/diy/ - Do It Yourself

its a bad idea and you suck balls for not googling it first

>>470513
Fuck that shit. Why do you need that much honey anyways. It's not like it's expensive.

what the fuck am i ding, im covered in bees. HELP COVERED IN BEES!!

>>470559
Mead.

>>470566
I like me coffee like I like me women
COVERED IN BEES!

beads?

>>470513
i have a buddy who has done some work with bees but he doesnt use 4chan.
>>470584
YES! EXACTLY!

>>470513
I do. It's a craptastically large amount of work if you do it right. 3-5 hives is about all 1 person can work and still half-ass things.

>>470559
>It's not like it's expensive.

Regular clover honey cost $4.99 for 15oz where I live.

My hives have paid for themselves 100x over.

>>470669
So it's a lot of work but it's worth the effort?

>>470602

He sold me sick bees!

Just don't take all the honey OP. Then you have to feed the bees sugar water and it's bad for them.

You can also make money using your bees as pollinators for organic crops. Keep them away from pesticide heavy crops.

You can use the wax to make candles.

I've been keeping bees for the past 3 years, getting back into it as an oldfag. Initially I helped my father manage 2-4 hive when I was atalented /diy/erteenager. If you're interested in beekeeping, I have to suggest that you go check out beesource.com and spend a day or so looking through their FAQs/beekeeping-for-newbies resources to get an understanding of the terminology and commitment required. Unless you are lucky enough to have a friendly local beekeeper willing to set you up with spare equipment and a colony/split/nuc, then you can expect to pay $200-400 for enough equipment to get established for your 1st year. Acquiring the bees themselves is another issue, as everything is tied to your local seasons/conditions.
1) take a look at beesource.com to get familiarized with what beekeeping really entails.
2) find out what local resources you have available (ie: local beekeepers/apiary-inspectors/mentors/local-beekeeping-club/4H/etc.)
3) decide if you really want to adopt a buzzing box of insects which could run you afoul of your SO/housemates/neighboors/laws
4) determine if you can reasonably expect to start a hive this season, or if the window of opportunity has closed (which really just gives you plenty of time to get stuff prepped for next year.)
5) impress all of your friends by casually mentioning how you risked death by sticking your hands into a buzzing box of angry bugs.

personally, I love the hobby and find the payoff in both materials (honey/wax/etc) and mental health (nothing develops zen-like focus like knowing that your mistakes will be repaid with angry stings).

and here's a pic of two hot underage chicks I was hanging out with last year in my backyard. My wife always said she wanted girls, just not 50 thousand of them...

>>470691
I can't answer that for your opinion, but for me it is worth it.

I forgot to mention that if you're looking into beekeeping purely based on getting honey, then you should know that you really don't harvest honey from a hive until it's 2nd season.
A new hive will need to expend most of it's effort on building the hive the first season, and while it will product some honey, you are best off leaving it on the live as stores for the 1st winter. An established hive in it's second year, or later, will produce considerably more honey; enough for you to harvest some and still leave them sufficient stores to overwinter.
If you're thinking about getting bees to get honey to make mead, then your best bet is to find a local beekeeper and buy your honey from him. This way you can make your mead this season, and find out how your new beekeeper buddy suggests you go about getting into the hobby. Ideally, you should join a local beekeeping club as they generally are an excellent resource for newbees, and will usually run several events a year that provide an opportunity to visit an apiary/beeyard/beehive and find out of the hobby really appeals to you before you invest several hundred dollars in a hobby that really doesn't 'pay-off' for at least a year.

FYI: I'm running 3 hives in the new-england area, and I pulled ~ 40lbs of honey from one of my robust hives last year, and I could very likely have gotten more if I'd been more hands-on in my hive management. My local mentor sells his honey for ~ $6-8/lb in some local stores, but I enjoy gifting/giving mine away to friends & family instead of getting into the retail/farmer's market end of things. While there is money to be made in honey, you have to understand the marketplace and who you're selling to.

