About Bees – All about bees and bees products

Visiting Hours

Ideally, open your hive on a nice sunny day. Between 10 a.m. and 5 p.m. is best. Under those conditions, thousands of busy worker bees are out in the field. Avoid cold, windy, or rainy weather, because that’s when the entire colony is at home. With everyone in the hive, you’ll probably find too many bees to deal with. Particularly when you are just starting. In addition, the bees tend to be crankier when they can’t get out of the house! You know how

Setting an Inspection Schedule

For the new beekeeper, once a week isn’t too often to visit the bees. Use these frequent opportunities to find out more about the bees and their life cycles. Your first season is a time of discovery. You’ll begin recognizing what’s normal and what’s not. You’ll also become increasingly comfortable with manipulating the frames and working with the bees. So much so that it soon becomes second nature, and a quick peek at the entrance or under the lid is all that’s needed to assure you that all is well. Beekeeping is as much an art as it is a science. Practice makes perfect.

Once you begin getting the hang of it, you needn’t conduct more than six to eight thorough inspections a year: Three or four visits in the early spring, one or two during the summer, and a couple of inspections at the end of the season are all that are necessary. It’s better not to disturb your bees too often.

Every day that you smoke the bees, open their hive, and pull it apart sets their productivity back a bit. It takes a day or two for life in the colony to return to normal. So if harvesting lots of honey is your objective, limit your inspectionsto once every few weeks.

This schedule doesn’t apply to your first year — when you need to gain greater experience by visiting the hive often.

From : “Beekeeping For Dummies” By Howland Blackiston.

This is the moment you, as a new beekeeper, have been waiting for — that exhilarating experience when you take your first peek into the hive. You likely have a touch of fear, tempered by a sweeping wave of curiosity. Put those fears aside. You’ll soon discover visiting with your bees is an intoxicating experience that you eagerly look forward to. What you’re about to see is simply fascinating. It’s also one of the more tranquil and calming experiences that you can imagine: The warmth of the sun; the sweet smell of pollen, wax, and honey; the soothing hum of the hive. You’re at one with nature. Your new friendship with your bees will reward you for many years to come. The habits you develop in the beginning are likely to stick with you. So developing good habits early on is important. By getting familiar with the safe and proper way to inspect your hive and following suggested steps religiously in the beginning, you’ll minimize any risks of injuring or antagonizing your bees. The techniques become second nature in no time. Down the road, you may find variations on the suggested methods that suit you better. Or helpful hints from other experienced beekeepers. That’s okay. For now, just relax, move calmly, use good judgment, and enjoy the miracle of beekeeping.

From : “Beekeeping For Dummies” By Howland Blackiston.

Starting your adventure with two hives of bees offers certain advantages. Having two gives you a basis for comparison. It enables you to borrow frames from a stronger colony to supplement a weaker colony. In some ways two hives double the fun. You’ll have more bees to pollinate your garden and more opportunities to witness what goes on within a colony. And, of course, you’ll double your honey harvest! You can also double the rate of your learning curve. I suggest, however, that you begin with no more han two hives during your first year. More than two can be too much for the beginner to handle. Too many bees can be too time consuming and present too many new problems to digest before you really know the subtleties of  beekeepig.

When you’re ordering packaged bees, you want to time your order so that you receive your bees as early in the spring as the weather allows. Doing so gives your colony time to build its numbers for the summer “honey flow” and means your bees are available for early pollination. Suppliers usually start shipping packaged bees early in April and continue through the end of May. After that, the weather simply is too hot for shipping packaged bees  . Local bee suppliers have nucs available in a similar time frame. Don’t wait until springtime to order your bees.  

From : “Beekeeping For Dummies” By Howland Blackiston.

