Bee Keeping

[Danny]

Anyone here keeps bees?
Would like to have a small hive, but don’t know how to start.

[Arnoud]

Anyone here keeps bees?
Would like to have a small hive, but don’t know how to start.

Make sure the bears can’t get in. Once they do, nothing will keep them out so electric wire from the start if you have bears around.

[Danny]

Anyone here keeps bees?
Would like to have a small hive, but don’t know how to start.

Make sure the bears can’t get in. Once they do, nothing will keep them out so electric wire from the start if you have bears around.

That’s a good point. Technically I’m in a black bear habitat region, but never seen any here, mostly raccoons and foxes, should imagine they wouldn’t mess with a bee hive? Don’t know really

[Arnoud]

I only heard about bears but someone more knowledgeable should know. My neighbor started two hives and the first week the bears went to town. Over a 1000 dollars thrown away.

[Hazel]

I only heard about bears but someone more knowledgeable should know. My neighbor started two hives and the first week the bears went to town. Over a 1000 dollars thrown away.

Yeah, and good luck getting the bears to pay for it.

[Kim O'Hara]

Anyone here keeps bees?
Would like to have a small hive, but don’t know how to start.

Google search for a local bee keeping society. It's a popular hobby so there should be a group reasonably close to you and they will be delighted to help. They will probably sell hives and equipment and might run courses.
If you don't find beekeepers, try permaculture or food gardening groups. Some of their members are likely to keep bees and, once again, would be keen to help.


Kim

[Kim O'Hara]

Anyone here keeps bees?
Would like to have a small hive, but don’t know how to start.

Make sure the bears can’t get in. Once they do, nothing will keep them out so electric wire from the start if you have bears around.

Bears? Ours eat gum leaves.


...which is a way of suggesting to Danny that giving a location might help with getting more useful responses and to Arnoud that assumptions we make about other members may lead everyone astray.
In this case, no harm done...


Kim

[Arnoud]

Anyone here keeps bees?
Would like to have a small hive, but don’t know how to start.

Make sure the bears can’t get in. Once they do, nothing will keep them out so electric wire from the start if you have bears around.

Bears? Ours eat gum leaves.


...which is a way of suggesting to Danny that giving a location might help with getting more useful responses and to Arnoud that assumptions we make about other members may lead everyone astray.
In this case, no harm done...


Kim

You are absolutely right but it makes me sound much cooler when I can tell the story of my neighbor’s hives being destroyed by one of the local black bears.

[PadmaVonSamba]

I only heard about bears but someone more knowledgeable should know. My neighbor started two hives and the first week the bears went to town. Over a 1000 dollars thrown away.

Yeah, and good luck getting the bears to pay for it.

You let the bears eat the honey,
Then you milk the bears and sell the super sweet bear milk on the black market for $1,000 a pint.

[jimmi]

You let the bears eat the honey,
Then you milk the bears and sell the super sweet bear milk on the black market for $1,000 a pint.

I don’t think that would work but if it could be done, people would be doing it already. Makes me think of civet coffee production, pregnant mares’ urine collection ... and commercial beekeeping.

[Hazel]

I only heard about bears but someone more knowledgeable should know. My neighbor started two hives and the first week the bears went to town. Over a 1000 dollars thrown away.

Yeah, and good luck getting the bears to pay for it.

You let the bears eat the honey,
Then you milk the bears and sell the super sweet bear milk on the black market for $1,000 a pint.

I have strong personal boundaries about getting anywhere near a bear.

[Danny]

Fun story, a friend of mine who’s getting up there in age and eye sight is slowly going, once told me that one day was waiting for his bus early in the morning,
When he said that he was struggling to see what this black shape was that was hiding behind a tree, he could not make out what it was, so decided to move closer so he could see what it was... imagine his surprise as he approached the shape only to discover a large bear staring back at him. Lol that’s the clean version of that story.

It ended well, he backed away slowly and the bear moved away.

And thanks to Kim, was a good lead, suggestion.

[Danny]

So I discussed and it seems like you need to introduce the honey bees to the hive - theres a thing called a “March”
Where the bees expect the hive - you leave them for a season, but you also have to introduce the queen to the hive and hope the bees don’t kill her.. after they except the queen then it’s all about keeping the colony healthy and watch out for fungus and so forth .. is really fascinating stuff.
Amazing little things.

[humble.student]

Join a club; get a couple of good books.
This one's a classic (but perhaps more literature than practice): https://www.gutenberg.org/files/4511/4511-h/4511-h.htm

[tingdzin]

Talk to some keepers. Aside from bears, the ones where I used to live have a big problem with die-off caused by environmental factors. On the other hand, go for it, we need all the honey we can get.

[Kim O'Hara]

Talk to some keepers. Aside from bears, the ones where I used to live have a big problem with die-off caused by environmental factors. On the other hand, go for it, we need all the honey we can get.

...and all the bees we can get. No pollinators, no plants. No plants, no people.


Kim

[Malcolm]

Talk to some keepers. Aside from bears, the ones where I used to live have a big problem with die-off caused by environmental factors. On the other hand, go for it, we need all the honey we can get.

...and all the bees we can get. No pollinators, no plants. No plants, no people.


Kim

If one lives in North America, native pollinators such as mason bees are more effective pollinators than honey bees. So make make many homes for them. White faced hornets are also good, etc.

[tkp67]

I would love to keep bees but it isn't in the cards right now for several reasons. Always wanted to get some land up north for farming and eventual retirement. I do keep many indigenous plants and use zero chemicals on my small plot in the heart of suburbia. Many pollinators and other life comes to my yard while avoiding certain neighbors yards who use many agricultural chemicals.

Have a worm bin and a number of compost projects. I really enjoy vermicomposting and bokashi composting.

[narhwal90]

We try to be nice to bees too. We defer mowing until its excessive, no herbicides/insecticides- mostly try to leave the yard alone and limit the cultivation and weeding to the garden. It seems to lead to a lot of plant diversity which is very interesting particularly in the spring. Later in the summer we get praying mantises, they like to hang out under the porch light- very grateful to not be a moth or similar those evenings.

[jimmi]

Beekeeper Michael Bush has a good, informative website dedicated to natural bee keeping.

http://www.bushfarms.com/bees.htm