Once you've tasted local honey, then I guarantee you will never take 'retail' honey seriously again. For that matter, most of what you get in the supermarket isn't really honey, it's adulterated sugar-water from china, which has been filtered to remove all possible traces of pollen that provide a fingerprint identifying where it came. There's also the fact that most foreign honey producers are using horendous amounts of antibiotics and medications banned by the FDA. China had foul-brood issues a few years back and started pouring all kinds of unapproved meds into their hives. India is also a big producer, and has similar issues.

http://www.foodsafetynews.com/2011/11/tests-show-most-store-honey-isnt-honey/

http://www.foodsafetynews.com/2011/08/honey-laundering/

and don't get me started on Monsanto & RoundUp/Neonicinoids. You'll find out about that nasty clusterfuck soon enough if you get interested in beekeeping to any degree.

>>470695
>You can also make money using your bees as pollinators for organic crops. Keep them away from pesticide heavy crops

What happens if my neighbor is a large non-organic farmer?

>>470734
>>What happens if my neighbor is a large non-organic farmer?

it's entirely dependant on what pesticides are used, and when. There's also an issue in monoculture farming areas where you may find yourself surrounded by plants that your bees won't be able to pollinate/harvest. ie: wheat and corn do not meet the pollen/nectar needs of a beehive. however, I doubt few newbies would find themselves in a predicament like that. But, this is exactly why I suggest getting in touch with your local beekeeper's association, they'll be able to warn you of similar 'not on the radar' issues.

>>470734
>What happens if my neighbor is a large non-organic farmer?

You are fucked if they use insecticides, grow GMO-insecticide plants, or use plants that have systemic pesticides in them.

>>470881
and yes. this... very this

trying to save the bees....

from dropping off of page 10.

bump for quality information

>>470726
>>470734
>>470819
>>470881

>mfw I have been warning people about neonicotinoids/systemic harming bee populations
>mfw they called me a tinfoiler kook
>mfw vindication

>>470513
You start the same way you start doing anything else, by reading.

bump to save the bees

>>470710
>>470721
>>470726
>>470819
>>471013
You still around Beeman ?

I would like some bee's in my garden, for pollination purposes and just general improved ecology. They can keep their honey for now, until I find some more time to invest and develop apicultural skills.

I was hoping to make a topbar hive since it seems the easiest and cheapest to make, put it in an appropriate spot, throw some bees in so to speak and be done with it. Langstroths and the likes don't seem to hold any added value for my purpose. Is such low-maintenance beekeeping feasible ? Or have 'domesticated' bees been bred to the point they're whiny bitches that will get sick and die without regular monitoring ?

>>475811
whoohoo! some real interest!

if you're just looking for pollination and not focused on extracting honey, then a top-bar hive is a _great_ solution. As I'm sure you've found, you can DIY a top-bar much cheaper than buying, or even DIY'ing a Langstroth design. Top-bars are easy to manage, and a great way to get started. I would still suggest purchasing a proper veil/protective gear, a smoker, and a hive-tool.

Even if you don't plan on extracting honey, you really need to plan on doing at least a minimum of 'hive management' or you risk being caught unaware of problems in the hive.

This is often described as the difference between 'bee-keepers and bee-havers'. Bee-keepers try to stay aware of what's going on in the hives so they can pro-actively make changes to keep the hives happy and stable. A bee-haver will start a hive and 'have a beehive' until they miss the signs of swarming, or wax-moth, or VM, and suddenly find their hive dead and empty.

You can probably get away with peeking in on the hive every 2 weeks in the heat of the summer, and possibly every 6 weeks in the spring/fall. After you get familiar with the rhythm of a hive, it may be enough to just watch the entrance for a bit and then pry off the lid to peek at a frame.

If you are unwilling to take responsibility for your hive, like a pet, then you probably shouldn't invest the time, energy and money in starting one. A common nightmare for all beekeepers
is a well-intentioned 'bee-haver' who's unchecked hive develops foul-brood (a communicable disease) and infects all the other hives within several miles. At which point the local apiary inspector will end up having to put the torch to any infected hives, reducing seasons of work and managed bloodlines to a greasy plume of smoke.

>>475811
...cont.

