Bees are small insects that collect nectar from the flowers and deposit them in the honeycombs. By this, they also help the plants in their pollination. But other than natural honeycombs, many people keep bees in artificial combs to collect honey and wax. Here is how you can keep bees.

Keeping Bees for Beginners

Collecting natural honey from natural beehives is not very easy and is very rare to get. You can’t get a beehive here and there instead of the forests. So Apiculture is a cheap alternative from which you can collect honey commercially and it will be 100% natural. For the beginners here we are providing some tricks.

  • Study well about the bees at first. You can gain knowledge about their life and habits from different kinds of books available in the market. The right nurturing of the bees can make you a master of the beehives and you can earn lots of money from it.
  • It is also important to know how the bees make honey. Before ordering the supplies, you need to know about the work process of the bees. You should provide enough time to form the honey from the nectars.

How Local Beekeeping Agency can Help You?

A local beekeeping agency can help you in keeping the bees successfully. Many a time they also help you to find out the Queen of the hive and give you the required suggestions.

  • Get enough knowledge to provide the perfect artificial hive to your bees. If the hive is perfect, then the bees will produce the finest honey for you.
  • Now the question is when to start beekeeping? Winter is the best time to collect honey from the beehives. So accordingly you need to set up your time to set up the artificial hive, lay the baby bees, and let them increase in number. After they get mature, they will bring you lots of honey.
  • Once you have made the setup on a small scale, you can now think of making it large. You can order package bees or a ‘Nuc Colony’ where you will get an established set of bee society.

Where to Buy Bees?

Buying bees is the easiest way to make your beehive if you are a beginner. You can get bees in two ways. The first is the Package Bees and the second is the Nucleus Hive.

  • The package bees are available to the local beekeepers or beekeeping associations. The package is composed of a queen bee, some drones, and some workers. You will get a feeder filled with sugar syrup to feed these bees first up. You can call the supplier to install the artificial hive or you can take necessary instructions from them.
  • In the case of the nucleus, hives are half of the size of a colony. The size mostly used is the five frame Nuc which comprises five frames of combs, a Queen bee, and some broods. It will provide you a jumpstart to your colony growth.

How Easy is it to Keep Bees?

Before you start keeping bees in your backyard, you need to arrange for artificial beehives. In these hives, the bees will get their residence and will breed. You can maintain the colony in the artificial hive and can harvest honey. So it is not very hard to keep bees if you stay a little cautious.

How Much does it Cost to Setup a Beehive?

An artificial beehive doesn’t cost that much. A new hive without bees cost you around $300 and if you take bees with it, it will cost you some $ 200 more. If you are looking to start a bee farm, every bottom board costs nearly $12 to $ 14 and the lids for every hive costs something around $17.

Is it Safe to Keep Bees in Your Backyard?

Yes, it is absolutely safe. You can keep them safe from pests and beers with proper precautions.

How Much Space do You Need to Keep Bees?

The top bar hives generally measure 40”x20” of measurement. So accordingly you need to arrange for space. These hives will never expand if you don’t want to. So you don’t need to keep any buffer space for it.

Tips

  • Apiculture is a cheaper alternative to collect honey commercially and it will be 100% natural.
  • You can get bees in two ways, the Package Bees and the Nucleus Hive.
  • An artificial beehive will cost you some $500.

How do I start keeping bees?

8 Steps to Getting Started with Your Own Hive
  1. First, educate yourself.
  2. Gather your hive and equipment.
  3. Order your bees.
  4. Set up your hive.
  5. Introduce the bees to their hive.
  6. Put the top back on the hive, and pray for the best.
  7. Feed the bees.
  8. Check on your bees periodically.

How much does it cost to keep bees?

The initial cost of beekeeping can be intimidating to new beekeepers. You will need to invest in supplies such as a hive, proper protective clothing, a smoker, and hive tool. As of this writing, a single new hive may cost about $150, clothing and gear may cost about $160, and a package of new bees may run $125 to $150.

