Beekeeping for Bee-ginners

One of the most interesting and beneficial things we have done on the ranch is practicing apiculture or as it is more commonly known - beekeeping. What is apiculture? It can be defined as the care and breeding of bees.  

If you are interested in biology, agriculture, entomology, or just plain spending time outdoors enjoying nature, beekeeping may be for you. Beekeeping is a fascinating and rewarding hobby or career; beekeepers along with their colonies of honey bees serve an important role in agriculture.

There are many, many plants on Earth that require pollination to reproduce or be fruitful. Although honey bees are certainly not the only pollinators, they are the best known and most widely managed pollinators. Washington State University entomologist, Walter S. Sheppard, has called honey bees, “the most economically important insect in the world”.  

Honey bees help produce one in every 3 bites of food we take by pollinating the plants that produce many our fruits, nuts, vegetables, legumes, and livestock forages, as well as seed plants. Without the honey bees much of the food available to us currently would be greatly reduced in variety, numbers, and much more expensive to purchase in the supermarket.

 Additionally, the honey bee hive is a smorgasbord of health products; it is the world’s only source of honey and beeswax, and serves as a source of propolis, royal jelly, harvested pollen, and bee venom. Many of these products are being employed in the areas of wound care and a variety of other human ailments. For more information on this subject, check out - apitherapy.com.

Successful Beekeeping

Beekeeping can be approached in several different ways – as a hobby, a sideline, or on a commercial basis. Beekeeping attracts people from all walks of life from children to senior citizens. For the hobbyist, beekeeping can be a venture into natural science, which includes the reward of a hive or two of honey for the family table along with robustly producing gardens and fruit trees. Beekeeping can be an enjoyable experience for the entire family.

As a sideline, beekeeping can be an additional source of income from the sale of honey, other hive products, and pollination services. And a few of the more hard working individuals decide to make beekeeping a full-time career.

Like many hobbies or careers, individuals venturing into beekeeping have a “learning curve” to overcome. Beekeeping is a skill; it requires knowledge of honey bee biology, honey bee behavior, and hive management practices. How quickly you become proficient in beekeeping is directly related to the amount of time you are willing to dedicate to education. The successful beekeeper dedicates time to a combination of reading books, Internet resources, and magazines relating to beekeeping combined with ‘hands on” time working with the bees and extracting honey.

Getting Started

Understand the Fundamentals - Many people venture into beekeeping only to find it was not at all what they expected, so take some time to understand the fundamentals required of successful beekeeping and then decide if beekeeping is for you.

For bee-ginners reading is an essential part of learning. There are many excellent beekeeping books and industry magazines on the market; each offers a wealth of information about honey bee breeds, honey bee society, beekeeping equipment and tools, protective clothing, supplemental feeding, honey bee pests and diseases, basics of the honey extraction process, etc.

Basic Equipment

Start with two hives, not one. Once you have gained knowledge and proficiency in beekeeping expanding the number of hives in your apiary beyond initial startup, if desired, will be much more successful.

Why two? Although it is certainly possible to start with one hive, two hives allows comparison between the productivity of the hives and provides resources to supplement brood and honey between the hives, if one is more productive than the other. After all, it is not as if you can run to the local market and buy frames of bee brood.

It is advisable to use natural components for your hives – woodenware and beeswax foundation. While there are other choices available beekeepers have reported mixed success with non-natural components, so, it is prudent to employ proven standards initially. There are also different styles of hives, but for the bee-ginner the Langstroth-style hive is the “gold standard”.

If employing Langstroth hives, each hive requires the following:

ü 1 hive stand or platform to keep the bottom board from coming in contact with the ground

ü A bottom board (screened bottom boards provide more versatility and are particularly desirable in areas with hot summers)

ü 2 deep hive bodies (10 frames each) with beeswax foundation (there are also 8 frame hives available, if weight is a problem for you consider the 8-frame hive body in lieu of the 10 frame hive)

ü 1 queen excluder

ü 1 inner cover

ü 1 outer cover (with metal top)

ü 1 entrance reducer

ü 1 feeder (top feeders are more versatile)

ü 2 shallow supers (10 frames each or 8 frames each) with beeswax foundation)

It is possible to purchase used hive components; however, UNLESS the equipment has been inspected and approved by the state Apiary Inspection Service to eliminate the possibility of disease transmission used equipment is not recommended for the bee-ginner.

As you become adept in beekeeping, and have a flair for carpentry, you may want to build your own beekeeping equipment from scratch.

Non-hive items required for the beekeeper:

ü 1 bee brush

ü 1 hive tool

ü 1 frame grip (optional, but helpful)

ü 1 bee smoker with smoker fuel

ü 1 pair bee gloves

ü 1 bee veil (or overalls with veil included)

 Note: This does not include equipment you will require for honey extraction or beeswax processing. It is possible to mitigate extraction costs, if you can share equipment through membership in a local beekeepers association or through another beekeeper. If not you will need to purchase harvesting equipment.