If you're interested in a garden hive, then there are plenty of neat things you can do to either 'dress-up' the hive and make it a beautiful focal point in the garden, or possibly camoflague it for safety/security. somewhere there is a hipster making a killing selling 'artisinal hand-crafted copper-roofed beehives'. Once again, you will need to determine the best location for a hive in your yard, based on neighboors, shade, weather, plantings, and access. I am currently a fan of using putting my hives on sturdy pallets to raise them off the ground. I've seen other folks put their hives behind trained ivy and or fences to hide the hives themselves and alter the bee's flight path to keep neighbors happy.

The only thing you still need to worry about 'buying' are the bees.
Once again, you can either test your luck with a swarm lure (if it's still swarming season wherever you are), get a split/nuc from another friendly local beekeeper, or see about purchasing a package of bees.
As always, I suggest that you get in touch with local resources, who may be more than willing to give you a swarm, or an extra split from an established bee-yard.

Langstroth frames, and thus hives, are the 'standard' for folks who want to extract honey with a 'centrifugal/radial extractor. If you end up with an abundance of honey in a TB hive, then you can remove a few frames and use the 'crush & strain' method to extract it. I always like comb honey, so I keep a few frames worth of cut-comb in the fridge for special occasions or deserts.

>>475811
...cont

and yes, bees have been cultivated and 'domesticated' over thousands years, but are still very resilient creatures. Let to it's own devices a wild swarm will send out scouts to find a new home that meets the needs of the colony. Assuming they can get established and put away enough stores for the winter, a wild hive may thrive and throw off multiple swarms to found new hives in a year or so; thus completing it's life-cycle. they've been doing this successfully for millions of years.

To address the issue of healthy vs bitchy bees, we've got all kinds of bee plagues out there, but we seem to bring them on our selves, and our bees... Don't get me started on the artificial-24-hour-ibiza-party-lifestyle of the tens of thousands of hives trucked around the country like a carnival in the name of commercial crop pollination.

If you really want to make your hive a naturally healthy self-sustaining colony with the best odds of survival:

A) be _very_ picky about your hive's location.
-Temp, Weather, wind, humidity, solar exposure in summer & winter.
B) Get locally bred queens or splits if possible
- i'm in the NE, but most packaged bee suppliers ship georgia-bred southern queens from gene-stock from a more temperate environment. I prefer locally bred queens that have survived winters with 3' of snow, and multiple thaw/freeze cycles.
C) Look into small-cell foundation if you're not going foundation-less
D) Think about getting two hives so if one dies you've got a backup. You can then pull frames with fresh eggs for splits/requeening. managing two hives isn't much harder than just one, and the benefits are huge.
E) Look at beesource.com to see how 'beekeepers' do stuff, and take a look at backwardsbeekeepers.com to see another perspective on it.
F) Get involved with your local beekeeper's association/4-H/apiary-inspector

any questions?

>>475910
>>475913
>>476000

Not the person you were responding to, but...

This is why /diy/ is the best board. In depth, helpful, lists sources, polite. Thanks man.

>>476061
I agree. The thought of beekeeping hasn't even crossed my mind but these posts make for fascinating reading.

Thank you, beefag!

>>476077

Actually I'm thinking about starting because of those posts.

>>475910
>>475913
>>476000
Wow, thanks for the extensive and informative reply!

>whoohoo! some real interest!
>every 2 weeks in the heat of the summer, and possibly every 6 weeks in the spring/fall.
>determine the best location
> I would still suggest purchasing gear

That's a lot less time than I was willing to invest, so I'm sure I can make it work. I check up on my vegetable patch more often than that. A proper location was already chosen and worked into the garden design when I started 'rejuvenating' my parents' yard after I bought the house from them. I've been looking into it for a while and even got myself tested for possible allergies to bees. My interest indeed is genuine.

I was hoping to minimize the money invested until I actually have a taxpaying job. (Currently 7years into 9year college education) Over here beekeeping expenses are almost completely tax deductible up to a set amount of many hundreds of €'s a year (about $500). The catch is you have to be a taxpayer though, and you have to follow a 20lessons-course once about beekeeping which is given only once a year and is unpractically planned for students.

