Last Year I Started Beekeeping - So Exciting

Beekeeping is an exciting hobby! I've been beekeeping for 16yrs and I'm always learning something from the ladies! The biggest thing I've learned from them is to keep calm. It can be a little unnerving at times when you have 200,000 bees in a hive and thousands flying around you when your doing hive inspections! LOL! But honeybees are really very gentle if handled correctly. It is a very enjoyable hobby. There's a peacefulness that comes with working along side nature. If any of you have any questions I'm sure that any of us fellow beeks will be happy to help if we can!
Deb
 
I have serious bee envy in addition to Orpington envy, Sandy! I'd really like to keep bees, but it'll be a while before we have enough trees/plants established to keep them here. Well, that's the great thing about gardening etc, there's always something to look forward to :)
 
My hive will be here today!!! I will start putting it together & then paint it.

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Oh Garden Girl, just go and throw some poppy seeds around, the bees will go on the daisy plants, they do find pollen and nectar in all sorts of plants that are blooming.



 
My friend from back in PA told me over the summer that her and her husband were going to start their own bee keeping. She talked me into doing it as well. I spent last week (on school break) doing a lot of research. I had all my I's dotted and T's crossed. I took all of my information to my DH for the approval I guess you could say. And he bombed the idea; probably before I could even get the entire idea out of my mouth. We have 6 grand kids; and he thinks having bees and grandkids would not be a good idea. So hopefully I can get some more information and talk him into getting our own hive. I think it would be great.

Show him this picture ~ this was taken at a hive inspection class I went to. The young boy is the son of a friend of mine who was running the class. I love this picture as most of the participants in the class were wearing veils while this boy was wearing shorts, no veil and was getting up close and personal with the bees. The boy and his 2 sisters were raised around bees & have no fear of them ~ however they do respect them.

 
I have book after book on beekeeping and a binder of information I have printed out from online sources. My only setback is the intitial setup cost. When it comes to safety equipment the only thing I want is a hood since I am more than comfortable around bees and don't mind the occasional sting. For those of you who have set up bee equipment, how much did it cost to get everything. What suppliers did you shop from and where did you find the best deals? I'm hoping to buy bits and pieces throughout the year so that next spring I can get some bees.
 
3lb package of bee's 112.00 (w/shipping)

Hive kit (2 hive bodies, 2 shallow supers, all frames for both, bottom board, entrance reducer, top board, plastic telescoping top, 4 frame spacers, 1400' spool of wire, 1000 eyelets, 2lb resin glue. 248.79

The only thing that I still need would be the veil, gloves, smoker.......

ETA: I ordered from Walter T Kelley Co.
 
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Omg that is sooo much cheaper than I had thought it would be!
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I was looking at close to $600 and with me being in college and paying for my house I didn't think I could afford it. This is so great!!! I can't wait to get started getting all of this stuff. My boyfriend already thinks I'm kind of crazy with the chickens so what will bees hurt?
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Thank you!

ETA: Ok so I'm probably going to be a little annoying with all my questions buuuut .... What type of bees have you all had experience with and what kind do prefer to have?
 
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Omg that is sooo much cheaper than I had thought it would be!
ep.gif
I was looking at close to $600 and with me being in college and paying for my house I didn't think I could afford it. This is so great!!! I can't wait to get started getting all of this stuff. My boyfriend already thinks I'm kind of crazy with the chickens so what will bees hurt?
lol.png
Thank you!

ETA: Ok so I'm probably going to be a little annoying with all my questions buuuut .... What type of bees have you all had experience with and what kind do prefer to have?

I usually tell new beekeepers to expect to spend at least $300. to start with 1 hive. It can go a lot higher depending what equipment you choose. There is also the cost of sugar for supplemental feeding if necessary.

I would recommend getting at the least a veil and gloves ~ I prefer a zip up jacket with attached veil. A good smoker and hive tool are a necessity. As you get more involved you may wish to get other equipment, possibly even an extractor & uncapping tank ~ these usually start around $300. I recommend you try to join a beekeeping club in your area if possible. Many club own or share extracting equipment and other beekeepers can be good source for equipment or even bees. My club often offers splits (when available) to new beekeepers to get them started. We also have a "honey house" at a local orchard where we have extracting equipment available for anyone in the club to use.

I only have experience with Russian and Italian bees. They both have good points and bad points. I have found that the Italians are fairly calm and easy to work around while the Russians tend to be more aggressive. See this link for pros and cons with many different kinds of honeybees. The most commonly sold bees are Italians and they are a good "starter bee". http://en.wikibooks.org/wiki/Beekeeping/Honey_Bee_Races
 
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I am in my 3rd year of beekeeping.

At the moment I have 4 hives of Russians and am getting 2 packages of Minnesota Hygienics this spring.

I got 50 pounds of extracted honey off of 2 established hives this past June.
 

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