Buying a “nuc” colony

Another good option for the new beekeeper: Find a local beekeeper who can sell you a nucleus (nuc) colony of bees. A nuc consists of four to five frames of brood and bees, plus an actively laying queen. All you do is transfer the  frames (bees and all) from the nuc box into your own hive. The box usually goes back to the supplier. But finding someone who sells nucs isn’t necessarily so easy, because few beekeepers have nucs for sale. After all, raising volumes of nucs for sale is a whole lot of work with little reward. But if you can find a local source, it’s far less stressful for the bees (they don’t have to go through the mail system). You can also be reasonably sure that the bees will do well in your geographic area. After all, it’s already the place they call home! An added plus is that having a local supplier gives you a convenient place to go when you have beekeeping questions (your own neighborhood bee mentor). You will find a listing of all the bee clubs and associations in your area. A nuc or nucleus consists of a small wooden or cardboard hive  with three to five frames of brood and bees, plus a young queen. Look for a reputable dealer with a good track record for providing healthy bees (free of disease).

From : “Beekeeping For Dummies” By Howland Blackiston.

Bee clothing

New beekeepers should wear a long-sleeved shirt when visiting the hive. Light colors are best — bees don’t like dark colors. Wear long pants and slipon boots. Tuck your pant legs into the boots. Alternatively, use Velcro or elastic strips (even rubber bands) to secure your pant legs closed. You don’t want a curious bee exploring up your leg!

Gloves

New beekeepers like the idea of using gloves (, but I urge you not to use them for installing your bees or for routine inspections. You don’t really need them at those times, especially with a new colony or early in the season. Gloves only make you clumsier. They inhibit your sense of touch, which can result in your inadvertently injuring bees. That’s counterproductive and only makes them more defensive when they see you coming. The only times that you need to use gloves are

-  Late in the season (when your colony is at its strongest)

-  During honey harvest season (when your bees are protective of their honey)

-  When moving hive bodies (when you have a great deal of heavy work to do in a short period of time)

Other times leave the gloves at home. If you must, you can use heavy gardening gloves, or special beekeeping gloves with long sleeves (available from beekeeping supply vendors).

From :“Beekeeping For Dummies” By Howland Blackiston.

Veils

Don’t ever visit your hive without wearing a veil. Although your new colony of bees is likely to be super-gentle (especially during the first few weeks of the season), it defies common sense to put yourself at risk. As the colony grows and matures, you will be working with and among upwards of 60,000 bees.

It’s not that the bees are aggressive (they’re not), but they are super-curious. They love to explore dark holes (like your ear canal and nostrils). Don’t tempt  fate — wear a veil.

Veils come in many different models  and price ranges. Some are simple veils that slip over your head; others are integral to a pullover blouse or even a full jumpsuit. Pick the style that appeals most to you. If your colony tends to be more aggressive, more protection is advised. But remember, the more that you wear, the hotter you’ll be during summer inspections. Keep an extra veil or two on hand for visitors who want to watch while you inspect your bees.

Protective Clothing comes in various styles, from minimal to full coverage. This Beekeeper uses a veil-andblouse combination, leather gloves, and high boots to keep him bee-tight.

From :“Beekeeping For Dummies” By Howland Blackiston.

Smoker

The smoker is the most essential piece of equipment for anyone wanting to get involved with bees. There are many different types. Each person may choose according to both what they prefer and the fuel they have available.

However, the most popular smokers are the Layens and the Bingham. The Layens smoker has the advantage of giving a gentle steady flow of smoke, and of burning Unattended for a quarter of an hour. It works by clockwork. This smoker also has its disadvantages. Its fire-box is not big enough so it has to be fed often. It will not give a strong smoke flow when it may be required. Furthermore, its clockwork makes a noise that does not please the bees of the colony being  opened, still less those in the next colony. Finally, the clockwork is rather fragile which makes the Layens smoker very expensive. In my opinion, the Bingham smoker is the most practical, above all the small model. It fits well in the hand. It gives a gentle flow of smoke when required, and a dense and abundant one. When not in use and stood with its nozzle in the air, it does not, like the Layens, annoy the bees, and it only uses up a small amount of fuel without, however, going out. In this smoker use rolls of corrugated paper or cheap cloth (from wrappings, old sacks). These rolls must have a diameter a little less than that of the smoker, so they can be inserted easily. Their length should be two-thirds of the length of the inside of the smoker, so a new one can be inserted when the remainder of the preceding one is still there. In this way, it is lit once, there is no lack of smoke and the smoke never contains sparks. From time to time, before inserting a new roll, the old one is removed from the smoker and the cinders that have accumulated at the bottom are tipped out. The partly burnt roll is reinserted and supplemented with a new one.In dry weather the rolls burn too quickly. They can be moistened a little. They then burn more slowly and give more smoke. Of course, one must put the dry part in first. When the top-bar cover-cloth impregnated with propolis is renewed, it is a good idea to put apiece of it in the smoker roll. One can also put in small pieces of propolis.