Thanks again for the reply!

I have a bee hive right now, just caught a swarm yesterday, they are doing great.

If you want to learn there is a lot of info but Micheal Bushs website is greats o far and he answered a lot of questions. However there is tons of sources.

Get a full body bee suit, hive tool, smoker, bee gloves, bee brush. build or get a hive, Kenyan Top Bar or Langstroth or Warre.

You can catch swarms if any are around, or you can set out hives for swarms to make a home in. Buying bees is also an option.

For anyone wanting to save Mr. Beeman's posts..

>>476146
whoohoo! positive feedback! thanks!
you've already done your homework, so you're ready to go, hooray!

It sounds like you've done the research into what's available locally and some nice tax deductions to help fund your hobby if you want to stick with it!. I'm sorry to hear that the multi-week course isn't a good option for you. I attended a bee-school (1 night a week x 3 months) for my region worcestercountybeekeepers dot com and they provided an _excellent_ introduction into the mechanics of beekeeping, our role as beekeepers, and how to understand what drives the behaviors of a colony. I took it more as a refresher-course, but the class was very informative for someone new to beekeeping. They also provided several opportunities to go out in an apiary and see what the inside of a hive looks like, and _sounds_ like. I hope that you are able to connect with some similar local resource, or get to know and learn from other beekeepers in your area. If you cannot meet with other beekeepers in person, then do so online, perhaps www.beeswales.co.uk or naturligbiodling.se are more your liking? take a look at plans for making a Top-bar hive. Find plans you can build with the tools you have access to and hop to it!
local beekeepers will be able to tell you how to get bees and what the remainder of your season will look like. Beekeeping forces some zen into your life and is rewarding in many ways, I hope you enjoy the magic of the hive as much as the rest of us beeks. Let us know if you put together a hive and get several thousand girlfriends of your own

>>476170
whooohoooo! congrats on capturing a swarm, nothing beats free bees! Where were they and how did you capture/transfer them? Is this your first swarm? how many hives do you have?

And here is a pic of a super I put on 2 weeks ago. they've already got it loaded about 1/2 full. no evidence of capping yet as it's been humid.

I've been a beekeeper since i was a kid, for about 20 years now. For a beginner, i wouldnt worry about harvesting honey. For one, most people will over harvest and starve them out in the winter. Unless you plan on feeding them over winter. I probably wouldnt start harvesting honey until you build your yard up some, until you got 5 or so healthy sized over wintered hives.

It's getting a little too late for swarms, but i usually keep about 5 empty hives around my yards, i usually get a few swarms that just move right in. That trick will only work if you got a ton of hives already though. Some people will put nuc boxes up in trees to catch swarms, that works sometimes.

>>476706
Hey, I wanted to say I read your stuff too. I'm building a top bar hive for my fathers place, his place backs onto a national park so there should be plenty of flowers and stuff.

He's not really into harvesting the honey, he just wants to help out the bees, so he'll kind of be a bee-haver I guess.

>>476718
What is it that attracts the swarms to move in?

>>476725
I hope you had some shades on you for that pun.

Beefags, I come to you bearing questions!

My mother recently got into bees but they came with hive beetles. She's using a few techniques to try and get rid of them, but it's not really working too well.

What would you do to get rid of these pests?

>>476731

If there's a lot of hives around, they'll usually want to move in. They figure if there's a bunch of bees already there, it's a good spot.

Having a swarm move in isnt a real common thing to happen, but i get a few a year. Just putting out a hive, with drawn comb already is about the best bait there is. I wouldnt put any honey or resources in it, as some other animal will just go in and eat it all long before the bees find it.

Actually sometimes a swarm will move into a weak hive and battle it out with them.

I usually have a few hives that died out over winter that i'll just shake the dead bees out of, and leave those boxes out all spring and maybe a swarm will move in.

>>476736

If a hive has that sort of infestation, it was probably a weak hive to begin with, just waiting for something to kill it.

I dont have hive beetles where i live, but i get shit like wax moths, and they'll really only attack a hive thats on it's way out anyways.

>>476739
We just bought the bees 2 months ago and now we have tons of bees, but still a lot of beetles...

