Posts Tagged ‘Beehive’

1. What it takes to start bee keeping
Bee keeping is not a very expensive venture and for anyone with a little space it is possible to start this business with just about $300 for one hive. This is enough to get started with and you can expand later if space permits. However, the very first thing that you should do is to find out whether you or any family member of yours is allergic to bee stings, if not you can go ahead and get your first bee hive. Another point that you should clarify from the local cooperative office, is whether you are permitted to keep bee hives in your area. If you can do so, then you will have get registered as a beekeeper with the beekeeping organization.
2. Select a suitable place to cultivate your bees
Once you have your beehive, you can keep it away from the home somewhere in the corner of your back yard in a spot which you feel will be suitable to have your beehive.
You will have to have the necessary equipment for maintaining your beehives successfully. You can find out about the equipment that you will need from the Federation of American Beekeepers or Cooperative Extension office of your locality. Most of the equipment is available online and through Ebay. You could search on the internet and get all the information and equipment that you need and order it to be mailed to you.
3. Play it safe with bee hives
You will have to ensure that you have the proper beekeepers tackle and do not get stung by bees. Make sure that all those who will be handling the bees have this gear available to them whenever required.
4. Place an order for your bees at an apiary
Order your bees only after you have all the equipment and the bee hive in place. The apiary where you order the bees from should be one that is well established. Winter is usually the bet time to order your bees, which means around January or February and you will get your shipment of bees by March or April. The U S postal service carries the bees for apiaries and will inform you once the bees arrive so that you can come and pick them up. Mail carriers do not like to carry a box full of bees that are agitated with the journey all over the countryside. You should pick up the bees as soon as possible as they are not going to remain healthy for too long in the confines of a vehicle.
5. Bees are packed in a “House”
Bees are normally shipped in wooden cases specially made for this purpose. The package will have a sign saying “house” on it. These wooden frames are covered with a screen which allows air circulation and also protects those who have to handle this package like the people from the postal service, from being stung.
There will usually be a few dead bees lying on the bottom of the container, but do not get perturbed. This usually happens as you cannot expect all the bees to take the journey well. You will find the remaining bees clutching on to the sides of their container.
6. The queen bee
The queen bee is kept separately along with a few nurse bees, and her container will be covered with a piece of sugar candy. The rest of the bees for your bee hive will be put in a container together and these will form the remaining hierarchy. In this container there will be a bowl of sugar syrup which is for the bees to feed on while traveling. The bees will need a drink once you get them home, for this you should spray the container with a fine spray of water. Now your bees are home and you can get started on your bee hive.

The topbar beehive is not a new concept. Historical reference to the top-bar hive date back to the 1600′s. Most of today’s top bar bee hives are derived from work in the 1960′s. It was perfected for use in Kenya, Africa, and is often referred to as the Kenya Hive. Today it is also used in many other developing countries for it’s simple design and cost effective management methods. In recent years it has also become more popular in the United States.
The traditional Langstroth beehive consists of several boxes (supers) and numerous other parts that are either difficult to build or expensive to buy. In addition to the beehive, the Langstroth hive requires many other pieces of equipment to harvest honey and manage your bees. Not so with the top bar hive as you can read below.
Simple and Maintenance-Free
The top bar hive has only a few components: the hive body (box), 20 to 30 top bars (frames), and a lid. That’s all you will ever need. Compare that to your Langstroth hive. Bees build their own comb which eliminates the need for costly frames. The top bars are re-used after the harvest.
Non-Invasive Design
The top bar hive is healthier for bees. To check your bees, you will not have to take the whole thing apart. Hence, your bees will be less disturbed by your presence and checking of the comb.
Easy Harvest
To harvest your honey, you simply remove the bars with honeycomb. Unlike traditional methods, you won’t have to take the hive apart and disturb the bees as much. Not only is the top bar hive less stressful to harvest for you, it also does not disturb the bees as much. In addition to honey, the top bar hive has more beeswax to harvest. You also do not need a honey extractor/centrifuge or uncapping knife which saves you thousands of dollars. Smoking is completely unnecessary and many top bar hive users do not wear protective clothing either. (For the beginner I do advise to use some kind of protection, gloves and veil as the minimum!) Once you remove the honey comb, the bees will go about their business as usual. Try that on a Langstroth hive.
Healthier Bees
The top bar hive is designed for the bees’ optimal living conditions. This makes a colony much stronger and enables it to fight off pests and diseases on their own, much better than in a Langstroth hive. Besides healthier bees this will save you hundreds of dollars in medication as well as disappointment.
Why doesn’t everyone use top bar hives?
The top bar hive is not designed for maximum honey production, although there have been reports otherwise. For the hobby beekeeper a few pounds less honey are well worth the ease of management. You will harvest more beeswax with a top bar hive though. Any hobbyist should have more of an interest in keeping healthy bees than in squeezing out a few more pounds of honey from a stressed, overworked colony. With just one top bar hive, you will still have more than enough honey for your whole family and friends.