Beekeeping in Retirement

[B-Guy]

I'm a small time beekeeper with about 35 colonies of bees. My main focus for the past 10 years has been rearing quality queens the will survive in our harsh environment while introducing the traits I desire. I'm pretty small scale queen producer only selling 75 to 150 queens a year.

Just wondering how many on this forum are beekeepers or want to become beekeepers? I have seen some on here who want to become queen producers, some that just want to do it for a hobby, and some that want to do it for the experience.

Bees really were my therapy while I was working and now my passion to continue to foster quality queens that will survive our tough great plains environment.

I hope you chime in as to what your beekeeping interest are.

 

[Souschef]

I worked on a tourist train and we had honey runs. We had beekeepers on board describing the entire operation, which I found fascinating.
We ended up at a honey farm and had honey tastings.
The valley we live in is the lemon capital of the world, and there are hives all over to pollinate the trees.
I have had a passing interest in beekeeping, but do not have the space now.

 

[RobbieB]

I love a spoonful of honey from time to time and just a little squeeze in my tea.

 

[retire to nature]

is the B in your ID in the bee? so cute.

I want to do beekeeping and looking at the kit set at amazon in my cart all the time. haha.

I am doing my backyard vegetable garden and interesting to doing chicken and bee but not yet for these two yet since I dont want to hook to my house for the possible trip. Also, I had a couple of bee sting and now got allergy reaction to it. So a bit hesitate to start.

But my dream is retire to nature doing all kinds of stuff in the nature raising animals and insects.

I finally bought the small mason bee house from homedepot haha.

 

[street]

Is there any money to be made from raising bees?

I been thinking of having the bee man I know put some boxes out on my place. A lot of alfalfa and flowering vegetation in the area.

What advantage do bees give back to the land they live on?

 

[RobbieB]

They make it fruitful.

 

[street]

^ true. I was wondering what other natural, environment and conservational element they also might do.

 

[B-Guy]

Sustainable Beekeeping

Is there any money to be made from raising bees?

I been thinking of having the bee man I know put some boxes out on my place. A lot of alfalfa and flowering vegetation in the area.

What advantage do bees give back to the land they live on?

They primarily pollinate to produce more and better crops that their drawn to. Not all crops benefit from honey bees. Produce such as tomatoes and squash for instance require bumble bees to pollinate them as the pollen on the flowers is very sticky and takes more aggressive bees to pollinate them. Honeybees do an excellent job of pollenating alfalfa if you are looking to harvest it for seed.

There are so many aspects of beekeeping it hard to put it into words in a paragraph or two all the possibilities they present to benefit you. Bees don't pollinate for us it is an unintentional benefit from foraging for food (pollen and nectar).

Talk to your local beekeeper and they will likely be able to offer suggestions based on what you are looking to accomplish.

Honeybees are sustainable agriculture at it's finest. If you are thinking of becoming a beekeeper, jump in the water isn't to deep!

 

[street]

Thanks for the reply. When I was in junior high, I worked for a guy that did bees on the side. I was with him a few times when he suited up and did what beekeepers do.

There is actually a lot of bee people in my area.

 

[pjigar]

I am a beekeeper. I maintain about 20 colonies and has been into this hobby for six years and counting. My primary purpose was to get agriculture valuation on our land but then I fell in love with bees! I have been in the maintenance mode since I started and harvest some honey every year. Raise my own queens. But haven't been able to spend serious time since we did not live on the land. We moved to the land this year so I am hoping to spend more time with the bees in the coming years.

 

[B-Guy]

Well I'm glad to hear there are folks on this forum that have bees, want bees or are interested in bees. All are important. Even if you don't want to be a beekeeper you can plant flowers for pollinators or put out a nesting box for other bees.

A suggestion for those who want to become a beekeeper is to take a class before buying equipment. I taught class for several years at the local community collage and helped from time to time at the university. A class will give you the foundation to become successful. I am the president and founder of a local association and was the president of the state association for several years and found there three kinds of beekeepers, beekeepers, beehavers and package buyers. Almost all the "package buyers" had no structured beekeeping education.

If you want to get started this coming spring take a class as soon as possible. Depending on where you live will determine when you will pickup your bees. The farther south the earlier they will be ready. Taking a class will also help you understand what you really need as far as equipment goes.

If you are going to watch YouTube video, watch ones from universities and master beekeepers as they won't steer you wrong. There are too many videos out there that are from beginners excited about their new found hobby to folks that don't practice conventual beekeeping. When watching videos think about where they are located as beekeeping is a bit different depending on where you live.

Beekeeping is a great hobby and you can adjust the equipment to lighten up the hives. You will need to at a minimum be able to lift 50# or have a friend or two that can for you. Another thing to think about is the initial investment is going to be around $600.00 for one colony (equipment and bees) to start. If you can find a beekeeping association, join and attend meetings. You will meet beekeepers from beginners to seasoned beekeepers that have been doing it for many years and will likely be able to answer any questions you may have.

 

[Gumby]

^ true. I was wondering what other natural, environment and conservational element they also might do.

I don't keep bees, but for several years one of my neighbors down the street kept one of his hives in my yard. (he got too old to keep it up). There is also a young beekeeper who has a few hives out at the community garden where we have a plot. They help pollinate all my plants, which I appreciate. I also just find them interesting to watch and pleasing to have around as they go about their business.

