Tell me about beekeeping!

Why wouldn’t you buy used hives? And what sorts of caveats? I’m aware their are fungi and infections, do you burn/bleach to make the boxes ready for use again?

What would you guess is a basic startup cost for having a single hive?
Is one hive worth it?
I’ve heard observation hives aren’t really all that great for actual beekeeping, is there a design that serves both purposes (watching and honey) equally well?
What’s the worst part of beekeeping?
What are the chances of a beekeeper being willing to allow someone to place a hive on their property? Are they typically looking for places to put them?

[Eddie Izzard] I like my women like I like my coffee . . . covered in BEES!! [/EI]

They could have AFB or EFB.

If the hive bodies/frames have AFB, it’s time for the match.

I don’t know, but I can guarantee it’s more than you think. Off the top of my head, you’ll want the following for just one hive:

  • Two deep hive bodies
  • One honey super
  • 20 plastic frames for the deeps
  • 10 plastic frames for the supers
  • Bottom board
  • Inner cover
  • Outer cover
  • Top feeder
  • Entrance reducer
  • Queen excluder
  • Bees
  • Paint
  • Wood stand
  • Sugar (lots of it)
  • Crisco (for making grease patties)
  • Bee suit
  • Bee Gloves
  • Smoker + wood pellets
  • Hive tool
  • Bee brush
  • Medication
  • Tar paper

And if you’re lucky enough to get some honey, you’ll need a way to extract the honey from the frames! This means you either have to buy a centrifuge, filter, and decapping tool, or you’ll have to pay someone $0.50/pound to extract it. And then you’ll need food-grade buckets, spigots, jars, labels, etc.

If you’re concerned about the amount of money you’ll be spending and the rate of return, don’t get in to beekeeping. :wink:

Opening a hive in early spring and discovering it’s full of dead bees.

[Eddie Izzard]

My father was a beekeeper before me, his father was a beekeeper before him; I wanna walk in their footsteps … and their footsteps were like this: Aaargh! I’m covered in bees! Aah! Covered in bees!

[/Eddie Izzard]

On buying used equipment:
If it has bees on it-active bees-it’s easy to see what condition they’re in.Were you completely ignorant of hive health,a knowledgable third party would be helpful.
If the equipment is sans bees then there IS a risk of foul brood contamination;around here (Northeast) it used to be American (AFB) vs. European (EFB).
Practically speaking,Crafter Man is correct, AFB contaminated hives are usually destroyed by fire.They can be treated in an E.T.O. chamber,not something your typical keeper has access to.Some of my boxes were so treated,obtained from a state bee inspector who had ties to a university that had the treatment.
But I wouldn’t rule out used equipment solely for that reason. Beekeepers by and large are not scam artists.
I wouldn’t start with a single hive.At least two.
Crafter Man’s list is extensive,but many items are not neccessary for a startup.To this day I don’t have queen excluders (also known as honey excluders),a bee brush,tar paper,wooden stands or pellets for the smoker.Some of the other items relate to his way of keeping bees that might not be someone else’s.Others might not be needed if you keep bees in other parts of the country.Medication is usually a must any more.
Whether you get honey the first year,around here, depends on when you get the bees,how quickly you can build up the population so when the honey flow starts you’re ready to add supers.
You wouldn’t need to extract the honey,comb honey is entirely viable and even gets a premium in these parts.Keep in mind it takes about 8 lbs. of honey to make a pound of wax so you can see that only doing comb vs. extraction cuts the yield.
I don’t use lots of sugar,some syrup for spring build-up. I leave them honey to overwinter with.That may not be needed in the South (winter stores).
Have to agree with Crafter Man about the worst thing.One of the reasons at least two hives are best.You can start again,with items found around the house.

There’s a program (on Discovery? National Geographic?) this week on the plight of the bee in America. Personally, I think it’s a great hobby/business if you aren’t freaked out by them (like I am). Sounds like we need as many as we can get. That’s all I got. Good luck!

That bee house you made is so cuuuuuuuuute!

Did you lose your hives due to cold weather ? Do bees hibernate

I’m pretty sure they do. Not exactly “hibernate” but they stay in the hive and buzz their brains out to maintain a liveable temperature. I saw that somewhere I think, but I don’t have a cite. I may be completely wrong.

Bees hibernate in cold weather, or at least reduce their activity substantually. The hive denizens gather together for warmth, and they venture outside rarely. The lifespan of a worker in the summer is estimated to be 6 weeks; in the winter, it can be all season, but many are lost to cold. In some northern states, it is wise to build insulating boxes or wraps to put around the hive and restrict the opening to a minimum. I’ve heard of putting small electric heaters inside in extreme cases, but this can be expensive to run. It might be a good idea in the early spring, as the goal is to build up the hive population fast so it can efficiently harvest the first blooms.

I was able to keep 3 hives over the winter in Missouri without any more treatment than reducing the number of supers and resricting the opening. On late winter days if the sun came out and it got prematurely warm, I put out sugar water or stuck a feeder in the hive opening.

This ain’t the pit so I can’t slam ya… but get yer syntax right!