A beekeeper’s joy
Beekeeper’s Supplies and Education – Important Parts of a fascinating hobby
One of the most important facets of becoming a beekeeper is the beekeeper’s supplies and education. These elements are considered long before the bees ever arrive. At least this is the optimum way to become involved in beekeeping. Americans have enjoyed the hobby of beekeeping ever since the colonists first arrived – some bringing colonies of honeybees with them in the 1600’s.
Today the hobby of beekeeping is seeing a resurgence in popularity brought on by the media coverage of large honeybee losses. Keeping honeybees has changed a lot in the last 30 years. It is the intelligent approach to beekeeping that is most likely to yield good results. Many catalogs contain pages and pages of Beekeeper Supplies that can be overwhelming. Proper Beekeeper education can help the new hobbyist prepare for and mange their colonies.
Bee Well Honey has provided a full line of beekeeping supplies for years. We have everything you need to get started from beginners books to wooden ware and even the bees themselves. After a very successful event in the Fall of 2014, we will be offering a one day Beekeeping Bootcamp in the Spring of 2015. This one day class will feature lecture time and field time in actual hives. Date and price to be determined.Are you ready to dive into beekeeping ?
Order your bees NOW for spring delivery. Order bees here
Want more information about the Beekeeper Boot Camp ? Email us at : [email protected]
One of the many debated topics among beekeepers is the issue of starting new hives with package bees or
nucs. A package of bees is usually a 3# screen and wire cage containing about 10,000 bees and a mated queen (in a cage) with a can of syrup for the journey. A nuc (pronounced nuke) is short for nucleus colony. A nuc should contain 4 or 5 frames of complete honeycomb including bees, brood, honey, pollen and a mated and accepted queen. Both methods have advantage and disadvantages.
Package bees is probably the most common way to grow your apiary. Thousands of bee packages are sold each year in the US. Quality varies greatly so it is important to find a supplier that delivers healthy bees. Then the job of taking care of them is up to you the beekeeper.
Disadvantages of Packages:
the bees in the box are not usually related and have not yet accepted the queen included
the bees do not have any brood or stores in honeycomb
Advantages of Packages:
you will have no sealed brood for about 10 days (this can be a varroa mite break)
available earlier in the season
cost less than nucs
easier to deal with in the beginning, smaller cluster of bees, less propolis and sticky frames, all comb built will be new
Nucs are usually 4 or 5 frames of bees, complete honeycomb, stores, brood and an accepted queen. They are generally available a little later in the season and have a head start on packages purchased at the same time of year.
Disadvantages of Nucs:
Not all nucs are created equal and involve more variables than packages. When comparing costs you should have a complete understanding of how many frames you are getting and how full of bees those frames will be. Are the frames and comb old or new ? Is the comb completely drawn out or partial or just foundation ? Plastic or wax ?
Nucs can be hard to find when you want to purchase and are not always available early due to winter/spring weather. If the Spring is especially cold and nucs are slow to develop you may end up with nothing if you miss the package delivery dates.
Nucs with drawn comb and brood can more easily carry along pests such as (hive beetles, wax moths etc) and diseases.
Nucs are more expensive
Advantages of Nucs:
A good nuc colony has a head start over a package as it has brood, stores and drawn comb.
A queen that has been accepted by the bees and has already been laying.
Both methods are great ways to get involved in beekeeping for newbies or those wanting to expand their apiaries. We are taking orders for package bee now and the earliest dates will sell out. Place your order now !
http://beewellhoneyfarm.com/beekeeping-supplies/honeybees-sale/
BEES FOR SALE
The term “bees for sale” brings forth great excitement in the minds of beekeepers everywhere. Each year Bee Well Honey in Pickens SC offers packages of honeybees for sale to new and experienced beekeepers in the region. We have been doing this for over 10 years and we believe that we have a good system of providing new colonies to meet your needs. Honeybees are facing many difficulties and there is no perfect bee or perfect beekeeper. Getting your colony off to a good start in early Spring is an important part of having a successful beekeeping program. Interested in Bees but don’t know how to become a beekeeper ? Bee Well can help you there also with our experienced staff and one day Beekeeping BootCamp. Order your packages now to secure the best early dates and be ready to start off 2015 with a “BUZZ” !
Click here to order
Will you be ordering honeybees for Spring delivery ? Thousands of beekeepers across the US need new packages of honeybees each year. The bees usually come from the Southern Regions (especially Georgia) because the milder winters make it more economical to build up colony size for an early Spring delivery. Beekeepers order packages of bees for several reasons: to replace colonies that die out over the winter, to increase the number of hives in their apiary and excited new beekeepers who are starting with bees for the first time.
Honeybees are not in unlimited supply so the early delivery dates sell out fast. It is not unusual for beekeepers to order bees in October that will be delivered in March and April. It is a simple matter of supply and demand. Getting the new packages of bees as early as your season allows will help insure that they are in the hive and ready to take advantage of the Spring season nectar flow.
Each year, Bee Well Honey sells hundreds of packages of honeybees and has done so for over ten years. We have many repeat customers who order honeybees from us each year. Your bees arrive in a screen and wooden cage that contains approximately 3# of bees (Italian mix), a can of syrup and a young mated queen bee (held in a special cage.)
Ordering honeybee packages is a great way to get started with bees. Bee Well is taking orders now for 2015. Place your order now to reserve your space and pay in early January.
http://beewellhoneyfarm.com/beekeeping-supplies/