So there's no way we could kill the beetles off?

>>476737
I don't think I'd have much of a chance of any bees moving in anyway, we rarely see any around here, we mostly just get wasps, but I like the idea of keeping bees, I always found them interesting, as well as ants.

>>476742
Not sure there's anything you could do without also harming the bees.

>>476742

I dont know, you could look into commercial treatments.

"a lot of bees" is pretty subjective. An indicator of a strong hive is if you basically pull the top off and it's literally packed with bees in there. I mean like every square centimeter in the hive should have a bee there.

>>476744
Shit... okay, that sucks.

>>476748
Yeah you're right, well I don't know how to accurately describe how many are in there now, but the last I saw they haven't started building on 3 of the wooden inserts. So could be around 15-20k bees now.

>>476731

you've got a few different things at play influencing swarm/colony nesting behaviors.
in most cases, a swarm will have sent out scouts to survey possible locations, and the scouts check out each other's finds, and come to a consensus on which one offers the best conditions. however, pheromones are a huge factor in bee behavior, and can effectively override the natural process.

swarms are attracted to the 'smell' of old/used brood comb. This is due to the pheromones which have impregnated the wax in the comb. Old hives without comb may also have enough residual bee-smell to attract a wild swarm.

there are also commercial swarm lures and a pretty good DIY formula. Most 'natural' swarm lures are based on lemongrass oil, however some supplement it with nasonov (queen) pheremone or other agents.

Hobby beekeeper here, build a Kenya style top bar hive (pictured.) You can try to capture a swarm or buy a nuc or 3lb colony from local keeper. It's not as efficient as conventional method, but good for people only wanting a small hive for pollination and some honey. I you are only about pollination for garden and flowers, search mason and solitary bees. No honey, but they are passive aggressive and better pollinators.

>>477537
Also forgot to add, to attract a swarm, use lemongrass extract ($3~4) for small bottle or a shot of Lemon Pledge furniture polish in a pinch around hive entrances. However- as mentioned earlier, it starting to get late in the year for swarms.

I'm living in central Portugal. Tomorrow evening I have a fresh colony arriving (my first). Today I have been clearing an area on our land and setting up the foundation. Just want to bump this thread as I'll be posting in the week to come in regards to this new adventure I'm on.

I now I won't be able to harvest any honey this year. I just want to get some hands on experience maintaining a colony so that I can go into the next season fully prepared, as I plan to manage several hives in a couple of different locations.

>>477537
>>477538

I can't help but imagine that if I tried this I'd just end up attracting a bunch of yellow jackets, which would end up with that hive turning into an expensive bonfire. Is it fairly common to attract wild honeybees if the season is right?

>>478602

It's not really that common. I can get away with it because i'll set up empty hives in my existing bee yards, which already have a lot of bee traffic, so i catch a swarm every now and then.

Just setting up a hive in the middle of nowhere has a pretty small chance of attracting a swarm. I've never tried using extracts and such to attract a swarm so i dont know.

It really depends on what the bee activity in your area is. Setting a lion trap in anartica probably doesnt have much of a chance to catch a lion. My area has a lot of beekeepers though, so there's swarms all over during the season.

Which i mention before, the swarm time of the year is getting pretty much over. About a month an a half ago was the peak time for them. I see straggler swarms occasionally throughout the summer, but they're rare.

If anyone has a guide to constructing a 10 frame langstroth where all the measurements are in metric I would very much appreciate it.

>>478602
>I can't help but imagine that if I tried this I'd just end up attracting a bunch of yellow jackets, which would end up with that hive turning into an expensive bonfire.

Lel. I also have your kind of luck, very recognizable.

>>478601
congrats on your first hive! I hope they like their new home! Show us some pictures once they start drawing comb, it's magical! Assume you're feeding them and will have a restrictor/net over the entrance for a few days? How did you get them, and from where? How much did they cost? How do they packages bees/nucs in Portugal? Let us know how it works out!