Deciding Where to Locate Your Hives

Do not forget to check on any local or state regulations regarding keeping bees in your selected location. Otherwise, you may find yourself on the nasty end of a legal battle.

 For bees to survive, much less make honey, they need pollen, nectar, and water. If there is not sufficient flora in variety, number, and different bloom periods in the area surrounding their hive (generally not more than a 2 mile radius), it will be difficult for your bees to survive much less make extra honey for the beekeeper.

Bees must have easy access to water. They use a lot of water for drinking, curing honey, and for cooling the hive during hot weather. The closer they are to a source of water, the less time they will spend transporting water rather than nectar and pollen.

Remember, no food, no water – no honey – NO bees!

For more information, read “Locating and Setting Your Hive in Place” in an upcoming blog.

Acquiring Your Bees

There are a number of methods to acquire bees for startup and I have listed them in order as to ease of startup for the bee-ginner:

ü Purchase an entire colony from a local beekeeper ( contains a queen, drones, workers, frames of honeycomb with brood, and some amount of honey stores for bees)

ü Purchase a “Nuc” also known as a hive nucleus (contains a queen, and several frames of foundation and accompanying worker bees – usually 3 to 5 frames)

ü Purchase a package of honey bees from a bee breeder (contains a queen and 3 lbs of worker bees only)

ü Catch your own swarm of honey bees or acquire one through a local beekeeper (contains a queen and some amount of worker bees)

While swarms are an option, keep in mind swarms are unknown entities – especially in areas known to be “Africanized”. Swarms may carry diseases and/or pests that the bee-ginner may have difficulty dealing with effectively. It is wiser to acquire your bees from a breeder; the breeder should guarantee the health and quality of the bees you purchase. Save catching and managing “feral bee swarms” for after you have gained some beekeeping experience. 

Startup Time

The best time of year to begin new colonies (hives) is in the spring – April or May. If you plan to order bees from a commercial breeder, plan to do so in the fall of the year for startup the following spring to ensure you can get the bees. Otherwise, you run the risk of not being able to find available packages, nucs or colonies for sale when you need them.

Purchasing bees later than June adds the risk of your hives not having time to build up sufficiently to survive the winter – a loss for both you and the bees!

Identify the Costs

With this basic understanding, proceed to the Internet and research the costs involved, so you can prepare a budget for your initial startup. Startup costs can range from $600.00 to $1,000.00 for one to two hives depending on the quality of equipment and bees purchased. This does not count harvesting equipment.

What to Expect

For the first year, do not expect a return on your investment. It takes time for a colony to build in size and strength. Unless, you purchase an entire colony, year one is for colony “buildup” – honeycomb and brood.

Not all beekeeping ventures are successful in year one – do not be hesitant to try again if things do not go well in the first year. Every day in beekeeping provides learning opportunities.

Join a Beekeeping Association

No matter how many books you read on a subject, there is no substitute for “hands-on” experience. Once you have done your research, the next step is to join a good beekeeping association, so you will have access to on-going education, mentoring and networking with experienced beekeepers – all worth their weight in honey!

Joining an association may also provide the opportunity for you to work with an experienced beekeeper on his/her hives before you make the final decision to become a beekeeper yourself.

12 Things to Consider Before Moving to Rural America

People from all walks of life and all ages are contemplating selling their homes in the inner-city or suburbs, packing up, and moving to rural America. This article is meant to acquaint individuals with some of the various life-style changes and challenges that may be encountered as a result of this decision, not to discourage them. An informed decision is a good decision!

Depending on where you choose to re-locate to, some or all of the following may apply, and to a lesser or greater degree -

