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What is a Newbee?
A newbee is someone who is just starting to keep bees who would like a mentor, someone to help them with hands one experience, something more than just talking about what the bees are doing. Now let's make it clear here, a mentor is not someone who is going to do the beekeeping for you, this is someone who is going to be there when YOU do it and who will teach you techniques. A mentor is a person is someone who is willing to spend time with you so if you haven't open a hive yet, better get up the courage to do so and get comfortable with it because once you reach out to a mentor, they will take you out to an apiary and put you to work. If you are new to beekeeping, you need to: 1. Learn the terminology of bees, a bee colony and bee hive 2. Know the basic uses of tools 3. Have your safety equipment 4. Don't be afraid to ask questions 5. Listen The last one is important because there will be a lot of information coming your way and it's easy to reject a good half of it outright. A good mentor will help you build on the basics and, even though you don't understand what is being said, later when you see the behavior you may recognize it by the description so listen, even if at first it doesn't make sense. It will when you see it. Not sure you are ready? Get your bee buddy and talk it through, there's nothing beekeepers like more than talking about what they have seen in a hive and the more you describe it, the more comfortable you will become with using the terms and descriptions. Get to know best management practices so you will start out on the right foot as an effective beekeeper. |
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