You are in the cooler North (Like me) so development is later in the spring, and depends on food sources. (Flowering plants). Bees are pretty much an indescriminant feeder, taking all they can get, BUT, they sort every drop of nectar by taste, and that is reflected in the comb they build and fill with varying colors of honey, from the various plants. Feeding of sugar water syrup, will help a new hive to build a store, and allow the emerging brood to not stress the hive. Only older hive workers make wax, that build the comb, and the oldest field bees do all the collecting, until they die away from the hive. So it depends on the growth of the hive from May to Early September, and how you manage it, as to how much honey you can rob. They need food for the winter, so some is left and they can get sugar water in the winter (from you), so they dont starve out, the biggest reason for winter die off. ( your greed)
Dadant and several other suppliers are good for foundations and wax sheets to start a good hive.. The hive itself can be handled by a Boy Scout with some mundane wood skills. Just a birdhouse with a few sticks inside. A small table saw is about the only really required tool, besides a drill and hammer for the wire nails. Once you know the dimensions of ONE hive box, the supers and short supers, are similar, and can be made with a bit of effort cutting the many parts for a ten frame box. While daunting at first, it is just the same square thing , over and over, to build all the frames. The base, inner top, and metal covered top, are very easy. You can upgrade a lot of scrap wood to make the many small parts needed, and they can be free, with only your time added.
Above all, you must educate yourself into the lifecycle of the Bee, and its hazards, and stay in tune with it. What work you put in is minor compared to the do or die your bees live under. You can expect to have $150 or so in each store bought Hive and the bees. Then there is the suit, veil, tools and smoker. The suit is not necessary but recomended for beginers to avoid panic.
You will find the Bees sting is mostly avoidable, and perhaps unpleasant, but beyond the initial terror, very managable when it happens. Many professionals do not wear gloves. It is at that point you are working WITH the bees, and not fighting them. For the hobbiest, it is the Apex, of the aviary for Honey. ( LOL) !
I can go on being a know-it all, as I have done it, but the books probably do it better, so I will stop here. Now is the time to pick off some
Ebay deals for smokers and veils and all the rest until spring time. It is my opinion to start with new wood equipment though, so that you dont inherit any virus, diseases, or other problems from a failed enterprise.
I found it fascinating, and profitable. My downfall was upkeep, when my job swung into 60+ hour weeks, and my care got sloppy. My fault. Your milage may be diferent.
