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

[1stepcloser]

My neighbors would kill me....but I am soooo tempted. Just one hive!

 

[cutiepieacres]

I have one hive I got last year. I just ordered another 3 lbs of bees to start another. I dont find it time consuming at all. It is a bit of an investment to get started the right way.

I too seem to have had a worse reaction everytime I get stung to the point that the last time I was stung by a bee my whole entire foot swelled. I went out one day not prepared to work the bees but they had been knowcked over by a really bad wind storm, I figured I could just set them all back up right since they had been so docile in the past. Well I guess being knocked over had them all up on guard and I ended up with bees in my pants and getting stung multiple times. Somehow the reaction wasnt all that bad. I havent been stung once to see what happens but I thought for sure with all the bee stings it would have been awful.

I still wouldnt trade having bees for anything the honey is amazing and I enjoy knowing the are out there pollinaing all my trees.

 

[ky chicks]

We will be getting our first bees on April 10, and we're so excited! We have the hives (2) put together, but haven't prepared the site for them yet--I think we'll get them outside this weekend. Thanks for this beekeeping thread--I'm sure I'll learn a lot from you guys!

 

[ElCuervo]

I kept bees for many years back in the '80s and '90s, and I am probably going to resurrect at least one hive this year. If you are considering keeping bees for the first time, you should know that it can be very strenuous. One super (section with stored honey) weighs around 40 lbs when full, and in a good year you can have several of them to deal with, so it's tough on my back. Placing the beehive where I can easily access it from all angles will be my first step. I also know one guy who has a lot of bees that uses a cherry-picker on the bed of his pickup to handle them, which makes a lot of sense to me.

As for stings and allergic reactions, anyone with such concerns should probably talk to a doctor before keeping a hive. Personally, except for the sacrifice of a bee's life, I like getting stung, especially on my arthritic hands. It actually relieves some of that awful ache. However, using the proper equipment (smoker and suit) and techniques can prevent almost all stings. One of my mentors even worked without gloves, and on the rare occasion that one dug into him, he would take out his pocket knife and remove the stinger intact with bee, then send the bee on its way. Just remember, it's important to NEVER, EVER panic around the bees, and swatting at them will only intensify the attack. Even if you are attacked by thousands, running away from the hive will usually make them stop the attack, as they just want you out of the vicinity of the hive. Africanized bees are another story, of course, but honeybees are generally very even-tempered. They don't really want to sting you any more than a soldier wants to fall on a grenade! They also will usually give you a very strong warning first; an angry sounding hum from the hive means you're doing something wrong.

I used to be on the animal control call list to collect swarms in the spring. Shaking a basketball-sized swarm into a cardboard box and taking it to a new home was loads of fun. I haven't checked with my beekeeper friends lately to see if they are still doing that since the decline of honeybee population, but that used to a be a very inexpensive way to start a new hive. It also saved a lot of people a lot of anxiety.

Harvesting honey can be a little time-consuming, but for the most part, they just do their work and leave me free to do mine. They need occasional attention just to make sure that everything is healthy inside the hive, but not all that much. If you are just starting out, I would recommend finding a beekeeper in your neck of the woods that's willing to let you watch him perform his duties. That taught me more than all the books I read, and I hope I can pass it on someday.

 

[sgtmom52]

I started out with 1 hive 4 years ago and have 5 right now with 2 or 3 more to be added this year. We are also going to try a Queen Raising Project this year along with other members of our club who are members of the Northern States Queen Breeders Assoc.

The best way to get started is to find a local Beekeeping Club. Beekeepers love to share there knowledge of bees and many clubs will supply a mentor to get you through your first years.

The book "Beekeeping for Dummies" is a good basic information book to read. When searching for equipment please be very careful about buying used hives. A disease called American Foul Brood which is very contagious is caused by spores which will remain in the wood ware ~ forever! Right now it can be treated but not eradicated. The typical method of getting rid of it is to burn the hive. Other used equipment such as veils, smokers, etc is OK.

Now is a perfect time for northern beekeepers to get started ~ we are meeting with our nu-bees this weekend.

