Recently, I’ve been told the answer to any beekeeping question should begin with, “It depends.”
Other beekeepers said it before me, of course, but I’ve repeated that advice thousands of times. The fact that people are now offering it back to me is reassuring. It’s nice to know it’s come full circle, that people are listening.
This always makes me grin, as I recall a favorite phrase by my first beekeeper mentor – my mother – several moons ago! As she put it, “all beekeeping challenges are local”!
This phrase, so eloquently stated by my mother is my beekeeping philosophy in a nutshell – the one-size-fits-all method simply does not work!
Why It’s the environment, not only the bees
In truth, if you raise Apis mellifera in different geographies – Homa Bay, Kajiado, Nyeri, or even Brisbane the bees are not very different. Their biology is basically the same, their temperaments, habits, and yearly cycles are similar. But environmental conditions can be strikingly divergent from place to place. So take the youtube or straight-out-of-the-book lessons with a pinch of salt!!!
You may think, “Of course conditions vary in different countries/counties. That’s obvious.” But it’s important to remember that conditions in your garden differ from those across town or down the street. Your garden may be shady and damp, while your neighbor’s maybe sunny and dry. Yours may be still, his may be windy. Yours may be shielded from pesticides while he is downwind of a horticultural farmer who swears on pesticides for his success. You can never overestimate the potential differences.
These variations explain why we have countless beekeeping techniques and a wide range of outcomes. If you manage your bees exactly as your neighbor does, you will most likely have different results. Experienced beekeepers know this, but it catches newbies unaware. If you believe all the answers are in a book or short course on beekeeping, you will be disappointed because no single way is the right way. It all depends on the individual colony and where it is.
Because…… Colonies are individuals!!
Additionally, no two colonies are exactly alike. They have quirky genetics and variable food resources. Distinct risks lurk in each neighborhood and beekeepers have various levels of experience with contrasting objectives and motivations. Put it all together and you can see why what works for beekeeper Oywech Malago, in Kochia, doesn’t work for Peter Machira in Sagana
Furthermore, beekeepers react emotionally to their colonies. We might say, “I have a strong colony and a weak one. Why is one weak?” We seldom ask, “Why is one strong?” We assume that the stronger one is normal and the weaker one is deficient – right?
If they were children instead of colonies, would we see it the same way? Or would we assume the weaker one was normal and the stronger one had a gift? Why can we accept differences among children or kittens but not among colonies? It doesn’t make sense.! At least to me – Does it?
My revised advice
Although I still think “It depends” and “All the challenges are local” are rock-solid ideas, I would like to add a third: “Every colony is an individual.” Each colony has unique characteristics that affect its ability to survive in an increasingly dangerous world, a world overflowing with the unexpected.
- It depends
- All the challenges are local
- Every colony is an individual
All three ideas are closely intertwined and related, variations of a theme, and keeping them in mind can make us better beekeepers by teaching us to value the differences and use them to our advantage.
That said, REALLY, think of it, Beekeeping would be so boring indeed if every colony was a clone of the one beside it.
To become A BETTER beekeeper, I’d encourage you, to learn to recognize and celebrate the subtle differences among colonies, beekeepers, and environments even as we aim to share knowledge, and ideas and create linkages and friendships.
The rest will fall into place.
Yes, you could also share your experience in the comments section here-below?
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