I am taking a back yard beekeeping class and I might get a hive this spring

[iRONic]

Ask This Old House did a two part piece on beekeeping recently.

Video 1. Starts at 1:50

Video 2. Starts at 1:06

 

[NoTine42]

How do you get a wild queen? Find a wild hive and capture them?

For more fun, you can get into artificial insemination of the queen.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W1_LhfK-VN4

I used to work with a guy that had ~100 colonies. (He mostly sold the honey by the gallon wholesale) He preferred the temperament of queens from Hawaii, but when he got too late of a start he would get some Italian queens from down south.

 

[DrPizza]

The swarms are incredibly easy to work with. I've done it wearing shorts and a t-shirt. They're not defending their hive, so are far, far less prone to sting you. If you get bees in your hair though, don't try to help them get untangled - they'll succeed on their own, without stinging you. Touch them while they're tangled, and you're getting stung. Good news: they can only sting once.

Getting the honey out looks a lot easier when experts do it, than it is on your own. It's a pretty messy process. Ultimately, my wife gave up with one hive, and simply decided not to save the wax for the bees - that made it really easy to get the honey out (she destroyed the honeycomb). It takes a lot more resources for the bees to produce the wax - that is, they can produce 5 gallons of honey, or 1 gallon of that wax. (or whatever the ratio is, but it's a pretty big ratio.)

We only do it for my own amusement, not for profit. The first time I harvested honey, I got about 10 years worth for my own personal use - and that's after quitting half way through the harvesting.

 

[Scarpozzi]

The swarms are incredibly easy to work with. I've done it wearing shorts and a t-shirt. They're not defending their hive, so are far, far less prone to sting you. If you get bees in your hair though, don't try to help them get untangled - they'll succeed on their own, without stinging you. Touch them while they're tangled, and you're getting stung. Good news: they can only sting once.

Getting the honey out looks a lot easier when experts do it, than it is on your own. It's a pretty messy process. Ultimately, my wife gave up with one hive, and simply decided not to save the wax for the bees - that made it really easy to get the honey out (she destroyed the honeycomb). It takes a lot more resources for the bees to produce the wax - that is, they can produce 5 gallons of honey, or 1 gallon of that wax. (or whatever the ratio is, but it's a pretty big ratio.)

We only do it for my own amusement, not for profit. The first time I harvested honey, I got about 10 years worth for my own personal use - and that's after quitting half way through the harvesting.

Typically though, swarms are swarming around a second queen. When the hives split, they will defend the queen.....thus, they can still be protective and get aggressive. I would be someone protected when approaching and bagging a swarm

 

[cabri]

Scarpozzi: Did you sell the honey, or did you just enjoy the bees?

We had bees when I was a boy.

12 hives spilt in two geographical locations.

Honey was extracted in the fall, leaving 2 large supers(boxes) for each hive to survive over the winter (Norther New England).

We had a spinner(centrifuge) that we would put in 2 frames at a time and extract the honey. A hot blade would be run over the capped honey cells of the frame before spinning.

Other beekeepers that we knew used a commercial facility to extract; we just happened to have inherited the equipment.

Extracted honey was then stored in a cool area in 50lb containers until ready for distribution.

The honey was sold then for Xmas funding for four of us door to door, at local community functions and school.

Sold in little 2 oz bottles, 1,2 & 5 pound jars, 1 & 2 w/ comb, 6" sq comb and the 12 oz honey bears.

The type of honey was usually segregated according to the pollen prevalent at the time of collection; clover, apple or wild flower

I can agree with everything that Scarpozzi and Dr Pizza have stated.

 

[DrPizza]

Typically though, swarms are swarming around a second queen. When the hives split, they will defend the queen.....thus, they can still be protective and get aggressive. I would be someone protected when approaching and bagging a swarm

I've found it fairly easy to just carefully and slowly remove everything except the main branch a swarm is on (if in a tree), and very carefully cut the branch free (if small enough) without shaking it. Then, set the swarm on top of a super that has some wax on the frames, and gently shake it until all the bees are off the branch. Most go between the frames, some take flight.

I was standing on top of an 8 foot step ladder - on the very top. I had my pruners and was carefully cutting small branches and pulling them out of the swarm. I cut one small branch. THWACKK! It had been bent and stuck between other branches. It hit the big swarm of bees. The pile of bees fell off the branch, directly onto my head/face below. Instinctively, I jumped back. I forgot where I was. I didn't get stung, but I limped for a few days from the fall.

3 swarms that I've captured have been on branches (one was on the corner of a trailer) that were within 3 feet of the ground. I just positioned the super underneath the swarm, and knocked the swarm free. I used some turkey feathers that I had to brush any remaining bees free (since it always seems that the queen is one of the last bees to be knocked off.)

