Beekeeping 101

This is intended to help beginner beekeepers start their first beehives.

First, the cost.  Average cost of all starting equipment and first hive set up will be around $200-$300, depending on quality.

Basic beekeeping equipment and supplies can be purchased through your local beekeeping supply store or ordered through online beekeeping supply stores.

List of basic equipment you should purchase:

Beekeeper's suit, basic version should be a jumpsuit with tough material.  I had occasionally been stung through the tough suit material, so one should consider wearing at least 1 layer of clothing under the suit, but in the sun, it can get very hot very quickly.

Gloves, either canvas or metal gauntlets.  Canvas gloves that go up to the elbows are sufficient.  I have never been stung through these gloves, but if you are concerned, wear another pair of latex gloves.

Helmet, or hat with meshed veil.  I used a 1-piece meshed helmet with canvas top and a netting that ties around the shoulders.  It worked adequately, but because it does not have a hat, the top moved around loosely.  So once, when I was looking downward, the helmet pressed against my right ear, and a bee was able to sting me right through the mesh on my right ear.  A hat with meshed veil is the more common setup, and more reliable, but it is also more expensive.

Work boots or shoes that protects the ankle with tough material.

Hive tool.  This is your basic tool that pretty much all beekeepers tend to use.  1 end looks like a flat sharp edged scraping tool, and the other end is another flat sharp edge that is at the end of a 90-degree bend.  Bees make "propolis", a substance derived from pine sap and other substances.  Bees use propolis as a cement to seal their hive's cracks and holes.  Your beehive will be made of wood, but the bees will continually attempt to seal the hive, and glue the lid and combs to the box.  You need to use the hive tool to pry the lid open and to pry the combs out.

Honey extraction tools.  These can arrange from the simple heating knife that can be used to cut the honey combs out, to filters that filters the honey, or the very expensive centrifuge machines.  For beginner, I would suggest that you get 1 heating knife and 1 large diameter meshed metal filter.  Centrifuge machines will run at least several hundred dollars, even hand cranked ones.  Your 1st hive will not produce enough honey to justify the expense.

Food grade containers, scoopers, jars, etc.

1 bee brush.  Your bees will be crawling all over the honey combs.  When you need to harvest the honey, you need to gently brush away your bees.

List of 1st hive equipments:

Beehive kits.  If you order on line or through the local stores, kits are the cheapest way to go.  They are basically precut pieces of wood.  You will need to buy your own nails to put them together.  You will need typically 2 foundation boxes, 2 honey reserve boxes, 1 lid, and 1 bottom, and 1 outer lid for rainy locations.  Foundation boxes are basically taller than the reserve boxes.  Foundation boxes are where the bees will have the eggs and larvas.  Reserve boxes are where the bees will store most of the honey.  Each box is basically the 4 walls.  2 Reserve boxes go on the top of the 2 foundation boxes in a chimney like configuration.  All 4 boxes sit on top of the bottom piece, and then a lid on top, and the outer lid on top of that.  Each box and the lid should be painted with acrylic white paint on the outside.  This is to reflect away some of the sunlight, and help keep the hive cool during the summer.  The outer lid is used to shield the hive from heavy rain.  The bottom piece is used to help keep the hive stable on the ground.  When fully assembled, your lowest box should have a small slit opening at the front to allow the bees to use as an entrance.

Comb frames.  They go into the boxes for the bees to make their combs.  Like the boxes, they come in 2 different sizes.  Make sure you match the frames to the boxes.  There are 2 basic types of comb frames, 1 is the wooden frame with pre-made wax sheet foundation cells, the other is the plastic frames with foundation built in.  Many beekeepers, the old fashion ones, say that the plastic (pierco) frames give off a bad smell, and bees are reluctant to use them.  So most beekeepers prefer the wood frames.  The wood frames are also very simple to use, if you intend out cutting out "comb honey", that is basically pieces of honey comb with the honey in the combs.  If you use the plastic frames, you cannot cut "comb honey".  To prevent the bad smell of the plastic frames, some bee supply stores sell them pre-coated with beeswax.  I have used both wooden ones and plastic ones, and found both usable.  You will need 10 frame for each box.

Buying Bees:

Once you have assembled your beehive, you need to put in your bees!

You can buy bees from online or at your local bee stores.  But you need to order them in advance.  February is probably a good time to order them.  Some bee stores have a deadline for ordering bees.  April is typically delivery.  Put in your bees as soon as delivery is made.  A typical bee starter hive come in a wooden metal mesh box with about 200 worker bees plus 1 queen in a queen cage, and a can of sugar water to sustain them during transit.

Selecting a location for your hive:

If you haven't already done so, you need to check your local zone authorities, whether you can have bees on a piece of property.  Some cities allow beehives on residential properties, but only 1 per property.  Some non-metro counties consider bees to be pests, and do NOT allow them at all even on large properties.  So be sure you are not violating some zoning regulations.

If zoning is OK, then preferably the property is near some nectar sources.  Most commercially produced honey are from alf alfa flowers.  But many common grass, weeds, or wild flowers produce good nectar source for honey.  For example, clovers, rapeseed, star thistles, etc.  Fruit trees can also give very good nectar source, like citrus, apple, peach type, etc.

