>For all those out there that were gloves when working
>over bee hives, try to do with out these as they tend to make you
>less competent when handling frames.
 
Gloves are the only protective clothing I generally tend to wear---but...
Most folks wear heavy and unwieldy gloves.  I wear the thin plastic gloves
that I wear for caving.  They give you a good "feel" for the frames and
bees, and are semi-resistant to stings.  Get them at your rockclimbing
supplier.  (It's mostly a psychological crutch, anyway, not being able to
feel bees scurrying over your fingertips.  I've worked barehanded, and I
really prefer gloves to deaden autonomous reactions.)  As for other
protective clothing---I started out fully suited, 20 years ago, and found
I shed more and more gear over time.  I get stung less without "protective"
clothing than with it.
 
--Jane B.