Anyone keep Bees?

[Modat22]

I've been thinking about getting a hive or two but I don't know a thing about it. Was wondering if there might be a recommendation or 2 on a beekeeping book.

Are bee's very much trouble?

[Sprucegum]

Not much trouble at all, the bees do most of the work  ;)  :D

When I was 15 I got a summer job working for a beekeeper. As a little bonus he gave me a hive of my own to look after and reap the rewards. All I had to do was check it every couple weeks and harvest in the fall.

If you can get the equipment and the bees I would say definately do it.

[moonhill]

Once more, the same thing happened last spring, I had one of 3 hives make it through the winter, I am fine with this.  I am restocking in April.  I think they are fun to have and observe, the benefits are great as well.  Book are great, talk to your local bee keeper too. 

Tim

[Fla._Deadheader]

I learned from a book, I think was titled "Practical Beekeeping", or sumpin like that. Bought it at the same big feed-Seed supply where I bought a couple starts of Bees. Got a few from capturing swarms, and, 1 from a hollow tree a logger cut into.

  Big problem is predators, wax-worms and disease. Lots of talk about Bees disappearing from the Associations. Do a search. There's at LEAST 1-2 threads on Beekeeping, on the FF.

[thecfarm]

There's at least a couple bee keepers around here.One contacted me and wanted to put some hives on my land and he would tend them.Told him yes he could.No guarantee on how the dog would like it,but he could do it.Have not heard nothing back.I would think someone would be doing it in your area.I know the guy that came to see me would of gladly shown me how too.

[HOOF-ER]

 The best book is " The hive and the honeybee" Very in depth. I think it is a Dadant book? Dadant sell beekeeping supplies.

[Don_Papenburg]

Dadaunt is a good outfit for supplies .  My wife got the book beekeeping for dummies .  It is a good book that is consise not over tecnical with timelines of how and why things work or should be done . Get two or three hives  One will not be as rewarding . bees sometimes are lazy, we had one hive that did not produce anything .
It is not all that much more effort to work two hives as one . most of the work is puting the suit on and getting the smoker to stay lit . So you just as well work a couple or more hives if you are doing one.

[JAMES G]

A B C and X Y Z of bee culture is a great book to own. I have used it many times to answer questions that pop up every now and then.I keep seven to eight hives in fact I caught a swarm in a tree this afternoon didnt get pictures do to the fact I was racing against a bad thunderstorm that hit us just about the time I got the swarm into a box.I keep bees to pollinate my watermellons and other veggies.Just remember to keep your hives strong and waxworm can be controlled.So good luck and let us know when you get your first hive and if you have any questions.

[fishpharmer]

Modat22,

I used to keep a few hives for the same reasons as JamesG.  I got a way from truck farming and neglected the hives.  Seems like mites got the bees.  It was discouraging to see dead bees.

I got alot of my equipment from a place in KY.  Walter T. Kelley.

http://www.kelleybees.com/PageDefault.aspx

Look at their events link and you will see they are having an open house the next couple of weekends.

I started with the book that came with their beginner kit.  Used to get a magazine, Bee Culture.  Learned alot from it too. You might try your county extension agent.

Its a fascinating hobby. 

[Dodgy Loner]

Beekeeping is a very popular hobby here in the Southern Appalachians.  I had never met a beekeeper (that I was aware of) until I moved here, but it seems like everybody's grandpa has one around here.  I have one guy in my county who keeps 500 hives going.  Not a hobby for him, he makes a really good living at it.  Most states have a beekeeper's association if you're looking to meet other folks who keep bees.  I think the best way to learn would be straight from the source.

[SwampDonkey]

Even back in the 50's some fella figured it was a good idea to teach kids about bees and in a volume of books there was one section devoted to bees, mostly honey bees, and also talks about bumble bees and at the end a little about other insects referred to as "bugs". A middle section was about birds. It was called "The First Book of Bees, Birds and Bugs" by Albert B. Tibbets, and Margaret Williamson, 1949-52 . A lot of cool illustrations explaining the care of honey bees and their behaviour. These books were created by input of folks from various universities and museums in the US, Canada and Europe.

