Becoming a Beekeeper

mchrisrogers
May 14, 2017
8 min read

My love of bees started years ago. Ever since I have been interested in gardening and understood how the bees helped my garden I have considered them my friends. My mother taught us not to be afraid of bees, but to be respectful and live with them. I have always wanted hives of my own, but have not had the opportunity until now. A dear friend of mine offered me her hives and I happily accepted. It was the beginning of May now and as I called around to find some bees I found that the common practice is to order bees in the fall for April or May delivery. Most were sold out at the various apiaries I called. I kept on trying and asking around and finally found colonies of Italian bees that were available a week from when I was picking up the hives. Perfect!!!! Now I had to get busy and learn how to be a beekeeper. I had two books in my library that I found helpful, "The Backyard Beekeeper" by Kim Flottum and "The Beekeepers Bible" by Stewart, Tabori & Chang. I also began watching lots of videos on YouTube. Problem is, everyone has a different way of doing things. There is no standard method of beekeeping. I have to find what works for me and so begins the adventure.

I planted this cardoon in my vegetable garden last year and it attracted many honeybees. I will be sure to plant these again this year for my bees.

I decided to start with one hive, although it is recommended that you start with two hives. I thought it would be a little less overwhelming. First, I picked up my hives from my friend (she gave me several) and I cleaned, lightly sanded, and painted them. I was sure not to paint the inside, since I read it is harmful to the bees. I then chose a location. They recommend a southeastern slope with some shelter from wind. I found a perfect spot near one of my gardens and next to my blueberry bushes.

I cut some 2 X 6's to make a slightly raised bed to mulch and rest the hive on. I did this to keep the area maintenance free so I would not have to disturb the bees weed wacking or mowing.

I then set up my hives. I had a tough time figuring out how to use certain pieces. I had two bottom boards, one with a wire bottom and one with a solid board. I read that an entrance reducer should be used when starting a new colony of bees. The problem was, the wooden entrance reducer that came with the hive only fit the solid bottom. I had read that it is better to use the wire bottom base in the spring and summer and the solid bottom base in the fall and winter. The wire bottom base had a strange looking metal piece near the opening.

I was not able to find an answer as to what this metal thing was. After taking a picture and checking with the apiarist I purchased my bees from, I found out it is a mouse guard that also acts as an entrance reducer. Problem solved!

And so I set up my hive. Note that the picture shows the solid bottom with the wooden entrance reducer. I raised the hive on cement blocks because it is ergonomically better for a beekeeper to have it higher and it protects the bees from skunks eating them. Skunks will not climb up in fear of having their bellies exposed.

So now my next question was what to do with the frames. I had a bunch of beautiful frames with old wax on them, some having a web looking sort of substance on them. I had read about wax moths and that it could be a problem if the eggs were left behind and they got into the hive. The hives were stored in a barn where it would have been freezing during the winter, but I was not sure that would kill any remaining eggs if there was indeed a problem. So I looked up how to clean the frames and prepare them for the bees. A few sources said that the bees would be fine with the frames just scraped and installed, but other sources said it would be better to coat them with a little beeswax since the bees do not like the feel of the plastic. I happened to have a large block of beeswax from making my own lotions and had a double boiler to melt the was in. It worked perfectly.

Here is the frame scraped and cleaned.

I then melted the wax and brushed it on with a sponge paint applicator. It seemed to work better than a paint brush.

Supposedly it helps the bees build better combs in a shorter period of time. We will see what happens.

I then installed the frames in the bottom box, which will be the brood box. At this time I made my sugar syrup so it would have time to cool down before the bees arrived. I used a 1:1 ratio since this is best for a new colony in the spring. It is just boiling water added to white sugar and then stored in the refrigerator.

Bee day came, and it was time to go pick up the bees! The apiary had probably close to a hundred boxes of bees in a garage. When you walk in the door you can hear the buzzing. Oddly enough, it was the most soothing sound I have ever heard (besides a cat purr).

