Hi Peter Chiang Mai
>I would like to understand a little more of what people wear for bee 
>keeping.  There was a thread a couple of weeks ago about gloves.  Some very 
>constructive comments and here am I, never use gloves.

As they say, all beekeeping is local.  What you need to wear depends on 
climate, type of bee, handling, current state of flow, task in hand - and 
your own tolerance of bees, stings, propolis etc.

I have handled bees in S India where no-one seems to own a veil; we dressed 
in shorts and short-sleeved shirt, sandals, no veil.  Locals just dressed in 
a lunghi.  Little smoke used.  No stings.

In Tobago I wore the same.  Little smoke used.  No stings.

In Thailand I dressed in the same way and wandered around an apiary taking 
photographs where 10+ beekeepers were shaking bees and extracting honey. 
Very little smoke used.  Workers wore thin veils tucked into their collars 
and 'Marigolds' - I did not.  No stings.

In Trinidad I wore boots, suit and 'Marigolds' for 'Killer' bees.  Plenty of 
smoke.  1 sting through the hood.  Beekeeper in blue suit had hundreds of 
stings on the suit, but one wearing a red suit had none that I could see.

In the UK we have a complete range.  Some bees need no protective equipment 
(I have removed honey from some of my bees with a blower on a cool, dull day 
using no smoke) but have also handled bees locally that were far worse than 
the killer bees in Trinidad!

I usually wear boots to stop bees going up my trouser legs, a loose fitting, 
white, light-weight boiler suit (with not much underneath) to keep my 
clothes clean and to stop bees getting trapped, a Sheriff veil (easy to 
unzip when travelling between apiaries) and 'Marigolds' to keep my hands 
clean and to allow keeping hive tools in soda-wash solution (keeps them 
clean and disease-free).  I use single-use latex gloves over the Marigolds 
and discard these after each apiary.  I rarely get stung (although they 
could easily sting through the boiler suit) and feel able to cope with 
really bad temper if I happen to come across it.

Have to say that with the improvement in temper resulting from our breeding 
programme I now often feel a bit overdressed.

Best wishes

Peter 

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