More unusual sources of nectar can be researched on line.  One I found to be very unusual was Fava Beans.  Fava bean plants are self-fertilizing, they can regenerate a fallow field.  Their bean stalk grow up to about 1.5 meters, and produce non-radially symmetrical flowers that are extremely fragrant and attractive to bees.  Fava bean plants also grow very rapidly and can be very profitable to sell.

Once you found sufficient nectar sources near by, you should pick a location that's in a shady spot, and near a small source of water, like a creek or even a dripping faucet.  Bees will need water.

Putting in the Bees:  (Of course, wear your beekeeper's suit/gloves/mask.  It's not just for looks.)

Have your bee hive open, with 1 foundation box on the bottom piece.  Put in about 5 frames in the box.

With your starter hive cage, carefully open the top, and take out the sugar water can.

There is a small queen cage, made of wood.  Take it out.  (If you can't see the queen cage, it's probably covered up by the worker bees.  lightly tap the whole cage on the ground to get the workers onto the bottom, so you can see.)

(a few worker bees will escape, but don't worry.)

By now, worker bees will be swarming around you and the cage.  But they won't go far, because you have the queen in the queen cage.

The queen cage has a wood cork on 1 end, maybe sealed with wax.  You need to let the queen out, but if you do it in the open, she will fly away, and then you just lost your hive (about $60)!!!  So take the queen cage AND the hive cage to the foundation box, with your hands holding the queen cage in the box.  There, using a pocket knife, VERY carefully remove the cork from the queen cage, and QUICKLY cover the hole with your finger so that the queen does not escape!!!  Place the queen cage (with the queen still inside) carefully onto the bottom of the foundation box.  Then with your other hand, (or ask your helper), take the hive cage (with the 200 or so worker bees), and gently dump the worker bees onto the queen cage in the foundation box.

Now, you have a ball of worker bees on your glove in the box, with you still holding the queen cage.  And a lot of worker bees flying all around you.  But don't worry!

Take your hand off away from the queen cage.  The worker bees will swarm around the queen cage, and the queen will try to get out of the ball of the worker bees.

Now, immediately, take the Hive cage, and dump as much of the workers as possible onto the queen cage and the foundation box.

Carefully insert another 2-3 combs into the box.  Do not crush the bees!

And then carefully place the lid on top.

(The Queen is fearful of bright lights, and she will stay in the hive once you have put the lid on.)

Leave the hive cage near the entrance of the hive box, the remaining worker bees will eventually migrate into the hive to find the queen.

Place the sugar water can near the entrance of the hive to allow the bees to feed on it, while they are settling in their new home.

After 1 day.

carefully open the lid, part the frames a little to find the queen cage.

Make sure that the queen is no longer in the cage.  (Ordered Queen bees usually have a painted dot on their back.)

Remove the empty queen cage from the box.

Add up to total of 10 frames for the box.  (There may be some spacing between the frames, so try to make them fairly evenly apart.  Otherwise, you might end up with an overly thick comb later on).

You can also add the 2nd foundation box with 10 frames onto the top of the 1st foundation box.  This is room for the hive to grow.

But do not put in the reserve boxes yet.  Your bee colony will need to build up its numbers 1st.  Too much room to grow can cause the workers to build too many empty combs.  It takes energy (or honey) for the bees to secrete wax.  It takes average of 10lbs of honey to produce 1lb of beeswax.  Your bees will get very tired building up empty combs.  So it's better for you to stick with 2 foundation boxes for just right now.

Check on your hive after 1 week and then 2 weeks, to make sure it is growing OK.

By Late May or June, your 2 boxes should be filling up with bees and larvas, if you have a good nectar source.

Now, you can consider adding 2 reserve boxes on top.

If your beehive is not filling up yet, consider delaying until next year to add the reserve boxes.  Your beehives may not have enough workers yet.  You might also have a sick queen that needs to be replaced.  Consult your local bee master on why the colony is not growing fast enough.

By late August or Early September, your reserve boxes should be filling up with honey, and some pollen (bee bread).

Take out some frames and check on the combs.  If they are mostly sealed with a "cap" of white wax.  That means the frame is good!!

If the comb has mostly UNSEALED/uncapped honey cells, then the honey is not done yet.  Don't harvest the frame.

Now you harvest honey!!!

Harvesting:

Take out your reserve frames with all the honey in the cells, and all the bees crawling on them.  (Make sure the queen bee is NOT on your comb.  Usually she is not, since she will hide from bright lights.  She tend to stay on the lower boxes.)  Use a bee brush to brush away all the worker bees gently.

you can either use the heating knife to uncapped the cells, and then centrifuge the honey out.

Or you can simply cut out the combs or scrape off the honey cells from the frame, and then filter the honey from the wax, etc.

After you are done harvesting, replace the frame back to the hive.  Your bees will clean up the messy honey on the frames.

You should try to leave 1 to 2 frames of honey for the bees, so they can last through the winter.  Don't worry, they make enough for sharing with us humans!!

Storage:

Use clean canning jars to store the honey.  The sealed honey will last 2 years or more.

Do not feed raw honey to young children, or adults taking anti-acid.  Honey is a natural anti-biotic, but it does not kill the Botulism bacterium, which produces a deadly toxin.  Normal adults' stomach acid will kill the bacterium, but young children do not have enough stomach acid, and adults who take anti-acids like Tums have their stomach acid neutralized.

Share or sell your honey!