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... Depending on how you order the hive a nuc with good used equiment or a nuc with new equipment has different prices.  For the basic hive one story seen below on the left you have inside a deep, frames inside, bees inside, bottom board, Inner cover, and a telescoping lid.  The price can be from $300.00 to about $400.00.  Everything has to be figured out step by step as honeybees are super valuable and we don't have enough of them today.  This price scale is for 2011 as persons are still coming for honeybees even next week past today October 16, 2011. 

You need a bottom board for the box to sit on. You need a hive body (box) filled with frames and foundation for the bees to live on. 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 of the box and a top super (box) to extend the brood or for nectar to be stored and you need bees.  The picture to your left an assembly line of new hives started in the spring.  Some hives start on drawn comb created at a different time and others start on only foundation.  If honeybees start on foundation in the early spring it is best to feed them a lot of sweetner like regular table sugar mixed 50/50 in hot tap water tell it goes clear.  Let that mixed sugar cool before feeding it too the honeybees!

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 expand into and to put pollen and nectar to be developed into honey soon.  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.  Many of the beekeepers that I talk to in late summer did not add more then # 1 or # 2 boxes for bees to make honey inside them.   Many are puzzled as to why they only got 30 to 60 lbs. of honey.   If I get with a beekeeper I tell them when you add boxes add # 3 to  # 4 not # 1 or # 2.   

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 or making more bees and they never put on another box. There is no where for the bees to store honey or the queen to lay more eggs if the room does not increase so the hive just stands still after a while and the hive then swarms to make more room and to cool the hive some.  If there is not room for the hive to expand there will be no honey for you and no honey for the bees to winter on when the cold comes in deep fall to winter.

This is a hat/veil combo with zippered jacket. This jacket fits tight around the body at the belt line to keep bees from getting to you.  I think this is all that is necessary for a hobby beekeeper or experenced beekeeper that is just doing everyday hive work . A full beesuit will give the most protection, though.

These are ventilated 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  $23.00 each for sizes Small, Med., Lg. and XLg.   Today October 16, 2011 I have many pairs of gloves ready for anyone that calls me and asks for me to ship them what ever they want for this type of equipment.  If you are in driving distance from us call ahead of time to make sure we are here to receive you.  Many beekeepers plan ahead and get such items for gifts and to have extra around for family and friends that come and want to see a bee hive from inside the hive.

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 $43.00 to $46.00 each.  I have had less expensive smokers with a shield in stock but any smoker is in such high demand most companies run out way too fast.  I have on hand right now the most expensive smoker.   A smoker that is well made can last many, many years with good care!

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 $8.00.

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 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 - $220.95 + S/H and sometimes taxes are added.   Contact us for information related to getting this extractor to you.   This still is a very popular extractor and last year it was sold out nationwide over 4 times.   Today I am told I can again get this small extractor!  I have one too as I do talks around the county and this small extractor is a very good tool to explain how honey is extracted and for a low end price for a machine.  It is light weight and is small enough for a child to be able to see it up close and work it too.