Start Keeping Bees

Honeybees are very interesting social insects. It is the only insect that produces food for man. The honeybee has been in the news a lot in the last couple of years. Many are worried about the honeybee and rightly so. They are so important for pollination of fruits and vegatables. Many want to try their hand at beekeeping to help the honeybee and the environment. With the economy like it is, many see raising honeybees and making honey as a wholesome hobby and a way to make a little extra money. But where do you start? This page will show you what you need to start. Also, it will show you some things what you may want to have to make things easier, but don't really need. Cost... $212.50

You need a bottom board for the box to sit on. You need a hive body (box) filled with frames of beeswax for the bees to live in. You need an inner cover on top of the box that creates a dead air space for insulation from heat and cold. You need a lid, sometimes called a hive cover or telescoping cover that fits over the sides and top super (box) to protect the hive. And you need bees.

This is what it looks like in the box. Bees cover the frames making them ready for the queen to lay eggs in the cells. If you want to make honey you need several of these boxes on top of each other for room for the bees to put pollen and nectar and honey. The bees 'pullout' the wax on the frames to create the hexagon shape of the the honey comb. In those 'cells', the queen can lay eggs to make a giant army of bees to make lots of honey. The cells are also where the bees store the honey they make.

Beekeepers need to open the hive periodically to check the bees. You need to see if the queen is still there. If she is laying eggs. If new bees are hatching and if there is honey. You need to look to see if things are getting crowded in there and if so, it's time to put on another box. Sometimes new beekeepers who don't understand the concept of the making honey, never put on another box. There is no where for the bees to store it, so they don't make any. If they don't make any, they will starve in the winter and be dead by spring.

This is a hat/veil combo with zippered jacket. I think this is all that is necessary for a hobby beekeeper. A full beesuit will give the most protection, though. We have used this jacket lots and got along fine. You should wear long pants like jeans so the bees can't get to your legs. Tape your pant legs clear shut and even over the tops of your shoes so the bees can't sting through your socks. Occaisionally they sting through clothes, but it is usually 1/2 to 1/4 sting and so doesn't amount to much. Cost..... Hooded Cotten/Poly Jacket Combo $62.95 Hat-Veil Cotten/Poly Jacket Combo $62.95

These are ventilatd leather gloves. They are elbow length, light and heavy weight with an elastic band at the top to provide protection. Available in different sizes.  Cost - Gloves Leather Vented  $15.95 to $22.95

This is a smoker. The smoker is a metal container with air bellows attached. A smoldering fire is built in the metal chamber and the bellows are used to blow the smoke produced out through a nozzle at the top of the smoker. When lightly puffed into a colony of honey bees the smoke causes a temporary confusion and disorganization within the colony. The honey bee's group defensive behavior is disrupted. This allows the beekeeper to move calmly and to confortably inspect the interior of his colonies. Cost.. Stainless Steel Smoker w/ Shield $45.95

The hive tool. The honey bees collect a miscellaneous product called propolis from tree gums, saps and resins-anything sticky. This they use to seal cracks and crevices within the hive. because of the sticky nature of this product a special tool is used for those times when a little leverage is necessary to remove frames, supers, etc. from the hive. Cost... Hive Tool Painted $5.00

Beekeeping Classes 101, 201 and 301 Plus Beekeeping Made Easy. This CD is not necessary to have bees, but it is valuable source of information that can help you when you have questions and there is no one to ask. It answers hundreds of questions you might have. For example: Should I buy package bees or nucs? How do I hive package bees? Where should I place my hive? When do I need to requeen? How to start a business with bees. Advice for professional beekeepers. It's easy to use and at your fingertips any time you need advice. Cost... $20.00

Parsons' Gold Solution is a product designed to keep your honey bees healthy. It contains all natural ingredients so it will not harm the bees or get in the honey or wax. It was developed in 1991 as a solution to a vast majority of beehive problems, and it was formulated from herbal extracts which bees naurally come into contact with in the wild. It contains no pesticides. It helps bees be as healthy as they can be and helps them defend themselves from mites. This isn't something you have to have to keep bees, but it is highly recommended. Cost... starting at $11.00 for the 33 treatment syringe up to $250.00 for 2,500 treatments. See Parsons' Gold Solution page.

Optional. If you want to make honey for yourself or to share with others, you will need extra equipment. Bee boxes have other names. The largest is called a deep box. A deep box, sometimes called a super if you use it to make honey, can weigh 70-80 lbs. if the bees fill it up. Next size is a medium, also called an 'Illinois' and can hold 40 lbs. of honey. A shallow is the smallest box and can weigh 30 lbs. when full. If you get extra boxes, you'll need the frames of beeswax to go inside them. Bees will use any size box you put on, but generally, deep boxes are for brood, eggs, larvae and baby bees and are on the bottom where the queen likes to live. Shallows are often for comb honey. But beekeepers put on the size that is practical for them. If you are a strong healthy young guy, deeps are no problem. If you are a woman, mediums and shallows may be easier to handle. You can get equipment new or sometimes you can find used. Cost.... See New and Used Equipment pages.

Optional. Once the bees make the honey, the next thing is 'how do you get it out of the frame?'. You can cut the beeswax comb out of of the frame and put it in a tub and let the honey run out. You can squeeze it out with you hands. A very messy way. (You ruin the combs if you do it this way, and that isn't good.) You can get an extractor like shown in the picture. You cut the wax cappings off the comb with a knife, put the frame in the extractor and using the handle, you spin the honey out, The one in the picture does two like frames at a time. The honey runs out of the extractor into your container when you open the gate at the bottom.  You can spend up to thousands on extractors, depending on whether you want stainless steel, electric crank and how many frames you want it to spin at a time. This extractor Costs - $185.00