Beekeeping...for those interested!

[Old Sew'n'Sew]

I'll look in some of the antique shops up here and try to find a bee smoker for you.

I got a pretty good old quilt frame here and I'm putting a quilt in it today the cogs and pins in it are carved from wood, what craftsmanship. Whoops!Sorry I'm OT. Aunt B. is coming to see me and I want to have a little quilting bee with her and your Bat.. Is that better?

There are several places I can look.

I went to yard sale today and saw a bunch of farriers tools real cheap. But I don't have a horse and have no use for them. I'm just sayin' that around here it is possible to find something like a bee smoker. I'll take a look.

 

[Beekissed]

Thanks, sis!!! We are going to improvise with a flour sifter for now.....

 

[2dream]

Sorry I have not read this whole thread and lately have not had time to keep up.

So if this question has already been ask forgive me.

Can you have bee hives and not work them? I originally planned to attend a the local beekeeping org meetings and join after I had more knowledge. Now I don't have the time and do not see it happening anytime soon. So I am just wondering if I get a couple of hives and leave them to do what bees do what would happen?

 

[Rebecka]

2dream, I would guess with no monitoring or care at all, they will likely get mites or swarm or both. There is a fair bit of expense getting started. You could spend the rest of this year educating yourself. There are forums, books and bee clubs and then plan on getting your bees next spring.

Beekissed, save your flour sifter for powered sugaring your bees

 

[Farmfresh]

Really, as I understand it, you only really NEED to work your bees three or four times a year. As long as they have plenty of space and plenty of food they will be fine mostly. If they run out of room they will swarm, however and you could lose the whole hive.

Keep in mind I am still in the learning stage as well.

 

[bibliophile birds]

Really, as I understand it, you only really NEED to work your bees three or four times a year. As long as they have plenty of space and plenty of food they will be fine mostly. If they run out of room they will swarm, however and you could lose the whole hive.

yeah, that's fairly true- you can do it, but you stand a pretty good chance of loosing your investment.

i check mine at least once a month, but i'm aiming towards as much honey as i can get. i have to monitor them so i know when to put the next super on for them to fill up with gold!

i do all my health checking while i'm there. i smash all the d*mn Varroas i can get my hands on and make sure the queens are looking good and doing their thing. i'm also watching for signs of swarming so that i can split the hive before they have a chance- that way i don't loose them!

with any new hives (especially in winter) they get checked A LOT more frequently in case they need feeding.

2dream: to really answer your question, working all 12 of my hives takes about 2 hrs to do a really good job. that's 2 hrs/month basically. so, it's not a particularly time intensive hobby. there are things that will be more time/labor intensive, like robbing them for honey, but those things don't happen that often.

there are plenty of ways to educate yourself about beekeeping online or through books. you don't need to join a beekeeping org to be a fantastic beek, you just need to be interested and passionate.

if you are just wanting bees for pollination and don't want to fool with them, i'd go with another type of bee that doesn't cost as much to get set up (what was it everyone was talking about making houses for not long ago?).

if you are really set on bees but just don't have the time right now, see if you can arrange for one of the local beeks to put a hive on your property. you might be able to work something out where he maintains the hive, teaching you along the way, and you foot the bills. that way it's YOUR hive to keep once your ready to take over, but you don't have to take it on by yourself right away.

good luck!

 

[Farmfresh]

I am really glad we have so many people on here that really know their stuff. I learn everyday.

 

[2dream]

I am really glad we have so many people on here that really know their stuff. I learn everyday.

Amen to that.

bibliophile - it was Orchard bees that everyone was talking about. And I do intend to order some for next year.

I guess I was just thinking that bees have survived in the wild for a long time and if I set up a home made top bar hive out of recycled material my only expense would really be finding the bees and left to their own devices they would tend themselves in a protected location on my property. I thought that when they swarmed it was just (approximately) half the hive and the rest stayed behind.

Oh well....so much for my thinking. I will find some time to check my area for a local beekeeper who might be willing to set up some hives on my property.

 

[bibliophile birds]

I thought that when they swarmed it was just (approximately) half the hive and the rest stayed behind.

it really depends on the reason they swarm. your typical swarm is for reproduction purposed- reproduction of a colony, not of individuals. this is usually called a prime swarm, where the old queen slims down and leaves the hive, with most of the workers (~60%). this leaves the new "virgin queen" behind with the rest of the workers to continue on the hive. this relieves overcrowding in the hive and increases the colonies' ability to survive.

problems can come from:

- ineffectual virgin queens
- not enough worker bees left in the colony
- afterswarms: where the virgin queen also leaves the colony with a large number of workers

that last one is where you'll end up with no bees. afterswarms will usually happen because the old hive has no more room for brood or honey stores, because the hive is infested with pests (Varraos are your enemy), or because another virgin queen has been hatched (which is not the work of a healthy, happy hive)- all things that are most likely to occur in untended hives.

it's not that it can't be done. i'm sure it can. but you have to weigh the risks. the loss of investment would be the deciding factor for me.

 

[2dream]

Ahhhh.....now I understand. Thanks for all the info. I am still researching and if I can keep the investment to only the bees I may give it a shot. Heck, who knows by the time I need to harvest honey I may have more time and knowledge.