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Any bee keepers out there?

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Thought about starting a beehive for Honey. Not sure what it entails but still interested. Looking for honeybox plans now. Funny though, I really don't like bee's but Honey bee's are a lot friendlier than wasps right?

I can hear my wife now "Like you need another project!"
 
The boxes are known as supers, they are designed to stack, you slide the frames in vertically in slots, if you attend to them yearly the frames will usually slide back out easily so to remove the honey, Honey lasts forever, and has been discovered still viable after being stored in the the Pyramids for thousands of years.The best stuff I've produced was from hives that had been left unattended for many years and had aquired a deep dark cast, my baking friends loved it. The frames had all grown together so I had to slowly melt them apart in a double boiler arrangement. The bees will usually leave you alone. In my neck of the woods they tend to get a little uptight in November since they are trying real hard to get ready for winter and so are easily agitated at that time of year. The Varoa mite is a growing problem. It is a mite that lodges in their trachea causing trouble. Hive dieback is also increasing, and those in the know are not yet sure of the cause of this problem. Pesticides, genetically adjusted crops, and microwave radiation from cell phone towers have been looked at, but so far, to my knowledge, there has been no general consensus on the issue. Go for it! You should find it an enjoyable diversion, and may find yourself helping to stave off the possible loss of this species in North America. -- elrey
 
I've had a bee-tree in the side yard for 20+ years. It's a hollow full grown Western Red Cedar. Has a hole about 10' up and they come and go almost all the time. I don't get any honey, but they do no harm and we pretty much ignore each other. Unlike yellow jackets that try to live in the eve/overhang of the house. Which is a constant state of conflict because they chew on the house. It's the wasps that mess up any outdoor dining.

The bees got started about three years after I poisoned a carpenter ant colony that would have killed the tree. After the malathion dissipated the bees took over the space in the tree. I think they actually keep the ants from getting back in there.

Every year they produce new queens and a swarm. It's really facinating to watch.

No plans to go "ape" on them.
 
aeronca65t said:
There's a forum for everything:
grin.gif
Click to expand...

Dude, ther is a forum for hot rod flashlights.....I aint kiddin'!

Must be some pretty seriously folks there too. How on earth can you make light go faster?!?!?!?! :hammer:
 
kellysguy said:
aeronca65t said:
There's a forum for everything:
grin.gif
Click to expand...

Dude, ther is a forum for hot rod flashlights.....I aint kiddin'!

Must be some pretty seriously folks there too. How on earth can you make light go faster?!?!?!?! :hammer:
Click to expand...

I was just forwarded a link to a V8 Snowblower. People have lots of time on their hands these days.

Elrey and aew thanks for the feedback. Jeani and I have been looking online at different sites to see how e can get started.
 
A friend of mine works for a organic/health food distributor and gives me samples of stuff all the time. Some of it I don't even try. She got a bunch of samples of <span style="font-weight: bold">comb honey</span> from a supplier somewhere down south and I tried it. Immediately addicted to it and ordered a case at her cost of over $140 for a dozen 6 x 6 bricks. It was gone in about two weeks. I had to quit cold turkey. Man that stuff is great. You eat the comb along with the honey. You can chew it or just swallow it. I don't care if it's good for you or whatever, I want more and the stuff in jars is mostly just c--p. Now I know why the bears don't mind getting stung.
 
I thought about doing it. Supposedly state of La will give you 5#'s of bees if you buy the set up.
 
I think your on the wrong forum for that. If you want to know about "B's" . Try the MG forum.
 
No, not all were "B's" but that's the one he wants to know about.
grin.gif
 
Now I'm rumbly in my tumbly....

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I can hear my wife now "Like you need another project!" [/quote]

The wife and I spent yesterday and today in Asheville at "bee school". We tried them 16 years ago, but were too busy to take care of them. We're going to do them again - right this time.
Have a couple calves in the pasture and going to trade for three more, a twelve "hole" rabbitry, so now will truly be living in the land of milk and honey here in the mountains...

https://wncbees.org/
 
I miss my Pooh bear. :frown:
 
Up front costs aren't inconsequential. You're going to be spending several hundred dollars on hive bodies, supers, frames, a smoker, bee suit, gloves, hive tool, etc. And that's just for beekeeping, not for honey gathering.

If you can get nuces local, that's far better for a novice than starting with package bees. And if you're lucky, someone in the local club will get you started with an entire hive or two.

I'd suggest starting with at least two hives, not simply one. You're going to make mistakes, you're going to loose bee colonies (especially these days, with the various difficulties), and having at least two to compare lets you better see when one is not doing well.

FEED YOUR BEES. New hives really need to be fed to build up comb and stores. Any colony should be fed after the honey gather, and fed well right up to the end.

Beekeeping can be a good way to make some money. But it is not foolproof. It is easy to loose colonies and not make money with bees. That said, it's fun and interesting.
 
One of my clients is a bee keeper. He builds his own boxes, too.

Fascinating.

And frustrating.

Reminds me of "The Shadow Proclamation"... :jester:
 
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