[Tom]

I've kept bees and will again one day.  It's a lot of fun.  You have to remember two things. You are a Bee Keeper, not a Bee Farmer.  When Bees are ready to  have something done, you best be there or they will take care of it themselves.

My Granddad kept hives when I was a child.  I got to help a little, but didn't know what was going on.  It made me want to do it myself when I grew up.

I met my friend, Mr. Shippey, who was a bee keeper.  The best advice I can give to you is to read books.  The library is full of them.  And, hang around a Bee Keeper.  You probably have a Bee Keeping Association close by, Join it.  Most of them are more than willing to have someone hang around and help, or just look over their shoulder.  Get yourself a hat, veil, gloves, long-sleeved shirt and rubber bands to hold your pants legs closed.  You will be ready to visit the hive with him. 

Next you will want a smoker, roll of hive wire, the pieces to make frames, wax foundation and maybe even the parts to build a hive.

Learn and understand  medicating of bees.  Learn to steralize an empty hive. and frames.

Buy a starter hive.  It's best to have more than one (I think) and I would prefer three.  Build the other two from the first one.  Make it a priority over eating all of your honey.

They can be in close proximity to one another, but put them so that you aren't standing in a flyway when working on another hive.

It's not unusual for bees to be kept in town.  I would suggest that you put the hives in the sun or mild shade.  I put some deep in the swamp once and had to fight ants, animals and all manner of things that wanted the honey or to use the hives.   Face the hives East, or where the first light will hit it.  Your bees will start working earlier in the day.

[Ironmower]

The bee keepers in the orchards would charge to put their hives out. Can't remember how much, but I could see $ potential..... dollars and honey; sounds kinda' sweet! 8)

[Dodgy Loner]

All of the apple orchards here have beekeepers come when the trees bloom.  I have no idea how much they charge, but I do know that it's mutually beneficial.

[SwampDonkey]

My yard apple trees get honey bees as well as the flowers. I don't know where they are coming from. No one I know of has bees any more. My cousin used to, next door. But he moved to Alberta 11 years ago. Maybe they are wild, they used to go wild years ago and go to hollow trees.

[Tom]

We don't have the wild bees that we used to have.  The problem is disease.  They swarm from a hive and go to the woods, where they take up residence in a hollow tree or cave or barn.  Then they find themselves with no beekeeper who can treat them for diseases, like foul brood, or parasites, like tracheal mites, and they die out.   Most wild (feral) hives won't even make it a year anymore.  That's part of the reason that you don't see as many honeybees as you once did.

With the interest in Africanized bees and the proliferation of disease, the Governments have gotten involved and many now require permits, inspections and fees to keep bees.  It has caused many Hobby beekeepers to quit keeping them.  It isn't commonly known, but a very large part of the bee industry was held by Hobby beekeepers.   20 hives can produce one to three, fifty gallon drums of honey a year.  Hobbyist sell that to wholesalers to pay for their hobby.  They also sell their honey on the side of the road.   The larger companies that move their bees by Semi to take advantage of crop blooms, aren't in favor of the beekeeper hobby and consider the hobbyist a competitor.  So, they enjoyed the envolvement of Government permits, which were geared more toward favoring the industrial beekeeper.

Beekeeping has also been impacted by the influx of foreign honey.  A wholesale house today will have thousands of barrels of honey from china.  The Local market is competing with that volume of outside producers.  If you will visit a wholesaler/collector you will see the barrels stacked outside with the oriental writing all over them.   The argument from the beekeepers is that the "outside" honey isn't being produced with the same restrictions and may contain chemicals used to medicate the bees. Most of this honey is sold as sugar/sweetener to the big conglomerates who produce foodstuffs for the grocery stores, bakeries and the such.

Beekeeping has faced some rocky road in last few years and it hasn't all been because of natural obstacles.  Even the image is tainted.  Ask someone who is stung and they will say a "Bee" did it.  It never enters their mind that it might have been a wasp, hornet, spider, caterpillar, tick, flea, etc.   So, it becomes increasingly difficult for a beekeeper to keep his bees (normally fairly docile creatures) around human habitation.

Beekeeping is fun, educational, and can be profitable. I wish that everyone could have the experience at least one time in their life. 

[fishpharmer]

I too hope to get back into beekeeping someday.   I have my equipment in storage.   I just have too many irons in the fire now.

