A Beginners Beekeeping Guide

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There are many aspects to successful beekeeping as it can involve agricultural production, gardening, food and cooking, as well as both ancient and modern scientific skills. You could find yourself becoming completely absorbed by the aspect of attaining the best honey production or perhaps some of the other processing techniques involved in beeswax or exhibiting and marketing. Whatever it is that inspires you to take up beekeeping you will first need to consider the honeybee colony.

The colony can have as many as 50,000 bees and be made up of bees with very different rolls to play. There will be just one queen that can lay up to 2000 eggs a day, and several hundred male drones. The rest will be all female worker bees who carry out a number of roles within the colony. Initially they will look after the larvae and clean and construct the comb cells. Later in life they will serve as hive guards and foragers for the all important nectar, as well as propolis, pollen and water. Although being many the whole hive works as one, and the successful beekeeper soon learns to work along with his bees by being alert to their ever changing needs.

When looking to obtain your first bees there are a few considerations you will need to keep in mind. Bees obtained locally will be better adapted to the climatic pattern of the area than bees purchased from a distant source. You will also need to ensure that the breeder has been selective about things such as yield and docility, and be free from any disease. The early spring is the best time to start a new colony, if you go for a small colony or nucleus it will be easier to handle. Usually just six combs with a fertile queen and some workers and drones.

You will need to buy a good modern moveable frame hive to keep your bees in. It is not necessarily advisable to purchase a second hand hive, unless you have complete trust in the source. Even so it will need to be sterilized to stop the transmission of disease. There are several different types of hive available the most popular being the single walled modified hive. Some well known makes to consider are Dadant, Langstroth and Smith. Other essential beekeeping equipment includes bee proof clothing, such as a veil, boiler suit and gloves. Along with a smoker, hive tool and a feeder. All of these can be part of a beginner's beekeeping kit.

It's well worth getting a good beekeeping guide as well. Take a look online and read the reviews other people have written to find out a good basic beginners guide. So while you are going to take up keeping bees as just a hobby or wish to start a small business keep in mind these suggestions and you will not go too far wrong.

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