Starting out with the African honeybee (Apis mellifera scutellata) in South Africa is a steep learning curve. These bees are incredibly productive but also highly defensive and prone to swarming. Looking back over the last five years, here are the five biggest blunders I made, the impact they had, and how I manage my apiary today.

1. The Lemongrass Overload

When I first started, I was desperate to attract a swarm. I heard lemongrass essential oil was a great lure, so I soaked my catch box.

• The Mistake: Using way too much. It actually became a repellent rather than an attractant.
• The Fix: Now, I use “Bee Bluetooth.” I ask local beekeepers for old, dark frames or rub a bit of real wax and propolis on the inside of the hive. It smells like a successful home to scouts, making it much more likely they’ll move in.

2. Opening Hives Too Often

In the beginning, I was so excited I wanted to check my bees every few days to find the Queen and make sure they were “okay.”

• The Impact: This massively stressed the colony. Every time I opened the box, the bees had to stop work to defend the hive and repair damaged propolis seals. My Queen laid fewer eggs, and honey production plummeted.
• The Fix: I now open hives only when necessary. I track flow seasons and only intervene for specific maintenance or harvesting.

3. Not Supering in Time

I once had a few hives in a remote location I couldn’t visit regularly.

• The Mistake: The colony expanded faster than I expected, and I didn’t provide extra space (a super) in time.
• The Result: The hive became overcrowded, they built swarm cells, and half the colony left with the old Queen. I lost my honey harvest for that season.
• The Fix: My rule of thumb is the 8-Frame Rule. If I see eight frames of bees or brood in a 10-frame box, I add a super immediately.

4. Relying on Queen Excluders

I started with a standard kit that included a queen excluder to keep her out of the honey supers.

• The Mistake: These act as “honey excluders.” They restrict airflow and make the workers reluctant to move up into the supers, which actually increases the urge to swarm because the Queen feels trapped in the bottom box.
• The Fix: I threw them away (or use them only for wax moth control in storage). If you give the Queen enough space in the brood box, she rarely bothers to lay in the supers.

5. Poor Honey Frame Storage

After my very first harvest, I stored my full honey frames in a plastic tub while I waited to find a honey spinner.

• The Disaster: Within a week, wax moths had found the tub. They laid eggs, and the larvae tunneled through my beautiful honey, destroying the entire harvest.
• The Fix: Now, I harvest and spin the honey the same day I take the frames off the hive. If I can’t spin immediately, I keep them in a freeze-proof or insect-secure environment.

Have you ever made a “rookie mistake” that cost you a harvest? We’ve all been there! Share your stories in the comments so we can all learn together. Don’t forget to Subscribe and hit the Like button to support our Bee Sanctuary.