Surely in this hive, someone is a true beekeeper? I have some questions.

[FloridaLisa]

My 10-year-old ds is really interested in keeping bees as a hobby. Yesterday, as we were talking in the car, I proffered the idea of him pursuing beekeeping as a delight directed science project. We will head to the library for resources, contact our local 4-H and possibly a local beekeeper, but can you help with these questions off the bat?

 

* We live on a typical Suburban lot. Orange and citrus trees all throughout our neighborhood and lots of woods around. Can we keep a small hive on a suburban lot? I don't think there are zoning or neighborhood restrictions as we are in the county. 

 

* What basic equipment do we need to get started and do you have an inexpensive source for it? 

 

* If we start now, can ds harvest honey next spring or summer? Is that too early?

 

Anything else I need to know to help d get started on this project? 

 

Thanks so much! We love delight directed science projects and this kind of project is just what this boy needs. 

 

Lisa

[In The Great White North]

* We live on a typical Suburban lot. Orange and citrus trees all throughout our neighborhood and lots of woods around. Can we keep a small hive on a suburban lot? I don't think there are zoning or neighborhood restrictions as we are in the county.   Yes, I have seen two or three hives on small suburban lots.  I have also seen zoning regs prohibiting it though, so you might want to check.

 

* What basic equipment do we need to get started and do you have an inexpensive source for it?

 http://www.brushymountainbeefarm.com/Bee-ginners-Kits/products/3/

http://www.betterbee.com/

http://www.dadant.com/

 

I got my stuff from BetterBee, but that was 10 years or so ago and I haven't priced it recently.  I strongly recommend getting the entire beesuit, especially for a 10 year old.  No point in starting the project with pain.

Used hives are not a good idea because they could be contaminated (and kill off your bees).

 

* If we start now, can ds harvest honey next spring or summer? Is that too early?  Yes, I got two supers of honey the first year.  In Florida I would expect more.

 

Anything else I need to know to help d get started on this project? Many states require you to register your hives.

Books: 

http://www.amazon.com/ABC-XYZ-Bee-Culture/dp/1417924276/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1413315020&sr=1-1&keywords=bee

http://www.amazon.com/Langstroth-Hive-Honey-Bee-Keepers-Manual-ebook/dp/B0082RV49Y/ref=sr_1_12?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1413315101&sr=1-12&keywords=beekeeping

http://www.amazon.com/Life-Bee-Maurice-Maeterlinck-ebook/dp/B004TQVKKK/ref=sr_1_61?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1413315252&sr=1-61&keywords=beekeeping

(I was an adult when I started keepung bees, so these books may be a bit much for a 10 year old.)

Thanks so much! We love delight directed science projects and this kind of project is just what this boy needs. 

 

[Critterfixer]

I keep bees.

First out of the gate is to find and sign up with your local beekeeping club. We even have one here, and it's a small town. Great for getting to know the community, and also in finding what the honey yield is, and what the bees typically work in a given year. They can also give you advise on what zoning restrictions there might be.

I don't find it to be a cheap hobby, but it isn't as bad as some. I buy some things locally from our bee store, but I also use Brushy Mountain and Dadant a lot. 

Beekeeping for Dummies is a pretty good book to start with, actually. Dadant also has a publication that is pretty good on getting started with beekeeping.

In those you should find a list (lists) of equipment to get started with. Top on my list would be getting that boy a bee-suit, and great gloves, a good pair of sturdy rubber boots and get him lined up to get out and "apprentice" with a beekeeper.

[nevergiveup]

I wouldn't consider this an inexpensive project.  

Supers full of honey can weigh 90# also.

 

I would apprentice with a local beekeeper to learn how.  Once you see what is involved, you might not want to pursue it.  Extension agents should know who the local beekeepers or beekeeping clubs are.

[PrincessMommy]

Definitely sign up for a local bee class. They are usually in the winter.  Unless your son is big for his age, he will not be able to pick up a super filled with honey.  They are quite heavy.  And "nevergiveup" is right - it isn't cheap to start up.

 

When we kept bees I once got my queen (nuc) from a guy who kept small hives.  He wasn't interested in honey for himself, just protecting the bees.  I'm not sure how he kept them through the winter, as it's been a long time since I bought from him.

