Editors of Storey Publishing - Starting Right with Bees: Storeys Country Wisdom Bulletin A-36

Maybe what we can tell you in the following pages will help you to make up your mind, and give you the basic information you need should you desire to give it a try.

And of course we think you should give it that try.

Bees seem to belong at a home with a garden, with a family, with people interested in doing.

Imagine having all the honey you need, for sandwiches, for cooking, and for gifts that your friends will really appreciate.

Think of having your family garden pollinated by your own bees and a better garden it will be because of it.

Think of making a few extra dollars, merely answering the demand when people find out you have bees.

Most important, think of trying out a new hobby, one that is fascinating for young people, the active adult, and the retired person. Its challenging, rewarding, and youll learn all there is to know about it.

Your needs to get started are so few.

The money for equipment. (Youll get it back in a season or two, from your honey crop.)

A location for your hives. It should be selected so you wont bother your neighbors. Good locations can be found even in cities.

Time. The demand is small. Beekeeping fits well with other weekend chores.

Knowledge. A little will get you started and youll never have it all. A beginners book such as Garden Way Publishings Practical Beekeeping will guide you through most of the problems you may face.

Experienced beekeepers hear the same questions, again and again, from those considering beekeeping. Lets answer some of those questions, and see if we can help you.

What will I need to get started?

Your basic start-up needs are listed below. The cost of this start-up equipment may vary, depending upon your regional supplier.

1. One standard ten-frame hive with bottom board, entrance block, outer cover, inner cover, frames, and foundation.

2. A bee veil to protect your face

3. A bee smoker

4. Gloves

5. A hive tool for prying the hive and frames apart

6. A feeder for feeding the bees sugar syrup until they can support themselves with nectar

7. A beginners book on beekeeping

8. A bee brush

9. A three-pound package of bees, with queens

Basic equipment needed by the beginner includes standard ten-frame hive with frames, at left; bee veil, gloves, and bee smoker, and in front, a basic book, foundation for the frames, hive tool and entrance feeder.

The bees are sold in two- to five-pound screened packages. The three-pound package is recommended over the smaller one since the greater number of bees is needed to keep up the temperature of the bee cluster for raising young bees. This temperature has to be maintained at between 93 and 94F in the brood area.

Remember, except for the bees, this is basic equipment. Most bee equipment firms have beginners kits. If you buy one, make certain you buy all of the above items.

As your hive prospers and grows, the bees will need more room, and youll need more equipment. For the first season, plan to buy the following:

One deep super, exactly the same as the box of your hive, with frames and foundation. (You of course wont need extra covers or bottom board for this.)

Two shallow supers with frames and foundations. The bees store honey for you in these.

Queen excluder, to keep the queen from moving up into the shallow supers and laying eggs.

Bee escape. This one-way bee escape is used to get bees out of the shallow supers when they are full of honey and ready to be taken off the hive.

This will get you through your first season, and by then you will know what extra equipment you need to fit your plans.

Modern beehive cut away to show interior and placement of moveable frames. Bottom, full-depth hive body; middle and top, shallow hive bodies. (USDA photograph)

Can I keep bees at my home?

Almost always, the answer is yes, unless zoning laws prohibit it. A sunny, secluded spot out of traffic is best. Bees take off and land much the same as airplanes at an airport. They follow a definite landing and take-off pattern in front of the hive. Remember this when you set up your hive. Dont have that flight pattern across a sidewalk or road, or a neighbors path.

Bees dislike irritating noises, such as the roar of lawn mowers, so keep these distractions at least 10 feet from the hive.

And the early morning sun should reach the hive, to wake up the inhabitants and start them out on their rounds.

If there isnt a natural source of water for your hive, provide one. That way your bees wont become a nuisance around your neighbors home or swimming pool.

When should I start with bees?

Youve started right now, by reading this. Continue to read about bees as much as you can. If you know an experienced beekeeper, talk with him.

You should make arrangements in January or February to buy bees. Placing your order then is not too early. If you are buying package bees, you should get your order in early because the orders are filled on the basis of first-come, first-served. It is important to get your bees early in the season, in northern states. They must have time to build their combs and raise new bees so the hive population will be large at the time of the main honeyflow. The earlier you get the bees, the more time they have for building up and making honey. Also, the better the chance they have of producing enough honey to carry them through the next winter and perhaps of making some surplus honey for you the first year. Most beginners dont think about getting bees until the spring flowers start to bloom. By that time it may be too late to get the bees and to give them a chance to do their best. If you get them too late, they may not have time to store enough honey for their winter needs and may die of starvation.

There are several different ways to obtain bees. They may be bought from southern or California beekeepers. You may be able to purchase an established hive of bees from a nearby beekeeper. Or, you might have a nearby beekeeper place a swarm of bees in a hive for you.

When buying an established hive of bees, make certain it has been inspected for disease by a state apiary inspector. Ask for a certificate of inspection signed by the inspector stating that it is free of disease. Dont take anyone elses word for it. Dont take a chance on losing your bees from disease right at the start. You will have enough problems without that one.

Arrange to have your bees delivered at about the time fruit trees bloom your area.

What kind of bees should I buy?

You have a choice, and all of them originally were imports to this country.

You probably dont want the German or black bees, such as the colonists first brought to this country. They had dispositions that made them hard to handle; when the hive was opened they flew up wildly, much to the dismay of the beekeeper.