Some people take longer to learn beekeeping than others. Some seem to be naturals at spotting the queen and deciphering the difference between sealed brood and capped honey. I try to help students figure out how to make it work in their minds so that it "clicks". Bobby was struggling. Couldn't see the difference between worker bees and the queen or even the queen compared to a drone. Reading the comb was just as difficult, if not more. It was frustrating for him, and me.
One day while helping him with an inspection, I spotted the queen and showed him. Big fat queen. "She's on this frame", I said. Nope, he couldn't see here. I tried to move the frame to dead center as she walked on the frame I kept moving to put her directly in front of Bobby's noise. Nope. This had been going on for months. A I took the frame with the queen on it and we moved away from the colony. I asked him if he was comfortable removing his veil. He was. He did. AND then eureka! We figured it out. It wasn't that Bobby wasn't grasping the differences it was that he couldn't SEE the differences. The mesh of the veil was blurring his vision. I see the queen! Oh look at that drone! That's a brood frame! We both were so relieved and so excited but then.......Bobby put his veil back on.
The next time I helped with an inspection I arrived to find the new and improved veil Bobby made. He took a $50 veil and cut it. But a window in it! VIOLA!
One day while helping him with an inspection, I spotted the queen and showed him. Big fat queen. "She's on this frame", I said. Nope, he couldn't see here. I tried to move the frame to dead center as she walked on the frame I kept moving to put her directly in front of Bobby's noise. Nope. This had been going on for months. A I took the frame with the queen on it and we moved away from the colony. I asked him if he was comfortable removing his veil. He was. He did. AND then eureka! We figured it out. It wasn't that Bobby wasn't grasping the differences it was that he couldn't SEE the differences. The mesh of the veil was blurring his vision. I see the queen! Oh look at that drone! That's a brood frame! We both were so relieved and so excited but then.......Bobby put his veil back on.
The next time I helped with an inspection I arrived to find the new and improved veil Bobby made. He took a $50 veil and cut it. But a window in it! VIOLA!
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