I had a few questions written down. 1.) My question that I previously mentioned about the two bottom boards and the bee entrance reducers. 2.) Do I need to make sure the queen and other bees get along before removing the cork and exposing the candy end of the queen box. 3.) Do I need to register the bees. The apiarist was very knowledgeable and told me that the queen and colony were acquainted enough so it was safe to remove the cork and expose the candy end of the queens cage on installation. He also told me that it was the law in Connecticut to register your bees. He told me it is to my benefit to have the bees inspected since the inspector is a very knowledgeable beekeeper who can help me with any problems I might have and spot issues that I need to fix for the health and wellbeing of my bees. In Connecticut registration and inspections are free! Free help is not a bad thing. Sign me up! Time to take the bees home.

One of my friends is also starting a bee colony, so we picked up our colonies together. A few hitchhiker bees stayed on the outside of the box and came for a ride in the car. They were nestled in the back seat floor and off we went! I was told never to put them in the trunk for their safety, and yours.

Bees in their cage at home. Note, the two little hitchhikers that came along for the ride. I named my queen bee, Empress Josephine. I hope she likes her new home.

Next step was to install the bees. I decided to wait until after 4pm when it was cooler and towards evening so they would be quieter. In the meanwhile I placed the bees in a cool safe place in one of my barns. I then worked in creating a "bee berm" alongside my hive. I had a nice hill of compost that I wanted to plant bee loving plants on so they would have a nice close source of pollen and nectar. I have many volunteer plants all over my vegetable garden, so it was just a matter of transplanting plants I already had. I planted a few varieties of mint, lemon balm, and hyssop to start. I will then fill in with more flowers like nicotiana and verbena bonariensis as it comes up in my garden.

Installing the Bees:

My friend who had bought bees at the same time came over to help. I gathered my tools: hive tool, pliers, nail, sugar syrup in a dedicated spray bottle, bee hat. I wore my regular clothes and a bee hat. I did not feel it necessary to wear a suit or gloves. We got the smoker going to calm the bees (some sources I read did not recommend this). We took a few center frames out of the box so we could dump the bees in. I attached a rubber band to one frame for the queens cage to be attached to. Now the fun part. We spritzed the bees with sugar water and smoked the area a bit. I tapped the cage, knocked the bees to the bottom, removed the sugar can from the box carefully and removed the queen cage. I then put the can right back in the hole to keep the bees in the box a bit longer. I then held the can and tapped the cage and bees to the bottom of the cage again. I dumped the bees into the box. Yes, they were crawling on my bare hand and all over me, but not a single one stung me. I moved the box back and forth until most of the bees were in the box. Then I put the cage near the entrance to the hive. I then removed the cork from the candy end of the queen cage and made a small hole in the candy to help get them started on releasing the queen. You are supposed to inspect the queen at this point. I was too nervous and forgot. I attached the queen cage to the frame with the rubber band. Slowly and very carefully I slid the frames into the brood box being very careful not to crush the bees. Empress Josephine's frame went in last. I then slid the cover on the brood box and put the top feeder box on top of that. I then poured in the sugar syrup mixture to the top feeder, put a smaller box on top of that, and then the roof on the hive. There were quite a few bees still in the cage and I was very nervous about that. I did not want our friendly neighborhood skunk to eat them. Before dark, I put them in the top feeder box for the night and most were gone by the morning. I took the cage out and put it near the entrance again the next day and the remaining bees went in the hive. So far so good. I checked the feeder box and they have been drinking it down. I will probably add more in a day or so. I am not sure what to do next as I am learning as I go along. The queen cage can be removed in a week or so and I will take it from there.

So far it has been a very good experience. I love my bees and am so happy to finally be a beekeeper!

I set out a bird bath near the hive as a water source with stones so they will not drown. I also have a child's pool that I will fill for the summer when my pond is dry.

This garden is right in front of the bees. This, along with all of the gardens on my farm, including my large vegetable gardens, will be an ample source of nectar and pollen all spring, summer, and fall.