Tom, I know you are right about foreign competition and government regulations.  Its a shame in my book.

A few weeks ago when I was in FL travelling west on I-10, I came up behind a couple of eighteen wheelers pulling what looked like enclosed box trailers.  As I got closer It became apparent that it was not regular van type trailers.  They were flatbed trailers completely loaded with beehives.  A dark colored black mesh completely covered the hives.   The swarming bees could be seen on the inside of the mesh.  We rolled the windows down to see if we could hear a buzz but the wind noise was overpowering.   I would have loved hearing the buzz emitted from those trucks at a standstill.

[Tom]

I don't see how some of these guys make it.   A beekeeper will generally wait till night to move his hive because bees get lost so easily.  In the evening most of the bees will be inside of the hive. A few might "camp out" over night, but they are few.   All you have to do is move the hive 3 feet and they become super confused and some never find it.  Still, to move a hive and have them reconnoiter again, requires that they get moved a good distance.   These trucks are loaded all day long, and when they leave an Orange Grove, they leave thousands of confused and lost bees in the area.  Many are in the field and find "Home" gone when they return with their nectar.  It's a business that doesn't allow the "care" that a Hobbyist can provide.  Time is money and they will pick up in Florida one day and try to be in Wisconsin the next.   The bees that they leave aren't swarms and won't generally find another home, being rejected from other hives because of foreign pheromones.  Not having a queen, they have no place to go and no reason to work.  They usually just die in some area close to the last position of their hive.

[beenthere]

I've had a hive survive in a hickory tree for at least three winters, that I know of. Anxious to see if they make it through this winter.
Must be some hardy souls.

[Tom]

Beenthere,
It's my opinion that, if a hive exists for a time in the wild, it will be in the North where the climate might make disease and parasites less prevalent.   The bees can take care of themselves in the cold, as long as they have something to eat and don't get sick.  Just my take on it. 

[SwampDonkey]

Just think of the poor bumble bee, only the queen survives for next year. They are tough though. If you ever collected insects and fumigate them, they will often hang on to life for a long time. I can remember when the professor gave us instructions on collecting, make sure the bumble bees are dead before you pin them to the board please.  : :D

[ely]

thats funny SD, i got the last few specimens one day when i turned in the project. they were doing some air crawling on those pins. ;D

[iffy]

I kept bees a number of years ago. It was a very satisfying hobby. Learned a lot and can bore you for hours with the details. I was at a beekeeper's seminar once and ran into an older fella that gave me a lot of marketing tips:

Don't try to compete with the big boys unless you are willing to put in a lot of capital and be a big boy yourself. You can't sell bulk for the price they do and come out.

Look at the niche markets. He used to put a stand up out by the highway and stock it with honey. He laminated a price sheet and stuck it to the stand. Had a metal cash box with no lock. Everyone was on the honor system. He ran it for years and didn't lose enough to worry about. Probably are still parts of the US where that would work.

Another of his tricks was appeal to the senses or memories. He made a glass covered observation hive that would hold one frame and would take one frame with bees on it to local carnivals and street fairs. Of course he would have honey for sale. I tried it and found you could draw two imaginary traffic lines starting where people first saw the observation hive. Adults would veer away to a safe distance and look at it. Kids would make a "beeline" to it and practically put their nose against it.

He made a certain amount of comb honey each year. He would use foundation with no wires and then cut the comb into pieces. Put a couple of pieces of comb in a jar, fill it up with honey, and old-timers would buy him out. He would take damaged comb that wouldn't work in a jar and cut it into 1" squares, put them on a plate and stick a toothpick in them. Sold them for $.25 apiece. Grandparents would always buy some for their grandkids to show them what it was like in the old days. If business slacked off he would round up some kids, give them a quarter apiece to stand in line and buy his samples. Others would see a line and get in line too.

He would put a fresh super on a strong colony just at the start of a bloom, such as clover, and then take it off at the end of the bloom. He would then have the almost water clear light clover honey which he would sell for a premium. Some of his customers liked the dark honey, so he would put a fresh super on during the sunflower bloom and get dark honey.

He would visit ma and pa grocery stores and offer to stock their shelves with honey and they would pay him "wholesale" price for whatever they sold.