I got my first colony around 5 weeks ago, before I got them I read everything I could, watched a million youtube videos etc, Through putting all this information together I feel satisfied I have got it worked out pretty well, the bees are calm and appear to be doing a great job, and I feel I have a good idea what i'm doing, but I find I have read and heard so much about bee diseases, viruses and pests that everytime I do an inspection I fear the worse, and the slightest thing, I am checking on the internet to see if my colony have a problem. Is this normal for a "newbee"?
Don't stress to much. Read up about varroa treatments and integrated pest management. There's a really good booklet available from the NBU. Your local association might have one available for you to have.
It is quite common to become addicted to beekeeping and spend all your waking hours talking about it and reading up on various aspects.
If you're ever in doubt about disease - especially discoloured brood or off smell - you can always ring your local bee inspector. You'll find their number here
http://www.nationalbeeunit.com/public/C ... ntacts.cfm
The bee inspectors are really lovely people, with great skills and knowledge.