Agriculture Reference
In-Depth Information
You will transfer these bees into your own hives, get them started, and keep them going
as a colony. Or you can buy a small starter colony, referred to as a nuc (short for nucleus
colony), that you install in your own hive.
Another option is to purchase a full-sized, ready-to-go colony of bees from another
beekeeper. The advantage to this is that you minimize the risks of starting a small,
somewhat vulnerable nuc, but the potential disadvantage is that you start out at full
speed, without the breaking-in period that most beginning bee-keepers need to establish
their own comfort level with the craft.
Catching a swarm of bees is how some beekeepers get their start. This entails find-
ing, capturing, bringing home, and hiving a swarm of honey bees. This activity is as
exciting as beekeeping gets. (See “Catching Swarms” on page 141.)
It's All in the Preparation
So far, we've looked at the tools you'll need to get started, reviewed the pieces and
parts of hives, and planned where your hives will be located when they are up and run-
ning. We've also looked at your work gear—the protective suits and gloves, smokers,
and hive tools—and where your bees will come from and how large the starter colony
should be.
The old motto of always being prepared goes without saying, but I'll say it anyway.
Start your preparations early: make sure you have everything you need; make all the
helpful contacts you can; read the beekeeping catalogs, journals, and books, especially
this topic; and if at all possible, find a local club and take a starter course in beekeeping.
And make certain that your neighbors and your family support your beekeeping aspira-
tions. Now the adventure begins.
Buying Packaged Bees
Early spring arrives two or three months earlier in warmer regions than in more moder-
ate and cooler regions, no matter where you live on the globe. People who live in warm
regions and produce bees to sell start raising bees very early in the year, so they have
them ready to sell when spring arrives in cooler areas.
In order to do this, they remove some bees from their colonies every three weeks.
They open a colony, find and remove the queen, and shake excess bees into a package
(a screened cage) made especially for shipping live bees. The most commonly sold
amount is a 3-pound (1.5 kg) package of bees, but 2- and 4-pound (1 and 2 kg) packages
are also available. A 3-pound (1.5 kg) package is about the right amount for one eight-
or ten-frame hive. There are about 3,500 live bees to a pound, so your 3-pound (1.5 kg)
package will contain about 10,000 bees.