Is it hard to keep bees?

Is beekeeping hard? Being responsible for an entire colony of living things can be hard work. There’s some heavy lifting and physically difficult tasks involved, especially when it’s time to harvest your honey. Bees are also susceptible to many different pests, diseases, and predators that you’ll need to watch out for.

Can I keep bees in my backyard?

The Los Angeles City Council voted unanimously on Wednesday to allow residents to keep beehives in their backyards. The ordinance will limit beekeeping to backyards of single family homes and establish buffer zones, and beekeepers will have to provide a source of water at their hives, according to the Associated Press.

Should beehives be in sun or shade?

The hive should be placed in early morning sun. This gets the bees out of their hive earlier in the day to forage. In the Northeast, hives can remain in the full sun for the entire season. However in places with warmer climates, hives should receive some afternoon shade.

How far should a beehive be from a house?

It is equally as important to think about how your neighbors use their yard, so it is not a good idea to put a hive directly on a property line. Instead, place your hives ten feet or more from the property line.

How much land do I need to keep bees?

Generally speaking, most backyard beekeepers have 1 to 2 acres of land with 2 or 3 bee hives. I have personally had 10 hives on a 1 acre lot in a subdivision. One important thing to do is talk with your neighbors first.

What should I put under my bee hives?

The ground under and hives should be kept weed free. Some people place the hives on mulch, wood chips and even carpet remnants. I added a layer of wood chips to the ground where the hives would be located. I placed two cinder blocks per hive on the ground, one in the front and one in the back.

Is bee keeping profitable?

Depending on how many hives you have, you can make a profit. However, it really depends on the season and nectar flow. There are start up costs when getting into beekeeping. After that, you can expect a beekeeping profit per hive of around $600.

How much does a queen bee cost?

So how much does a queen bee cost? Queen bees are generally around $70-100 regardless of breed. Some can go for much more on the open market, especially if they belong to one of these strains. At times, you’ll see someone who unfortunately can’t keep his or her hive anymore so they’ll liquidate everything.

Is it hard to start a bee farm?

Best of all, it’s something nearly anyone can do. While most agricultural products require acreage, extensive knowledge, and heavy equipment, starting a bee farm is by comparison inexpensive, simple, and convenient—not to mention “sweetly” rewarding.

Is beekeeping an expensive hobby?

Getting started with beekeeping can be an expensive hobby often costing around $300 for the hive and around another $100 for bees during the first year (depending if you purchase a nuc or a package). Most folks recommend starting out with two hives for a variety of important reasons.

How much money do beekeepers make a year?

According to Salary Expert, beekeepers can expect an average salary in the US of $44,749. Employees paid by the hour typically get around $22ph. Bonuses typically based on productivity can be up to $1,342.

How much honey do you get from one hive?

How Much Honey Can One Beehive Produce? One hive can produce 60 lb (27 kg) or more in a good season, however an average hive would be around 25 lb (11 kg) surplus. Bees fly about 55,000 miles to make just one pound of honey, that’s 2.2 times around the world. Romans used honey instead of gold to pay their taxes.

How many times do you harvest honey in a year?

Most beekeepers tend to harvest honey from their hives two to three times a year or per season. This usually happens somewhere between June and September, whenever the conditions are right for them. However, beginners may not be able to harvest that much in their first year.

What happens if you don’t harvest honey?

The honey that is not harvested goes to feed the colony during the cold winter months. They leave what they do not use and build upon it the next season. Secondly, other bees and insects steal honey that is in the hives. Bees from other colonies will bring back honey from another hive to their own.

How much is honey worth per pound?

Honey prices remain stable $5.00 to $6.00 per pound wholesale and $8.00 to $10.00 per pound retail.

How much does a single bee cost?

Your cost per bee—dead or alive—is about $75/10500 or 0.71 cents per bee. However, this calculation does not consider the mated queen that came with the package.