The Basics of Basic BeekeepingOzark Small Farm Conference

January 27 - 28, 2016Grant F. C. Gillard

gillard5 @ charter.netwww . grantgillard.weebly.com

www . slideshare.net

A Head’s Up!

• There are a lot of variables• The challenges have never been greater• Greatest threat to the bees is loss of forage• This is probably the most difficult time in our

history to start keeping honey bees• Bees are dying; beekeepers are dying• A lot of people start, a lot of people quit• We need the bees (pollination)

Simple Overview – 4 keys• Read! Read! Read! If nothing else to

understand the vocabulary and jargon.Request supplier’s catalogs.

Watch youtube.com videos. Read blogs. Discern verbal fertilizer!

Lots of wheat, plenty of chaff.• Join a local association/club (or start one)• Take a class (usually offered by local club)• Find a mentor (“Can you just come over…”)

Resources – Supplier Catalogs

• Brushy Mountain Bee Farm www.brushymountainbeefarm.com 800-233-7929

• Blue Sky Bee Supply www.blueskybeesupply.com 877-529-9233

• Dadant www.dadant.com 888-922-1293• Kelley Beekeeping www.kelleybees.com

800-233-2899• Betterbee www.betterbee.com 800-632-3379• Mann Lake www.mannlakeltd.com 800-880-7694

Resources – MagazinesRequest a free copy

American Bee Journal (more technical)www.americanbeejournal.com

Bee Culture (more basic)www.beeculture.com

Advertisers and classified ads

Best Learning Tool:

Get some bees and learn by the seat of

your bee suit

The idea is when you find yourself over your head,

you’ll learn to swim.

Caveats• There are a thousand ways to keep honey

bees (most of them work).• Every experienced beekeeper has an opinion

(not all of them correct).• Beekeeping is more art than science. • Learning is more caught than taught.• Go with the flow.

Factors to Consider• 1. Location• 2. What type of hive?• 3. What type of bee?• 4. Where to acquire bees?• 5. Honey bee biology• 6. Protective clothing• 7. Minimal tools• 8. Harvesting Honey• Mistakes made by beginners

1. Suitable Location• Full sun• Offers floral diversity, water source nearby• Sheltered from prevailing winds• Away from direct pesticide applications• Far away from people traffic, human activities• Respectful of neighbors (swimming pools)• Accessible in all kinds of weather (mud)• Floods, flood plains, bottom ground

Some sun, sheltered from wind

Leveled on hive stands

Usually relegated to the side of a field, out of the way, but with access

Seasonal Flooding

Location Factors

• LP tanks, mail boxes, on-farm stores• Fences and gates in a pasture• Local ordinances, city codes• Home owner’s association, CCR’s• Test cases

--Set up two empty bee hives in front yard--Sting incident, moved hives, repeat incident

2. What Type of Hive

• Langstroth -- 16” by 20”, stacked boxes• Top Bar Hive (TBH) -- Longitudinal hive• Warre Hive -- French design• Design your own

Langstroth

• Perhaps originated from champagne cases16-1/4” by 20” basically a six-foot board

• Stacked vertically, no reasonable limit• Three sizes - height

--Brood boxes, deeps, 9-5/8” tall--Medium supers, 6-6/8” tall--Shallow supers, 5-11/16” tall

• Two options - width--8-frame or 10-frame

Langstroth

• Advantages--Many parts interchangeable, moveable--Conventional dimensions--Plans on the Internet--Mechanical harvest, Frames reusable

• Disadvantages--More expensive to buy--Involves heavy lifting

Styrofoam® (expanded polystyrene)

• Thought to be warmer in the winter, cooler in the summer.

• Must be painted to protect from UV light• Not suitable for moving/loading

• Mann Lake – BeeMax brand• Walter T. Kelley - new this year

• Google: “polystyrene bee hive”

Top Bar Hives

• Perhaps not really suited to Missouri• Longitudinal design, horizontal orientation• Fixed, limited capacity of frames• No need for foundation, bees draw out comb

Top Bar Hives

• Advantages--Relatively cheap to make--Plans on Internet--Low input construction--No heavy lifting or bending over

• Disadvantages--Harvest whole comb, crush and strain--No standard conventions

Warre Hive

• Combination of vertically stacked, top bar hive frames in a Langstroth box

• Plans on the Internet, inexpensive construction

• Disadvantages of TBH and Langstroth• “More Natural” – means the bees draw out

their own comb, which can be done with Langstroth hives and TBHs

Homemade Designs

• Likely some plans on the Internet• Make your own design -- basically reinventing

the wheel, creative but unnecessary• Still need movable frames…that fit.• Widows and Orphans – don’t meet Langstroth

conventional dimensions • Resale value? If this is an issue…• If the only size you use is what you create…

