march2015

t makes no difference if you are a man, woman or

younger child, you can become a beekeeper, whether you

live in the big city, the suburbs or out in the country

side.

Honeybees are a joy to keep in the backyard sim-

ply for their buzzing presence and, on hot days,

the smell of honey, wafting through the air within

ten feet of the hive. They increase pollination

in your yard and therefore increase your yields

from fruit trees and vegetables. You may also

harvest honey (gallons per year), beeswax,

pollen, and propolis from the hive. Your own

honey will provide you a tasty treat for your

home table as well as a gift for relatives,

friends or neighbors. I never knew of

anyone to turn down a free jar of honey!

Some people develop beekeeping into

a profitable sideline providing them-

selves with some extra supplemental

income.

As long as you are mobile enough to

get around your yard by one means or

another, there is no reason why (with

maybe a little help from a friend or relative

for lifting hive boxes) you cannot take up

beekeeping along with anyone else.

Beekeeping can provide you with a lifetime

interest that will keep you learning something

new every day, as well as providing you with

many pleasurable moments of relief from the

daily stresses of living and working.

Bees have to fly a total of 72,000 miles to

gather enough honey for one jar.

Getting Ready - Bees & Equipment

For the beginner who is just starting with

bees, buying all new beekeeping equip-

ment with package bees is the best way

to start. An established hive can create

problems for the beginner in areas such

as swarm control, re-queening, and colony defensiveness.

Buying new equipment will allow you to learn the indi-

vidual parts of the hive while putting it together, and

with package bees you can gain valuable expe-

rience from manipulating a small colony. You

will witness the colony’s growth from a small

package into a strong honey-producing colony.

This way your beekeeping skills will grow as

your colony grows. Starting with more than

one colony is helpful and will give you more

management options. Two to four colonies

are ideal for new beekeepers.

Buy your first bees and equipment from

a well-recognized source. Refer to

advertisements in beekeeping jour-

nals and request catalogs from the

suppliers listed at the end of this

publication. Before you buy used

equipment, familiarize yourself with

honeybee diseases and pests. Sec-

ond hand equipment may be safe;

or it may turn

out to be a

costly and

dis-

couraging

invest-

ment.

Getting Your-

self Ready

Obtain a smoker

and a hive tool.

Learning to use

these tools proper-

ly is an important

skill for the begin-

ning beekeeper

to master. You

should be able

to light your

smoker and

keep it burn-

ing before

you at-

tempt to open

Anybody Can B