Anyone ordering bees this year?

[mddorange]

Fulton officially, but closer to Belmont.

I have friends that have a farm on Line Road in Golden, MS and I bowl in Fulton twice a week.

 

[Bird]

I think I was 12 years old when my Dad and I found a bee tree while squirrel hunting. Dad bought a hive box, and borrowed a smoker. I had to help Dad cut down that tree, split it, find the queen, and move her and some honey comb into the box. Dad thought that was such a good idea that he bought 3 more hives. So I learned at an early age to work the bees and I can do it, but not by choice.

When you buy bees now, how are they delivered? In the early 60s when I worked in the Post Office, bees were shipping in cardboard boxes with a diamond shaped hole cut in 2 sides and covered with a thin mesh. So your local postman delivered your bees.

 

[mark02tj]

Bird - you can still get bees by mail, although I haven't done it. From what I understand, they want you to go to the post office to pick them up rather than having the mail man deliver them to your house.

The "packages" that I've purchased have come in a wooden box with mesh sides. there's a tin can full of syrup (food) for the bees and the queen is in a "queen cage". It's about 3 lbs of bees which is somewhere around 5000 if I remember correctly (which I probably don't). This past year I purchased "nucs" to get a head start on things.

I'm running two hives. I'll probably add at least a third one this year. I might actually add a couple more. I'm thinking about doing some top-bar hives instead of the traditional hives. And now one poster in this thread has me thinking about the "warre hive system" which I'd never heard of before this thread!! SWMBO doesn't really like having the bees around here. Everytime she sees a yellow jacket, she complains about "my bees" in spite of me trying to tell her the difference between the honey bees and yellow jackets. Oh, well. LOL!

The more I learn about beekeeping, the more I realize how much there is to learn!!! I enjoy it although I'm not very good at it yet. I always encourage everyone that asks me about it to get into it. Can't hurt to have more beekeepers out there!!

 

[EddieWalker]

I just found out over the weekend that my wife wants to raise bees for honey. Neither of us have a clue where to start. We'll search online for information, but would appreciate knowing where you guys go to get your equipment and who you order your bees from. When is the best time to start a new hive? Any good reference for beginners out there?

Thanks,
Eddie

 

[forgeblast]

Beesource.com, and I use biobees.com a lot for my info. beesource will have local info eddie, and there are local chapter that often have classes. You may want to look into building your own hive equipment there are tons of plans out there.
I have bought bees by mail, they came in a wire box with the queen, the post office called at 6am "AHHH we have a box of bees for you, come and get them", they were all fine but the postal people were a bit scared.
I have a problem with bears, and psu has a great manual on fencing to keep bears off hives. I put them in the stone garden shed I built a few years ago.

 

[BWSSR]

I just found out over the weekend that my wife wants to raise bees for honey. Neither of us have a clue where to start. We'll search online for information, but would appreciate knowing where you guys go to get your equipment and who you order your bees from. When is the best time to start a new hive? Any good reference for beginners out there?

Thanks,
Eddie

I ordered my first hive from here:
Beekeeper Protective Clothing

 

[forestcreature1]

Another place for.... newbees.... [couldn't resist] is The Finest Beekeeping Supplies - Brushy Mountain Bee Farm
I bought everything through them when I was starting out, they will take the time to help new people.
Also, check with your state AG extension office - one thing I found is that beekeepers are a very helpful group of folks.
In my state, you have to register with the state to have bees. (this is to help with bee issues)
No cost, just fill out an online form.

To Bird: My bees are shipped to me in a small mesh cage, open sided, wood ends [one side has a hole for the sugar-syrup can, the other is the queen escape].
About the size/shape of Ritz cracker box. Being out here in the back country, the post office is accustomed to critter deliveries. [baby chicks, ducks, bees, etc].

"It's what we do out here"

Having something delivered that only city people have would get you some stares...

 

[newbury]

I just found out over the weekend that my wife wants to raise bees for honey. Neither of us have a clue where to start. We'll search online for information, but would appreciate knowing where you guys go to get your equipment and who you order your bees from. When is the best time to start a new hive? Any good reference for beginners out there?

Thanks,
Eddie

I've been frequenting Beekeeping Forums - An International Community of Beekeepers which has a lot of info on books and all types of hives.

The FIRST thing you and your wife should do is determine if you are allergic to bee stings. Either an allergy test or get stung when it's convenient. Bee stings can kill if you have a severe allergy.

If you've never kept bees beefore you should start NOW reading and be prepared to put some hives out come spring.

Beekeeping for Dummies is written about as a good reference.

 

[meos1]

I will add this. Yes you can get them mailed to you. They come in a crate with wooden side and wire mesh covering. You can get bees from a number of places. Earlier posters have included a few different ones. As far as learning, I read the ABC and XYZ of Beekeeping by A.I. Root. It is a second edition book but covers many of the concern areas the new beekeeper will have.

I used to buy bees from The MarketBulletin, a publication of the SC Dept. of Ag. I dont know if they still produce this but a quick check with them would solve that, if you are in SC. Good luck, its not hard work and requires about 10 hours a year per hive of your time. Keep them coming, love the posts and the questions.

 

[Bird]

Being out here in the back country, the post office is accustomed to critter deliveries. [baby chicks, ducks, bees, etc].

I became a part time temporary postman in Plano before later becoming a full time clerk in Dallas. I once even delivered a baby alligator and I saw bees, lizards, and even big indigo snakes as a clerk. And of course, years before that, even in my pre-teen years, my Dad got baby chicks every year from the Ardmore, OK, post office.