>>478601

if your timing is right, you can split a strong hive going into it's 2nd year/1st-spring and get 2 new hives in addition to your original. Extra drawn frames are like gold, know when you can convince your girls to draw foundation or fresh comb, you'll be glad to have it when you start of a fresh split or need to anchor a swarm.

here's a shot of some burr comb my girls drew last summer when I left them too much space and not enough frames.... I felt so bad destroying their hard work... /cry/

>>476742

http://lmgtfy.com/?q=hive+beetle+trap

I've heard mixed results with the cloroplast/jewelcase traps, and nothing about the commercial 'hang-between-frames' traps that are filled with oil. There are also treatments that you spray on the ground _around_ the hive to keep the beetles out. Take a look at beesource for more options on how to deal with the little buggers.

Collecting nutrients from the regurgitations of hymenopteroids instead of synthesising carbohydrates from CH4.

>>476736
Beetle traps! That's the organic way, anyway. Beetle busters? I can't remember. I just took a class on urban beekeeping and I have a packet laying around....here. Okay, organic methods of removing hive beetles include: beetle blasters (small traps you place between frames with some oil in the bottom, which the beetles will drown in) hood traps (similar), and tray traps which can go underneath the bottom board with a stick solution so if the hive beetles fall down they get stuck. That's all I have from my notes; I believe there are non-organic solutions as well but what's the fun in that?

Pic related, bees! Bees are awesome and I wish my apartment building would let me put them on the roof.

>>477537
Dang man, how do you access the comb in that?

>>479473

>Assume you're feeding them and will have a restrictor/net over the entrance for a few days?

I only had the entrance reducer on for a day as the colony already had a decent population and comb built (see below). Still, I have been giving them a sugar water solution via a top feeder placed above a hole in the inner-cover. A little tip from a local beekeeper was to add some lemon rind into the solution when boiling it. I'm not entirely sure why this is, as the translations I was receiving weren't great, but apparently it adds some essential vitamins which sugar water lacks. I don't know if there are any other reasons (do bees require acidic substances for any reason?), but it sounds plausible enough.

>How did you get them, and from where? How much did they cost? How do they packages bees/nucs in Portugal?

We drove for a couple of hours looking for the home of a man who is known to supply bees locally, in what felt like a wild goose chase around the mountains and nearby villages. We eventually made it there, after speaking to a dozen different people (making new friends along the way) sometime in the evening. He was not prepared for visitors, but when he realized we were there about bees he warmed up. He only had one colony available at the time (already in its own hive) and took us out to see it. We stood back at a 'safe' distance, as he wore a veil and opened the cover to remove a few frames, no smoke or gloves. After he put the frames back in place and covered it up again, the bees all seemed to vanish and it felt safe (cont...)

(In the picture you can see our chicken shed, vegetable patch, and now my very first apiary! I made the clearing by chopping down trees using an axe, clearing brush with a scythe, and reshaping the land with a hoe. We medieval up here.)

>>482276

That's when 3 landed on my face! I started walking away as calmly as possible with my eyes and mouth firmly shut. Even so, one still decided to sting me right on the tip of my nose. I got to a safe distance and managed to remove the stinger and wash my face with water from a nearby fountain. It made my eyes water and nose run, and throbbed a little, but only for a short time.

The arrangement was for me to bring him my brood chamber, leave it there over night, and he'll remove my 10 empty frames, replacing them with 10 frames from his hive, which already had foundation and were already half covered in comb. He charged 45 euros because they had already started producing comb and he had already put foundation on the frames. Usually he charges 25 for a fresh swarm, but he didn't have any available at the time. And then I would return the following night, after all the workers had returned to the hive, to transport them back to my apiary.

I've had them now since Monday. To my surprise they have completely emptied the top feeder every single day since their arrival. I am worried that having a source of food provided for them may deter them from working as hard, so today will be the last time I top it up (and I placed a bowl filled with gravel and water near the hive too). I have only done one proper hive inspection so far. I removed most of the frames for a quick look over. I didn't manage to find the queen, and to be honest I have no idea what I am looking at when it comes to the comb. There are plenty of capped cells, but I don't know if those are honey stores or brood. And I am still trying to get the smoker to stay working for more than a minute (just been using dry brown grass/hay, but I heard pine needles smoulder well - so I'll be gathering some up soon).

