What You Need Before Getting Bees
If you are set on starting your own beekeeping hobby, business, side business, or study, then you should have thought about the hives you need, and the tools. Your next step will be in acquiring the bees, which can be unclear, because there is more than just one way of getting these.
Buy a Colony
You can buy a complete colony either from a local beekeeper or from a beekeeper product supplier. If you an actual beginner, this is more than likely the easiest way to get your bees, although it is also the most costly way. The colony will contain a queen, workers, drones, and frames of honeycomb with incubate. It will even contain some honey for the bees.
Also Read: When is the best time for beekeeping
Buy a Nucleus
When you purchase a hive nucleus, you get a queen and a few frames of worker bees with a tiny foundation. This will incorporate three to five frames that will give your hive a good beginning, but is a bit slower than if you buy the whole colony.
The Package
This can likewise be purchased from a local beekeeper or breeder. It will have a queen and about three pounds of worker bees only. This means you will have to feed the bees with some kind of syrup until they feel relaxed to work for themselves.
The Swarm
This is more than likely the most cost-effective way of getting your bees, but it is also the riskiest, and most difficult way of acquiring them. This is the fashion where you catch your own swarm. This is more than likely not the best option for beginners, since you don't really know how they will respond, or whether they have been Africanized, or not. Swarms can carry diseases, or even mites, and these will be difficult for a beginner beekeeper to deal with.
When Should You Acquire Your Bees?
Also Read: A step by step guide for bees
The best time to start your hives is around April or May. If you plan on purchasing them from a poster supplier, you should order them the fall before, to be delivered in the spring. When you buy bees later than June, then you risk them not having enough time to make enough honey for their winter and thus surviving. This means you will forfeit the bees and the money you invested. That’s the reason why it is important for a beginner beekeeper to get proper training on being a beekeeper......
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