 

Apprenticing himself with someone is a good idea...although they may be reluctant because of your son's age.  Contact your local beekeeping assoc.

[Pen]

We are members of a beekeeping group, but did not actually get honey bees thus far.  When we do, we are thinking to go with some of the more "natural" shaped type boxes rather than the standard square boxes. Several of our friends already have gotten bees and seem to think that is better for both bee health and ease of keeping them.

 

We did get orchard mason bees a few years back and have enjoyed them very much ever since. They do not produce honey, but they do pollinate well, and are a lot of fun to watch.  They do not sting. They do not take anywhere near as much "doing" or equipment and might be a good way for your child to start out in spring this year, while also taking bee keeping classes and learning in a bee group to prepare for honey bees next year.

 

We have lots of honey bees who come to our home because we have blackberries. It seems flowers for food are needed for the whole season the bees need to eat, or the bees will have to travel to find food. Orange and citrus makes great honey, but is it (or something else) available as long as the bees would need something?

 

Again, I strongly recommend starting with orchard mason bees while learning about honey bees. My ds was around 10 when we got the o.m.bees and was old enough to manage that almost completely on his own. We had some unfortunate, sad errors (like bees emerging early where we were keeping them in our basement or refrigerator, or others getting rained out and drowned), but generally have from this year what looks like hundreds of filled o.m.bee tubes, and we have learned a lot that will also probably stand us in good stead if we move on to the more difficult task of raising honey bees.

 

 

[Critterfixer]

For a young keeper, they make eight frame equipment. I use ten frame, standard supers and boy are those suckers heavy! The eight frame stuff would be nice if I didn't fancy developing my upper body! (Ha!-seriously, my back does hurt after wrestling those things around) But there are options that are lighter now instead of the ten frame system. And don't forget there is also the newer (older) top-bar option. 

I prefer my ten frame equipment, but there are other systems out there.

[Susan C.]

Growing up, neighbors kept bees. Evidently they ended up with an extra queen (his wording was he had queen troubles), so while in my backyard (behind theirs) I found a very large group of bees clumped together on a branch. It was over a few feet long and the branch of the bush was pulled almost to the ground. The guy did come over in his bee suit and smoked them and they went back to his house.

[FloridaLisa]

Well, clearly we have our work cut out for us. We have lots of research to do before we take the plunge but you have already given me many issues to think through and plan for. As for the weight, ds has 4 older brothers all over 6' that can help, but I'd still like to research something that would be more manageable for him. We were out all afternoon but he's excited to get up tomorrow and read your replies!

 

Thanks ~

Lisa

[Critterfixer]

Some things that have been helpful for me to have that I wouldn't have thought about:

 

A garden cart. Love, love, love. 

A bee box-sort of a beekeeping toolbox with room for all my stuff and it even doubles as a way to carry a swarm if you had too.

Clean five gallon bucket for my smoker stuff.

Duct tape. Covers lots of little holes where a bee might creep.

 

My favorite things about bee-keeping:

Just watching my bees.

Going around and seeing what crop they are using in the spring. Honey bees are not equal opportunity feeders. They are crop animals. When poison ivy is going, they hit that. They won't swap to cherry until poison ivy is done. Mine hit a bumper crop of clover this year. Most years they ignore all clover-there simply isn't enough of it to be worth their time.

Being in the middle of a swarm. Just neat.

Realizing that the bees get to "know" you. Mine have come to the house to "find" me, usually when they needed something. They do get to recognize you, although it won't save you from a sting if you bother them too much!

Tasting the flowers in the honey. You really can.

Watching a new worker break her way out of a cell.

Queens-they really are so pretty.

[Laurel-in-CA]

4-H groups *love* to support & educate about beekeeping. May I suggest you check with your county 4-H and see if a club near you can share info? The guy from 4-H here came out and did a presentation for our AHG group - everything from a demo hive to queen genetics and capturing wild swarms as well as equipment. He loves to mentor.

[xixstar]

We have 8 frame mediums for our bees so that our girls (age 6 and 4) will be able to lift them. Right now, not so much, but eventually. My 6yo gets suited up and helps a lot with the bees.