 

[cabri]

One can purchase sheets of wax forms to go into a large or small super frame.

A couple of times when we were collecting swarms; a large super was used with every other frame removed. this allowed move of the swarm to be shaken into the super.

Also having honey smeared on the wax helps to keep the swarm from bailing when they first arrive.

 

[inachu]

I love the idea of hives but if this was in a townhouse area and you do this stuff outside and I lived nextdoor then if any passed onto my property then I'd be killing those bees left and right!

 

[utahraptor]

I have decided to build my hive with these plans: http://www.cbrp.org/SDBluebirds/PhilChandlerTBHPlans.pdf

I plan to start construction the first week of February and it should be done that week. My step dad may know a guy who mills his own wood. I might be able to get some cedar planks from him.
http://www.cbrp.org/SDBluebirds/PhilChandlerTBHPlans.pdf

 

[cabri]

Just make sure the supors are airtight

 

[Blain]

Are there any state or local regulations in your area/state that might prohibit you from keeping hives?

 

[utahraptor]

The teacher has looked into is and claims it is approved in my city, but he also says he is not a lawyer. I have not decided yet if I mention it to my neighbor before or after installation. I have a normal city lot. He never complained when I had 6 chickens before

 

[cabri]

You should double check with the zoning.

As a courtesy, alert the neighbor of it. More than likely, unless they create an attractive temptation for the bees, they will not even notice them.

I have seen hives 100 meters from housing with no problems.

 

[Blain]

The teacher has looked into is and claims it is approved in my city, but he also says he is not a lawyer. I have not decided yet if I mention it to my neighbor before or after installation. I have a normal city lot. He never complained when I had 6 chickens before

Tell them before. No matter how much you love honey, if one of your close neighbors is allergic to bee stings, the risk is not worth it.
Do you really want to be "that guy" in court defending your "right to keep bees" after a toddler was hospitalized?

 

[utahraptor]

Honey bees exist whether or not I have a hive in my back yard. One just landed on me the other day.

 

[cabri]

Honey bees exist whether or not I have a hive in my back yard. One just landed on me the other day.

Difference in that they exists/foraging vs being cultivated/encouraged to remain in a given area.

 

[utahraptor]

Today I obtained the lumber from a relative. It is nice 1 inch thick cedar planks that have not been planed just as the plans call for. He used his own lumber mill on the cedar logs. The planks are about 15 inches wide which will be cut down to size according to the plan. My step dad and I did all the major cutting today and will begin assembly tomorrow.

 

[utahraptor]

I did some work on the hive yesterday. I got some of the top bars made and all the major pieces are cut out now. Also the two follower boards are assembled and the glue is drying on for them.

 

[cabri]

Looked at your link.

Completely different "home" than what I am used to.

Good luck though.

 

[DrPizza]

That top bar hive looks interesting. I just checked the other day, and apparently the bees in one of my hives perished, probably when we hit -19 degrees. The 2 feral colonies of bees in the walls of my shed are doing quite well, though when it hits the mid 30s, I see a lot of bodies in the snow. I was checking on them yesterday - they have to take flight to relieve themselves of wastes. The whole area by the shed, roof of the shed - lots of blotches of yellowish brown from the bee excrement. (And a couple hundred dead bees.)

Wife just cleaned out another batch of frames - I think she ended up with 6 quarts of honey. We didn't even bother cleaning out most of the honey - the weight of 2 boxes is probably 15 pounds without honey or wax. Just wrapped them in plastic and took them out to the shed - probably about 80 pounds, so there's 55 pounds of wax and honey for a new colony to start with next year.

 

[slag]

My neighbor used to keep bees and it was a headache for us. When we had dry spells, the bees would congregate around our pool and hot tub and we would accidently put our hand on them and get stung. He finally moved and the hives died out. I like bees, I don't like dealing with bees just trying to get some water.

 

[utahraptor]

My bee teacher says the bees will seek the closest source of water. Therefore I plan to have fresh water avialable at all times very close to the hive. I really don't want them drinking pool water anyway.

 

[cabri]

That top bar hive looks interesting. I just checked the other day, and apparently the bees in one of my hives perished, probably when we hit -19 degrees. The 2 feral colonies of bees in the walls of my shed are doing quite well, though when it hits the mid 30s, I see a lot of bodies in the snow. I was checking on them yesterday - they have to take flight to relieve themselves of wastes. The whole area by the shed, roof of the shed - lots of blotches of yellowish brown from the bee excrement. (And a couple hundred dead bees.)

We used to build up snow on the outside to act as insulation when cold weather was to hit for a period of time.

Also, made sure that the access holes were kept clear; would use PVC pipe to keep the breather holes open in the top supor.