Bee keepers often refer to the "Bee Bible" which is officially titled "The ABC's and 123's of Beekeeping"

Best book you can get on the topic.

Good luck with your bees.

>>482293
I'm currently reading Beginning Beekeeping For Kentuckians which is quite well rounded. It references the book you mention, which is actually called The ABC and XYZ of bee culture. It can be bought for $40 on amazon (haven't found a softcover price), or downloaded for free as a very old edition here http://archive.org/details/abcxyzofbeecultu00root

If anyone finds a later edition for download anywhere please share (I already checked #ebooks @undernet an PB).

>>482298
This seems like a pretty decent alternative to 'The Bible' in the meantime
http://thepiratebay.sx/torrent/5484528/Bee_Keeping_For_Dummies

>>482293
>>482298
>>482323

I have two copies of the imposing 'ABC-XYZ' tome, my father's original and new one as a gift from wifey. There is no doubt that its jam packed with wonderful bee-knowledge, but if you drop it on a newbee, you'll break their foot.

I suggest getting & reading at least one of the books you metion, or one of the following before you get started/invested:

'The Beekeeper's Handbook' by D.Sammataro and A. Avitabile
'The Backyard Beekeeper' by Kim Flottum
'Natural Beekeeping' by Ross Conrad
'Beekeeping for dummies'

These books provide an organic curriculum for someone interested in beekeeping, and are much more approachable and immediately useful to a newbee. I'd suggest getting your copy of ABC to XYZ late fall of your first year. This provides reading/reference material for the long winter you're going to spend planning for your girl's first spring of honey production. ABC-XYZ is a great way to get answers to questions that come up, and describes many different beekeeping practices which you might not otherwise know about or see demonstrated and explained.

As always, I'm going to shill for your local beekeepers association, who have experience and can tell you which practices work best in your unique environment. I'm not going to shill the book for Beekeeping in Ontario's winters to someone who's looking to start a hive in southern California, the locals know best.

What are the best plants to grow near my hive if I want good honey? (and a healthy hive, of course)

>>482276
Que lindo! that looks like a beautiful site for an apiary, I hope your girls like it too! They will also appreciate the bowl of water & pebbles you put out for them. My bees like my neighbor's pool. My neighbor likes the honey I give him every fall. Everything works out in the end.

The bees you bought are well established on that comb and probably have brood. When we 'install' a commercial 3-pound package of bees we normally pen them in for a few days and feed them extra sugar-water to help push them to produce comb for the queen to lay into. This is normally called 'shaking a package (into a hive)', but I prefer a 'no-shake' method similar to this. If anyone's interested, I'll find my LBA's handout on our super-secret no-shake method which is similar to this:

(got banned trying to post links, sorry...) yooootuuuube watch?v=DNaQNma_t0U -

As your colony is already established, you don't need to feed them. But if you give them a free ride for a while, a fresh swarm is primed to make comb, and will gladly drink syrup to help them draw out foundation or even empty frames with starter strips. At the end of winter, before spring's warmth pushes the flowers up, I feed my hives pollen/protein supplement patties. This provides an early protein source before natural pollen is available. The protein is necessary to actually 'make baby bees', while the remaining honey stores and extra sugar syrup provide carbohydrates for the bees to eat and turn into heat as they need to warm the brood chamber in preparation for spring.

We also put lemon in the syrup (~ 1 ml lemon juice per liter). The lemon's acid helps keep the syrup from going 'sour'. There are many people who use cream-of-tartar to make 'invert sugar syrup' which is closer to honey's chemistry and easier for them to process. However, you have to be careful not to boil the syrup, or you will end up poisioning your bees.

wvbeekeeper d0t bl0gsp0t d0t c0m 2008/01/making-invert-sugar-syrup.html

>>481481

Roof comes right off. Wood slats (top bars) assemble across the frame and the bees build as they want. The bars make the internal roof. The shingle roof just keeps elements out. Pull up a bar and you have the comb attached. Pros and cons with this method. Google biobees or Kenya top bar hive.