There’s an old
saying in educational circles that goes: "Tell me and I may
remember. Show me and I’ll probably remember. Make me do it and I’ll
remember for always." Books help, videos help, listening to speakers helps,
but actually doing the work is the best way there is to learn.
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If
winter winds blow and snow piles up where you are, be sure to
locate your colonies near a windbreak to stop drifting snow and
harsh winds. Even covering the colonies with a layer of roofing
paper or beehive wrap specially made for this will help keep
your bees better through winter. |
That experience alone usually separates future beekeepers
from those not destined to be beekeepers, so if you’re still in the game
the next step is to get a few good books at the library or bookstore and
find a local beekeeping association so you can meet more local beekeepers,
sign up for any beekeeping classes they sponsor, and attend meetings to
learn even more.
Good introductory books include: The BackYard Beekeeper,
Beekeeping For Dummies, and
Starting Right With Bees. If you want continuing up-to-date
information there are two beekeeping magazines: Bee Culture,
published by the A.I. Root Company (www.BeeCulture.com),
which focuses on beginning and sideline beekeeping topics; and the
American Bee Journal (www.dadant.com),
which tends towards more advanced topics. Both offer free sample copies if
you contact them.
Home Sweet Home
Once you’ve started the process you’ll find out that the
first thing you need to do is to decide where the bees are going to live.
Specifically, where will the hives sit? Whether on your property or
someone else’s, there are some fundamentals you should consider relative
to location – exposure to the elements, prevailing wind, shade, small
predators like skunks, raccoons and even toads, and large predators like
bear, vandals of a teenage nature, or nuisance animals like cattle.
If you live in tropical, or nearly so, locations, a bit of
afternoon shade can be advantageous for both you and the bees. But
if you are further north, no shade at all is the best place to be.
Having the colony facing south or south east is ideal, but there are other
considerations.
Be a good neighbor. If you are in the country... that
is, the nearest neighbor is at least a couple hundred yards from you, then
colony location becomes much easier... it only has to meet your
specifications. However, if you have neighbors close enough to shout
at, you really need to practice good neighbor beekeeping. That means
keeping bees out of their pet water dishes, swimming pool, or bird bath.
You should be aware of when you work bees, so when your neighbors
are outside you aren’t working your bees. And absolutely, you need
to make sure that it’s legal to keep bees where you are. Sometimes
it’s not.
In all cases with bee hives, out of sight, out of mind is a
good rule to follow. It just makes things easier, so consider
putting bees behind fences, behind buildings, using living screens like
evergreens or sunflowers, or some other device to keep your hives out of
sight if neighbors are close.
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This is what sealed brood looks like. The wax
covering the honey bee larvae inside will be dark and somewhat
raised. The larvae inside will soon emerge as adult bees. |
Once you’ve made provisions for water for your bees and
arranged it so flight paths are high overhead because of fences and
screens, plan on how your bees will sit where you want them to sit.
Up off the ground is good, to keep the bottom off damp ground and to keep
skunks, toads, ants and other nasties at bay. Too, a beehive that
sits up 18 inches or so off the ground (the recommended height) is easier
to work because you won’t be putting heavy boxes full of honey all the way
down and having to lift them all the way back up when you’re done.
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Though there are several types of hives on
this hive stand, notice that there is room between them to place heavy
boxes when working each hive, and that the stand is about 18” high to
keep skunks, ant and such at bay. Also, you won’t have to place
heavy boxes all the way down to the ground, and then pick they up
again when working any of these colonies. Material inside the
hive that falls down, will fall completely out, keeping the floor
inside clean, and being out from the evergreen wind block behind these
hives, makes it easy to stand behind them when working the bees.
Stand in front and you block the entrance, and generally irritate the
bees. Off the ground makes it easier to mow or clean around too…
lots of advantages to getting your bees up and off the ground. |
