list management software.  For more information, go to:
http://www.lsoft.com/LISTSERV-powered.html

Guidelines for posting to BEE-L can be found at:
http://honeybeeworld.com/bee-l/guidelines.htm