Once you decide….• Buy new hives– Buy hives pre-assembled– Buy hives unassembled– Buy plain wood and cut out your own

• Buy used hives – Disease issues rare, but beginners obsess about it– Much shorter life span, but they get you started– Harder to find than ten years ago (Craig’s list)– Retiring beekeeper = a lot more stuff than you want

Make Your Own • Can be therapeutic, but time is money• Ample plans on the Internet• Or buy a set of conventional hive bodies and

duplicate the dimensions• Decent table saw is all you really need• Do not need “finger” joints (dovetail joints)• Cost of raw wood at Lowes = cost of precut

from beekeeping supplier with no labor• Value of scrap or free lumber, crating

Finish Protection• Wood = pine, cedar, cypress (think weight)• Short life span if not finished/protected• Walter T. Kelley = “ECO Wood Treatment”• Paint = doesn’t matter, any color• Paraffin/rosin for dipping/boiling (260 degrees)• USDA public domain formula FPL-0124

1-1/2 cup boiled linseed oil, 1 oz paraffin6-1/2 cups turpentine to make one gallonHeat linseed to melt paraffin, add turpentine Brush or dip for 3 minutes. Two coats, less than four hours apart. Dry for several days. Paint after cooling is an option, but must use oil-based paint.

Frames

• Wood with wired wax foundation• Wood with no foundation (foundationless)• Wood with plastic foundation• All plastic

3. What Type of Bee

• Races of beesItalians – gentle and productiveCarniolans – thrifty and calmRussians – tough and winter hardyHygienic Behavior, VSH, SMR, etc. Feral Stock, i.e., “wild,” unmanaged swarms

• ManagementCommercially raised, treated for mitesTreatment-free survivors

4. Where will I acquire my bees?

• Buy Packages – can be delivered in the mail• Buy Nucs (Nucleus, mini-colony)• Catch Swarms (traps and phone calls)• Purchasing whole, existing hives• Taking feral colonies out walls and trees, “cut

outs” and “trap outs”

• Different sources will raise different expectations, yield different results.

Prices

• Packages for this year $110 - $125• Nucs for this year $150 - $170

• Package – loose bees and a new, mated queen• Nuc – frames of bees, brood, laying queen,

and a three-week jump on the season

www.createspace.com/4107714

Swarm Trapping

Swarm Trappinghttps://www.createspace.com/4106626

Swarm Trapping – the lazy way

• Set up a bee hive right where you want it.• Buy “Swarm Commander” a swarm lure from

Kelley Bee. Follow directions. $30• Buy lemongrass essential oil, rub a little on the

entrance every week. $8• Get some old dark stinky comb from a

beekeeper.• Wait.

Buying Existing Hives

• Quite often a good value for the money• Often neglected, but not always• History can be fuzzy, why are you selling?• REALLY HEAVY TO MOVE (honey is heavy)• Have to be moved with bees in them• Best to move after dark, entrances screened, bees

agitated, and hot• Better yet, split into nucs, requeen and lighten the

weight…but only in warm weather

Bee Removals = cut outs

5. Honey bee biology

Seasonal rhythms to the honey bee colony• Winter – dormant, eat honey• Spring – start foraging, queen lays eggs,

population builds up, reproductive swarms• Summer – store away honey and pollen• Fall – reduced egg laying, consolidates for

winter

6. Protective Clothing

• Veil• Jacket• Full bee suit• Gloves• Study shoes/boots

7. Minimal tools

• A hive tool• A smoker

8. Honey Harvest

• You will need a place to extract (process) your honey

• Extraction equipment: Plastic or stainless steel• Check with local, county health regulations• County regulations will vary• Generally, if you sell face-to-face, no

inspections are required

Bringing it all together

• 1. Study honey bee biology• 2. Decide your purpose in keeping bees

• Honey production• Pollination• Raising bees and queens

• 3. Put #1 first, and integrate #2

Top Beginner’s Mistakes1. Not starting with two, or more hives2. Opening up the hive too often3. Being afraid of opening the hive and not

inspecting at all. **Once every two weeks.4. Not recognizing queelessness. **eggs?5. Thinking you have to find the queen every time.6. Not installing full compliment of frames or

leaving frames out **slabs of burr comb.

Top Beginner’s Mistakes7. Taking honey early (uncapped) or taking too much

honey.8. Not feeding newly established colonies

** 1:1 syrup9. Placing hives in full shade or troublesome locations

(people traffic, activities, garden) 10. Not suiting up (nucs are gentle, but increase in

temperament)11. Not using smoker12.Thinking you know it all after one or two seasons and

not continuing your education.13. Being too embarrassed to ask for help (a mentor)