 

I agree on a class. Now is when a lot start. Here, springtime is the time to start bees. It isn't the cheepest activity getting started but there is a lot to learn from it.

 

Good luck. Sounds like a good project for winter to get ready. Line up your bee source early though, sometimes supplies are low.

[texasmama]

I kept bees for almost a year.  It was much more involved than I had anticipated, so definitely do your research before jumping in.  In the end, I sold my bees because my reaction to stings was severe (not anaphylactic, but severe swelling, itching, fluid filled blisters and discomfort for a week). 

 

A beekeeping club is definitely the way to go.  Joining our local one cost $20 a year, and it was interesting.  They also offered scholarships for kids to start beekeeping with a free small hive and a mentor to help them.

 

It is not a cheap hobby, either.  Bees can go through a lot of sugar water, and sugar is not cheap.

[kubiac]

We have some local beekeepers who need places to host hives and will split the honey harvest 50-50 with you if you let them keep a hive on your lot. They need to spread out hives so that the bees have enough room to forage. One beekeeper can keep only so many hives on his lot. Your local beekeeping group may be able to give you some leads on beekeepers like this. 

[nevergiveup]

Some things that have been helpful for me to have that I wouldn't have thought about:

 

A garden cart. Love, love, love. 

A bee box-sort of a beekeeping toolbox with room for all my stuff and it even doubles as a way to carry a swarm if you had too.

Clean five gallon bucket for my smoker stuff.

Duct tape. Covers lots of little holes where a bee might creep.

 

My favorite things about bee-keeping:

Just watching my bees.

Going around and seeing what crop they are using in the spring. Honey bees are not equal opportunity feeders. They are crop animals. When poison ivy is going, they hit that. They won't swap to cherry until poison ivy is done. Mine hit a bumper crop of clover this year. Most years they ignore all clover-there simply isn't enough of it to be worth their time.

Being in the middle of a swarm. Just neat.

Realizing that the bees get to "know" you. Mine have come to the house to "find" me, usually when they needed something. They do get to recognize you, although it won't save you from a sting if you bother them too much!

Tasting the flowers in the honey. You really can.

Watching a new worker break her way out of a cell.

Queens-they really are so pretty.

I agree with your whole post.  I swore my bees were trying to tell me something when they came to the window (bolded above).  My family didn't beelieve me.

[plansrme]

 

Tasting the flowers in the honey. You really can.

 

 

Ummm, can you also taste the poison ivy???

 

I'm following this thread because we saw tons of bee hives on a recent trip to Wyoming, and I was mulling over whether it is something we would want to take up in our retirement (which is many, many years away).  I always thought of bees as a warm weather activity, but then I saw that one of the Dakotas is the top honey-producing state in the U.S.  

 

The whole bee thing is fascinating to me, and I selfishly just want your son to take it up so you can let us know how it goes.

[Clear Creek]

Ummm, can you also taste the poison ivy???

 

I'm following this thread because we saw tons of bee hives on a recent trip to Wyoming, and I was mulling over whether it is something we would want to take up in our retirement (which is many, many years away).  I always thought of bees as a warm weather activity, but then I saw that one of the Dakotas is the top honey-producing state in the U.S.  

 

The whole bee thing is fascinating to me, and I selfishly just want your son to take it up so you can let us know how it goes.

 

Bees that collect from poison ivy usually collect from a variety of other flowers as well, so the honey is often just called wildflower honey. Poison ivy usually is not prolific enough to produce enough flowers for a hive to make strictly poison ivy honey.

 

My dad was a beekeeper in South Dakota during my teenage years. I would not consider beekeeping a retirement activity...it is a *LOT* of work. Maybe if you had just a hive or two as a hobby. In the winter it is easy...you just check the hives to make sure they don't freeze and feed them if they didn't have enough honey to last for the winter. But in the spring, summer, and fall it is a lot of work. I put in ten-hour days six days a week with my dad when school was not in session (and often weekends during the school year). Adding supers when spring comes (after cleaning them, yuck!), switching them out as the combs get filled with honey, protecting the hives from other animals (cattle and buffalo are pros at making a mess of hives, lol) extracting and bottling the honey...it is all hard physical labor.