Beekeeping 101

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Beekeeping 101

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I would recommend checking your local library for books and getting as much background informatiuon as you can handle. The purpose of this post is not to be an exhaustive essay on the topic, it is just to give you enough background to help you decide whether or not you want to try beekeeping. Two traditional references are the ABC & XYZ of BEE CULTURE, organized much like an encyclopedia, and the Hive & Honeybee, a daunting technical volume. My personal favorite is Beekeeping: A Practical Guide, by Richard E. Bonney as a good, general intorductory book.

Instrumental in starting with bees is background. You are dealing with housing and care for two creatures - the individual bee and the hive. Each are creatures in their own right and must be kept happy. Bees are not truly domesticated, as with poultry, cattle or other animals. Your job, as the beekeeper, is to provide shelter acceptable to the bees and to keep down incidents of stress. Bees that find their quarters unacceptable, or that are overly stressed, may abscond (move to greener pastures).

Hives and other equipment can be found at garage sales, local auctions, and you might have a neighbor or two that have "dad's old bee gear". Used equipment must be approached with caution. Hives are susceptible to a number of diseases, such as foulbrood, that can remain dormant in empty hive bodies. If you can find out why the equipment is being sold (dad passed away, or they lost the hives to mites, etc.) you may find a real bargain out there. If your carpentry skills are good, and you have access to inexpensive wood, you could also try building your own. The internet is full of plans and dimensions for hives and related equipment. My skills are inadequate for this chore.

The alternative is to purchase new equipment. There are a number of reputable suppliers, two of them the original suppliers in America - Dadant and Sons and A.I. Root. I have found their equipment to be a bit higher in price than other suppliers. I use Lapp's Bee Supply (http://www.lappsbeesupply.com/index.html) and Brushy Mountain (http://www.beeequipment.com/). Expect sticker shock.

Unless you happen along a garage sale or auction, you will still need the suppliers for protective clothing. There are a variety of veils, some requiring a hat, gloves, smoker, and hive tool. I also have a brush, for clearing bees off of frames and other places when working the hive.

You will need a location for your hive(s). Most "experts" recommend two hives to start out with, in different locations. The thinking behind this is to hedge against pesticide poisoning. If you have the property, keep them on your land. If not, consider the land owners in the area. The hive location needs to be on elavated ground. You don't want them located in a low spot where water may collect. A south-eastern exposure is good. Bees are cold blooded. The earlier the sun warms the hive and gets them active, the earlier the bees will start working. Shade from afternoon sun is a good idea too. Remember, you're dealing with wax here. If you don't have trees to provide shade, consider throwing up a frame and tin roof. The bees will work to control internal hive temperatures, but that is effort lost to pollination and honey making. Lastly, I would recommend some sort of light fencing around the hive(s). This keeps people, pets and other creatures from unintentionally blundering into the hives. I use t-posts and poultry wire. With pennants tied on the fence to call attention to it, it has worked for dogs and poultry. If you have poultry, you may find it necessary to cover the top of the fencing to keep down predation on the bees. So far, I have not found that to be necessary. You can't easily move hives - be sure of your location!

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Sight selected for bee yard

Next, you need to purchase bees. My first were "nukes" from an orchard. A nuke is where the seller takes one of your hive bodies and replaces your frames with frames containing eggs, baby bees (brood), pollen and honey. They then install a package (queen and few pounds of workers), who immediately set up house keeping and rearing brood. This is sort of a jump-start over installing your own package, where you receive a box containing queen and workers. If it is a new hive, the workers have to draw out comb before the queen can start laying, forage to keep the hive fed, and attend to all other aspects of maintaining the hive. It will be at least 3 weeks or more before the first new bees emerge and the population starts to build up. Packages can be purchased through suppliers or from aipiaries (bee farms). You can order them through the mail, but this adds to the expense. I paid $60 each for three packages last spring. The first packages I bought were $30, a decade ago.

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workers cluster around queen and can of sugar water in this package.

Feeding the bees is essential to boost a new package. It allows the bees to eat and concentrate on drawing out comb so the queen can start laying. You are racing the clock, or calendar, as the package will experience some attrition. I use a mixture of 1 part water to one part sugar, and two tablespoons of cider vinegar to prevent mold. The first feeders I used were just madon jars with small nail holes punched in the lid and place on top of the hold in the inner cover. Since then I have found a manufactured feeder that I am happy with.

If you are looking at beekeeping as a way to supplement your income, don't kid yourself about the work involved. This is agriculture - a lot of hard work for little return. You can do it, but understand you are embarking on a difficult path. For the homestead, bees are handy because of the benefits they provide in pollination and hive products. We have all but replaced sugar in baking. Our surplus is sent to family and friends for holiday gifts, meeting the obligation without spending hard-earned money on crap nobody wants.

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Completed yard, packages installed, bees happy.

Well, that's a basic overview. You decide if you want to get into it. I can't recommend it enough - it is enjoyable and productive.

Regards,
Pat
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