1. Access to health and emergency services – serious consideration should be given to the level of access required for health and emergency services if you suffer from on-going health problems. Not all towns have hospitals, doctors, dentists or other health care professionals locally available. Ambulance service may be limited or non-existent. Fire departments may be staffed by volunteers activated on an emergency-by-emergency basis, while law enforcement services may consist of one deputy that is “on-call” 24 by 7 for a wide area of the county. Be prepared for the extra time required for health, fire, and law enforcement personnel to respond to calls for service under these circumstances.
2. Rural Roads – county road surfaces may be asphalt, but many are sand, clay, gravel, or a combination of these materials; some bridges are made of wood – railings, may or may not be standard. Responsibility for the maintenance of rural county roads and bridges falls to the County Commissioner much as it does in the city; however, in rural America do not be surprised to pass the Commissioner on the roadways operating the road grader or other equipment as part of his maintenance duties – literally. Keeping vehicles dust-free and shiny on unpaved roads is impossible. The roads are frequently too narrow for two vehicles to pass without one “giving way”. It is normal to encounter slow-moving vehicles, both on rural roads and sometimes on the state highways, ranging from tractors pulling large farm equipment to logging trucks loaded with fresh-cut timber. It is not uncommon for a rancher or farmer to move their livestock from one pasture to another across or down a roadway. Rural roads do not have lights, curbs, gutters, or road stripes. Rural roads at night give “dark” a new meaning!
3. Access to shopping, services, and entertainment – you will not find an abundance of retail shopping outlets in the small towns of rural America. The major shopping destination may consist of the local WalMart, assuming the town is populated enough to rate one, and a few small businesses. Service companies, such as plumbers, electricians, mechanic shops, restaurants, gas stations, and other services are often in short supply, if not non-existent. Oftentimes social events are connected to the local churches and schools. In some areas you will find a civic center and/or an “arena” (covered or uncovered) which serves as the gathering place for events such as annual rodeos, county fairs, equine events, and if applicable, Chamber of Commerce sponsored events. Rarely will there by a golf course, theater, bowling alley, skating rink, or other public entertainment facilities available locally. Do not be surprised to encounter a “dry county” now and then – no beer, wine or liquor will be legally sold within the county. The majority of rural businesses are family-operated; therefore, their hours and days of operation may be drastically different from businesses in the cities.
4. Weather impacts – storms may disrupt electrical services. Rural areas served by paved or unpaved county roads may become temporarily impassible by snow drifts, flooding, downed trees, or mud and rock slides. This is not restricted to rural America, but due to varied terrain and limited rural resources may require an extended time period to correct compared to larger cities.
5. Utilities – normal services enjoyed in the city, such as electricity, gas, water, sewer, telephone and Internet service, may not be readily available and in some instances costly to acquire. The most common water and sewer systems are on-sight water wells and septic tanks. Natural gas lines are uncommon in rural areas; instead heating oil or gas (propane or LP, if available) is stored in tanks located on sight and filled as needed by a service company. Depending on location, the only heating source available may be in the form of a wood-burning stove or fireplace. Television, telephones and Internet access may require satellite services. Cell phone service can be “spotty” or totally unavailable in some areas. Trash pickup and/or recycling may not be available.
6. Agriculture – while some rural areas may be primarily recreational, most are based on agriculture; farming and ranching are a way of life and livelihood for local residents. As a result you may encounter all the varied aspects of this industry. Depending on the type of agriculture and the management-style of the owners, agriculture can be noisy, dusty and smelly. There are such things as “right to farm” laws that protect agricultural operations from complainants that “choose” to reside next door, so if you choose to live there, understand you may have little legal recourse if things are not to your liking. So, choose wisely!
7. Neighbors – most people in rural America are warm, friendly individuals and families; they both welcome you to the community and are willing to lend a helping hand when necessary, but people are people – this does not change just because you move to rural America. So, do not be surprised to find that everyone does not welcome newcomers with open arms initially. The old saying “good fences make for good neighbors” is alive and well in rural America. Fences are meant to keep your livestock in and the neighbors’ livestock out; there is nothing that will create animosity between neighbors faster than a commercial bull getting through a sloppily maintained fence and breeding the neighbors’ prized, registered heifers.
8. Crime – rural America is not exempt from crime; however, because there are fewer people in rural areas you may encounter fewer instances of crime and some types of aggravated crimes may be almost non-existent. You may encounter crimes that you would not in the city, such as cattle and horse rustling – yes, these crimes still exist. Burglary and theft can be wide spread, particularly dealing with high value agricultural equipment, such as trailers, heavy duty trucks, tractors, baling equipment, special tools, etc. Illegal drugs, while not as prevalent as in the city, can be found in rural areas.   
9. Property – usage zoning, easements, water and mineral rights, title restrictions (that run with the sale of property), leases (many of these are agriculture or energy related), and flood zones all can impact rural property. In general, rural properties are not bound by restrictions such as those connected with homeowner’s associations in or near the cities.
10. Mother Nature – aside from weather related issues, Mother Nature can present challenges and encounters rarely experienced in the city – from wild animals, including predators of all shapes and sizes, to varying terrain. Mother Nature can be glorious in all its forms - as well as dangerous to humans, livestock, and pets. If you let “Fluffy”, the 5 pound family pet, outside in rural America with no fences or supervision, especially after sunset, chances are Fluffy will never be seen again. Vigilance – and common sense - in rural America are a must!
11. Mail service and other deliveries – the U. S. Post Service (USPS) does a very good job of delivering mail in rural America; but severe weather combined with unpaved rural roads may cause minimal delays occasionally. Deliveries of equipment, building materials, furniture, etc. requiring large vehicles may be negatively impacted by road quality, low hanging trees, sharp turns, and steep grades. Metal mailboxes and those enclosed by decorative brick sitting alongside the roadway may fall victim to mischief involving the local teenagers and their baseball bats, just as they do in the city.
12. Separation from family and life-long friends – maintaining contact with family and friends thanks to technology is not the challenge it has been in the past. However, the level and manner in which you maintained this contact while living in or near the city may not be possible when living in rural America.

Life in rural America is all in what you make it. The long term benefits - of which there are many - of living in rural America will by far surpass the life-style changes and challenges of adapting to your new home.