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D_&_T
10-08-2009, 10:59 PM
I'm curious if anybody here has experience with Honey Bee apiaries?

Youngest daughter and I (Dan) are going to meeting close to here to learn some. Plus what would cost to get started in spring!

Richard
10-08-2009, 11:13 PM
Joe Real wrote a very nice thread on Mason Bees and Mason Bee House Construction (http://www.bananas.org/f9/mason-bee-house-construction-4091.html?highlight=mason).

momoese
10-09-2009, 12:37 AM
Lorax keeps bees too.

D_&_T
10-09-2009, 02:17 AM
Yes, we are going to do the mason bee as well. We have several nesting around front door each year!

jeffreyp
10-09-2009, 07:00 AM
I had honey bees for a number of years. The investment would probably be around $300 to get started. You can order bees through the mail and I would recommend getting a Russian queen as they are resistant to varroa mites. I never wore a bee suit I was always gentle with the bees but occasionally I'd get stung. I had to drop the hobby because I was getting increasingly more allergic to the stings.

LilRaverBoi
10-09-2009, 01:00 PM
We had a bee hive at my (and my grandparent's) house for a number of years. It will cost several hundred dollars for all the various equipment to get started. I would also do a lot of research on it, as there is a good knowledge base necessary to do it effectively. I kinda got out of it cause it took a LOT of hot/sweaty labor. You have to check on them every few weeks to make sure they aren't building cells to create new queens (if they succeed, then they can swarm taking half your bees away somewhere else...not what you want). There are also a host of parasites and diseases you have to vaccinate for 1-2 times a year.

It's a pretty cool thing to have (and is great for flowers/vegetables), but it is a LOT of work.

jeffreyp
10-09-2009, 03:10 PM
It can be hot sweaty work because the best time to work the hive is during the middle of the day (when it's the hottest) when most of the worker bees are out foraging for nectar and pollen. You don't actually "vaccinate" bees against mites. There are apistan strips you can hang in between the frames that repel varoa mites, and you can use menthol granules to repel trachea mites. Sometimes and very very rarely bees will get a bacterial infection and this too can be treated. Some strains of bees will abscond (swarm and start new colonies) more than other strains. I never had an issue where I had to check on my bees every couple weeks to prevent queening. Newer strains such as Russian bees are resistant to mites in general..best advice is do your homework.

Jeff

D_&_T
10-10-2009, 05:27 AM
This meeting going to is a area asso. of beekeepers. they had class this last spring but missed coz of work! So hopefully can go this spring!