I would be more than happy to share my limited knowledge with anyone who has questions.

Julie

Vice President

York County Beekeepers' Assoc.
www.ycbk.org

 

[Rusty Hills Farm]

Beekissed, how did you get started with them?

I'm not beekissed, but I got started by buying a beginner's hive kit from Dadant and later some bees as well. They are still in business and were always super helpful to me. Oh and they do have a website the last time I checked. Once I got the equipment, I talked to the bee inspector for that part of the state, and he hooked me up with a bunch of beekeepers that were local to me.

HTH


Rusty​

 

[Penturner]

I've never had hives of my own, But have been around and helped several keepers over the years. Just a few years ago I was reading about Bee Keeping for one reason or another. I recall a lot of information concerning the control of Americanized bees. It seems to me it is no longer a matter of just filing a hive with bees and then tending them. But now you have to change the queen every so often with a known domesticated queen? is this correct? I know at that time Queen production sounded like a pretty good enterprise with queens selling for as much as $100.
One other just story of interest. In the California, Sacramento Valley there are a lot of Hive providers that drop of whole pallet loads of hives to orchards. in one case the hives where placed in one orchard but the bees decided they like the nectar on the other side of the highway. they flew right at windshield height to cross the road. as we drove through the bees where hitting the glass like it was a heavy rain. I actually stopped on the side of the road because I was pretty sure the owner had no idea he was taking such losses. I was able to get a phone number and an e-mail address from one of the hives (thanks to advertising) and contacted the owner. I was later told that they relocated the hives so they where not tempted to cross the road but had lost nearly half of almost 125 hives. The owner wanted to thank me for saving as many bees as I had. Just a story of the sort of variety of problems you can run into.
I love honey bees, the only time I have been stung by one is if I placed my hand on it as it worked through the clover growing in my grass. now wasps and hornets, they are nasty critters but honey bees are just looking for a flower to kiss.

 

[rebelcowboysnb]

I hit a wall of bugs like that one time. 13 year bugs, dont remember there name right now. But I had the windshield down in my jeep at the time. If it was bees I would have really been in rough shape.

 

[thebritt]

We "inherited" 2 hives from my step-son and his wife. She took a bee class last spring and brought the hives to our property, and have now lost interest

. One hive is active, the other has been deserted. How do I go about cleaning the empty hive so it seems inviting if the remaining bees want to expand? Do I do this at dusk, when the bees next door to the empty hive have gone to bed? Or in the morning before they're active? Or does it not matter? I've asked for her books, but she hasn't gotten around to giving them to me yet.

 

[Beekissed]

I haven't started with bees yet!

Been researching it for four years now and reading everything I can get my hands on, attending beekeeping seminars and asking, asking, asking every beek about every little thing.

I have finally decided the methods I want to use and they can best be described by this fellow's site:

http://www.bushfarms.com/bees.htm

This information on his hives was the real clincher for me:

http://www.bushfarms.com/beescerts.htm

And I found a neat site about Barefoot Beekeeping, an all-natural, low involvement type of methodology that I like, as this is how I do all my animal husbandry. This site also led me to the kind of hives that I wish to build and use:

http://www.biobees.com/

Then I found this neat top bar hive on Beemaster.com, which is a great site for newbees to find out about the buzz on beekeeping:

http://robo.bushkillfarms.com/beekeeping/barrel-top-bar-hive/

I just happen to have just such a blue barrel in my storage shed....how convenient!

There are no local beekeeping clubs or even folks who wish to mentor in my area, so this option is not always open for some of the more rural areas. And there are certainly no beeks that are using these methods or hive bodies in this area, so I am just going to....er... wing it!

I've already inquired with the local extension office, DNR and fire dept. about gathering swarms in the area......that yielded absolutely zip, nada, NO information or help. This was my idea of getting swarms in a frugal manner.

So....I plan to buy a package, or nuc, from a local ad that has advertised Italian bees with a Buckfast Queen. If you do any research at all about what types of bees to get, you will find that this is a good genetic cross.

Any of you experienced beeks want to expound to us newbees why this is a desirable cross?