great thread litefoot!
observant like apis said. can't say that enough. let the bees teach you or tell you. observe, observe, observe.
knowledge know the bees. knowledge of the bees and their biology, queens, workers, drones. educate yourself through all the means available, like g said
'bee sense', what you observe at the front, or reading frames will give you a head start and make some sense and help with decision making or understanding bees and go towards being a better beekeeper. never stop learning. passion and desire or curiosity will drive this. keep an open mind. also keep in mind sometimes equipped with knowledge/experience we still fly by the seat of our pants many times, or as perry often says, sometimes decision making comes down to it's best to do nothing at all.
good temperament.........
in beekeeping, this is an all encompassing description of some of the characteristics and nature of what you might want to possess to be successful, otherwise the bees will teach you.
i am going to cheat litefoot and add another to this list because i think this is also what makes a good beek, so # 4......
mentor and/or teach anotherbe willing to do so. i don't care if you started keeping bees yesterday, put your mind together with another, and/or in the future help another beek out. bumble through because you learn, or share your experience, they learn. you don't need experience or a phd in bees to do this. experience is nice. in time your experience will greatly help another, but just remember what you learn on a daily basis or 50 years from now and share with others mentors or teaches another.
can't say enough about helping out another beek.
most of all ENJOY ENJOY ENJOY!!!!!!!
