It ’s virtually spring , and that mean the beekeeping time of year is about to get active . If this is your first year save bee , you probably have a lot of interrogative . This is normal — and rattling — and it will remain through the coming year . Join us here at Hobby Farms for our Beginner Beekeeper Q - and - A series . where we ’ll correct the enquiry you have as well as those that have n’t yet occurred to you .
We ’ll start at the very beginning :
Q: What do I need to be a beekeeper?
A : A beekeeper need two things in abundance : the right equipment and the right knowledge . It ’s critical to educate yourself on bee behaviour , dependency moral force , modern diseases and beekeeping proficiency before bring bees home . You call for equipment such as refuge gear ( hat , head covering , jacket crown , glove and so on ) , a beehive in which to place the bees , a smoking compartment , a hive creature and a fewother itemsthat are optional to some .
Q: Where do I get bees?
A : you’re able to buy bee from local apiarist or order them from beekeeping suppliers . provider will ordinarily have bundle useable for shipping all over the body politic , whereas local apiarist may have package as well as nucleus colonies , which are usually forebode “ nucs . ” Recently I write guidelines abouthow to find a reputable breederwhen buy bees .
Q: What’s the difference between a “nuc” and a “package” of bees?
A:“Nuc ” is short for core group colony . These are miniature , fully established honeybee colony ; they have a paired , laying fag ; bees and brood in all stages of biography ; and a humble supply of dearest and pollen on draw out frame . A “ software package ” of bees refers to several tens of thousands of bees and one lay queen only , shipped safely in a wire interlocking corner .
Q: Where do I put my bees?
A : Bees will ask housing . This is ordinarily a square corner of some elan made of wood that contains a series of frames upon which the bee make their cockscomb , raise their brood and hive away their dear . The most democratic hives areLangstrothandtop barhives . translate this mail service aboutchoosing the proper location for a beehive .
Q: What’s the difference between a Langstroth hive and a top bar hive?
A : Langstroth hive are the quintessential Apis mellifera hive style used around the humanity to harvest honey . They are often white-hot , with stacked boxes call “ supers . ” Each Langstroth hive has a rainproof tabu cover and the ingress at the front bottom of the bodily structure . It face like a miniature townhouse . Top bar hives were break in Kenya ( so they ’re also call in Kenyan hive ) . They are tenacious , watertight urtication , shaped a routine like a coffin , that put up the frames in a horizontal orientation rather than erect as the Langstroth does .
Q: What is a hive inspection?
A : A hive inspection is what beekeepers call the process of monitoring their colony . The apiarist put on his or herchosen condom gear , lights a smoking car and opens the hive to look inside . Hive inspections must have a intention : apiarist often calculate for the queen to reassert her front and wellness in add-on to scouting for signs of dependency health ( ordisease ) . Hive review can occur anywhere from once a week to once a month for most beekeeper for routine purposes .
Good luck this leap , and link us again before long for another instalment of Beginning Beekeeper Q - and - A.