 

[steelyman]

I stayed at a B&B just outside of Indianapolis where the owners were beekeepers on site. They were the nicest people and loved that work. They were very happy to share their experience (and honey!). It’s not for me but I think it’s fantastic.

 

[Mark1]

Being a bee keeper is not for me, as it looks like too much work. However, this thread did make me just purchase a couple of nesting boxes for next year entertainment, which I had never considered. I have lots of flowering plants on the property that attract bees, which I enjoy watching. However, no flowering plant can compare to the numbers that are attracted to my Rocky Mountain Bee Plant annuals. The background roar of thousands of bees buzzing is amazing.

 

[B-Guy]

However, this thread did make me just purchase a couple of nesting boxes for next year entertainment, which I had never considered.

That's great your getting nesting boxes. If you want to be sure and have bees you can order them on line in sleeves and they will hatch out for you in the nesting boxes. If there are enough around they will likely find it on their own and lay in it for the following spring to hatch out.

We were just over your way in October checking out the wineries and was amazed how many beekeepers were in the area.

Good luck!

 

[YVRRocketSurgery]

The threat of being stung kind of makes me avoid bees even though I appreciate their role in nature.
However, as a part of a megacorp community service day a few years ago, a bunch of us volunteered at an event that involved non-stinging mason bees and their role in the habitat we were working on. Found it interesting and want to set up a small colony in our backyard just to help pollinate the garden.

 

[Gumby]

It is my understanding that unless you're somehow messing around with their hive, honey bees won't sting you. I'm constantly surrounded by them out in the garden, but they have never stung me once, even if they occasionally land on me.

 

[steelyman]

I’m not sure if it’s a regional thing or what but not long after I moved to NC I had a visit from a group of UNC students who were advocating for bee protection. They were sincere and had good literature. I was impressed.

 

[medved]

I stayed at a B&B just outside of Indianapolis where the owners were beekeepers on site. They were the nicest people and loved that work. They were very happy to share their experience (and honey!). It’s not for me but I think it’s fantastic.

That’s a B&B&Bee.

 

[steelyman]

That’s a B&B&Bee.

I hope they are still going. Extremely nice husband and wife in Plainfield, Indiana. The B&B is on a lake.

 

[2HOTinPHX]

Recent watched this on PBS. Very interesting program on beehavior with amazing camera work.

My Garden of a Thousand Bees.

https://www.pbs.org/video/my-garden-of-a-thousand-bees-trjhzt/

 

[B-Guy]

The threat of being stung kind of makes me avoid bees even though I appreciate their role in nature.
However, as a part of a megacorp community service day a few years ago, a bunch of us volunteered at an event that involved non-stinging mason bees and their role in the habitat we were working on. Found it interesting and want to set up a small colony in our backyard just to help pollinate the garden.

Honey bees only sting to defend their hive. So for me I have an average of 35 colonies, which equates to 2,000,000 bees at the peak of the year all are within 100 yards from our home. I get stung a half a dozen times a year. My wife has been stung 3 times in 15-ish years. The odds of being stung are remote. Most of the time that I get stung is when I do something wrong. They are trying to educate me! So some days I'm a slow learner! I spend much of my free time learning from them. However it is critically important to understand how being stung affects you! We are all different and I hear far to often that people are severally allergic to bees which rarely is the case. If you swell up locally this is not necessary a severe reaction. However, I have seen people with life threatening reaction to bee stings. Talk to your doctor, they can determine weather you are having a severer reaction or a normal reaction. It's not something to poopoo if you are 1 of the 1% that is severely allergic.

 

[B-Guy]

Recent watched this on PBS. Very interesting program on beehavior with amazing camera work.

My Garden of a Thousand Bees.

https://www.pbs.org/video/my-garden-of-a-thousand-bees-trjhzt/

This is a wonderful documentary about bees. I have found several out there, so enjoy!

https://www.pbs.org/video/my-garden-of-a-thousand-bees-trjhzt/

 

[Mr._Graybeard]

Beekeeping plays a part in the history of my area. A German immigrant named Adam Grimm came to Wisconsin in the 1840s and began beekeeping with strains of insects that were available locally. During the Civil War he sailed to Italy and brought back a number of queens to colonize his hives back home. I believe he was one of the first beekeepers to introduce the more productive, docile Italian variety to commercial American hives. He became quite successful as a honey producer and propagator of Italian queens for other beekeepers, selling the insects for up to $20 each in 1860 dollars. He acquired enough capital to open a bank in a nearby town that was in continuous operation until it was merged into a chain in the 1980s.

In 1870 he sold 240 colonies of his Italian bees for $2,400 to the Mormons in Utah (its Beehive State nickname is unrelated to the transaction).

Unfortunately, Grimm died at a relatively young age. His gravestone is distinctive for its homage to the hive.

 

[B-Guy]

Beekeeping plays a part in the history of my area. A German immigrant named Adam Grimm....

Very interesting. Where did you find the history on Adam Grimm? I have dozens of books on beekeeping, many on the various aspects of the history and have never come across this history. I would like to read more if it's out there.