A BEE thread....for those interested in beekeeping.

[McGoo]

Quote:
I think 4' is fairly standard but I've heard of people doing 3' hives. People do bait hive that are smaller than 3' but I don't think you'd want to do a permanent hive that small as it would be much too crowded. Other more experienced people can weight in but that's my 2 cents

I use a standard size approx 4 ft and I believe that would work well for you. Contrary to what people may think TBH thrive from Maine to Michigan and colder places. I think surviving the winter is more about size of hive, low wind, and good honey stores. As long as you close up the bottom of the hive and feed and insulate if a colder climate I think you'll be fine. If your climate only goes down to 30 degrees - you'll be just fine with a TBH.

Dimensions from Barefoot beekeeper - anywhere from 36 to 48 inches for a long TBH.

 

[Stacykins]

I just hived my package of Minnesota hygienic this morning. Was pretty uneventful. I decided to be nuts and forgo wearing any protective equipment. I only got stung when I accidentally kneeled on one of the bees. I was wearing shorts, sandals, and a t-shirt. Crazy runs in the family, by the way. Moving slowly and calmly was the key.

 

[Hollywood Chickens]

I am thinking of getting bees, can anyone suggest good books?

 

[JAPJRGIRL21]

I am not sure of the name, I lent mine out. I think it is called Beekeeping Basics by Kim Flottum. Books A Million carries it. Also, the Beekeeping for Dummies wasn't bad.

 

[sgtmom52]

I like "The Backyard Beekeeper" by Kim Flottum who is also the editor of "Bee Culture" magazine.

Another good one is "Natural Beekeeping" By Ross Conrad.

"Beekeeping For Dummies" is an OK basic book for beginners.

 

[Caat]

Quote:
Depending on where you are there may be a beekeeping book specific to your area. I live in BC Canada and we have a "Beekeeping in Western Canada" Book as beekeeping in the west is different from the East and so on. I took a 3 day workshop on beekeeping and it was worth every penny! There is so much more involved than I thought, it's fantastic!

 

[JAPJRGIRL21]

Just wanted to share...we were able to pull honey from one of our hives last weekend!!! We pulled almost 4 gallons and have it in jars. The last thing left for me to do is to melt and strain the beeswax.

 

[sgtmom52]

Quote:

That is great! We are in our nectar flow right now and usually don't harvest until July here. I can't wait!

 

[Imker]

Best beekeeping books I've ever read are by Richard Taylor. Anything written by him is A+.
Most inexpensive place to find beekeeping books (2nd hand) is abebooks.com

 

[sgtmom52]

Today I answered a swarm call from an elderly woman who lived in a 100+ year old house in the city. I found that a swarm of honeybees was coming in around her 3rd floor window and had started building comb between the window glass and her curtains. I removed the comb and as many bees as possible. They were very calm and I think I got the queen. I put them in a nuc box in our apiary and if everything goes well we will be gifting them to a new beekeeper in our club. Some of our new beekeepers have been having problems getting packages this spring due to problems that the suppliers are having filling orders.