Hive tool

The versatility of the simple hive tool is impressive. Don’t visit your hives without it! Use it to scrape wax and propolis off woodenware. Use it to loosen hive parts, open the hive, and manipulate frames. You can choose from various models.

From:”L’Apiculture Pour Tous” by Patricia and David Heaf

Question the advice of others

Of course, beekeepers, whether writing or speaking, recommend the hive that they have chosen, or the one that they have invented, as they believe that they have perfected it. But paternal love is blind. Beekeepers do not see the defects of their hives. They mislead you without realising it. One passion drives humanity, namely vanity. Let us call it self love. But self-love prevents the beekeeper admitting that he is mistaken in his choice of hive, unless he happens to discover it himself. He will say that it gives excellent results. And by force of repeating this, perhaps he will end up convincing himself. And without thinking he is deceiving you, he will promise you amazing harvests. In fact you will be deceived. It is also necessary to recognise that sometimes personal interest guides certain beekeepers. They do not want the competition to increase, so they recommend what they disdain. Hive manufacturers, on the other hand, will be motivated to recommend the hive that they mass produce. It gives them more profits. It is not always the best. It is thus better not to listen to anyone. It is just as well that there is an infallible means of recognising the best hive. Base yourself on apicultural or scientific principles which everyone accepts and that no one will argue with.

From:”L’Apiculture Pour Tous” by Patricia and David Heaf

The second difficulty for the novice beekeeper is choosing a hive, i.e. knowing how he is going to house his bees. There are many different systems of hive and all have their enthusiasts and opponents. This difficulty can be overcome. And here is how.

Do not try to experiment

It is not unusual to hear the novice deciding as follows: ‘I will try out two or three of the most fashionable systems, study them, and see which is best’. But life is short, especially active life. Unless you are especially privileged, you will not be able to reach a definite conclusion.

To test different hives, they need to be studied in the same apiary, under the same management, with a minimum of between ten and twelve hives in each system, over a period of ten years. Put another way, it is necessary that these hives be in an identical situation and that they will give a true average.

But after these ten years they may observe that a particular system is perfect in winter, for example, and another is better in summer. They will thus devise a single hive system that combines all the advantages of the two systems studied previously. And they will study this new hive system for another ten years. After this second study they may realise that they have a hive that is perfect for the bees, answering all their needs, but poor for the beekeeper because it needs far too much attention. Would they then try a new ten-year experiment? Could they?

As amateurs do such experiments, they get great satisfaction. Such experiments have provided even myself with many enjoyable hours. Those who wish to produce, or have to, would do well to avoid them.

From:”L’Apiculture Pour Tous” by Patricia and David Heaf

Despite my affirmations on the gentleness of  bees, I accept that certain people are sometimes insurmountably apprehensive when it comes to approaching bees with their face uncovered. This is why, with my method, I provide for using a veil, which gives the beekeeper the assurance that they cannot be stung on the face. Furthermore, my method reduces or eliminates the risk of stings. Driving the bees from one hive to another is done at some distance from the apiary. During this operation one cannot therefore be approached by bees from neighbouring hives or foragers of the hive being transferred. No comb is removed from the hive with the bees present. The beekeeper therefore cannot squash or irritate the bees. During the routine tasks of the year the hive is opened once, at the harvest. There is therefore no frequent chilling of the brood chamber, i.e. no cause for irritating the bees. You may therefore carry out beekeeping without danger of being stung. I do not hesitate to say that when a beekeeper is stung by his bees he should always ask what mistake he has made.

From:”L’Apiculture Pour Tous” by Patricia and David Heaf