Beginner's Guide

Thinking of keeping bees? Please read on...

KEY ADVICE

The essential first step for beginners is to join your local association. There you will find help and advice to get you set up.

Look for your local bee keepers' association on the British Bee Keepers' Association site at www.bbka.org.uk (/Member Associations or /Links), or at your local library. If you live in North Shropshire or adjoining North Wales then contact us by clicking here and come to a meeting!

WHY

There are all sorts of reasons why people keep bees: an interest in natural things; free honey; observing the life cycle of beings substantially unchanged for 3 million years; perhaps it's in the family. Once experienced, it is difficult to forget the heady honey perfume wafting from a hive of busy bees on a summer's evening, the intense chaos of a swarm in flight, your first honey harvest. Or the time a dozen bees got up your trouser leg.

AGE

Immaterial. You may find it difficult to find a bee suit to fit if you are very young (see right), but child sizes are available. If you are at the other end of four score years and a pension, your main concern might be humping full supers of honey (30-40lbs plus), but you will usually be able to obtain a helping hand (see key advice, above).

HEALTH

Not particularly relevant except when lifting hive parts (see above). There is a possibility you may have an adverse reaction to bee stings. This is not very common, but it must be taken seriously. You will inevitably get stung at some time, however well protected you may be. It may be a good plan to ensure that you have company whenever you are exposed to the chance of being stung, at least until your reaction can be gauged. In most cases a slight swelling will be the only result, apart from the initial howl of pain!

HOW TO KEEP BEES

There are, as you will discover, as many ways of keeping bees as there are bee keepers. You need not worry about getting it right initially however, as honey bees have existed without our interference for some millions of years and will get on with their business quite happily whilst we learn the general hang of things. Read some books.

COST

Ah, well now, this is length of string country. It will depend on whether you buy new or second-hand, or obtain gratis. Certain items are essential, others useful but less essential. Number one on the list is protective gear. To tackle a hive of 50,000 bees, possibly not in the best of moods, you need to be confident you are well protected from stings.

This confidence will be reflected in your handling of the bees, which will be adversely affected if some of them are crawling about inside your shirt. Do not try to economise by buying just a hat and veil (left) and wearing them with your old jacket and trousers - the bees will find several ways in you didn't expect. Buy a proper beekeepers jacket with integral veil, or better still a full suit (right). With elasticated cuffs and the trouser legs tied over your wellie tops you can feel safe and relaxed. Cost £50 - £100.

Next you need a hive. The two most common types in the UK are WBC (left) and National (right). WBCs are the fancy ones which go with English country gardens (and instant garden programmes on the TV). Nationals are the plain box types which are (1) cheaper to buy and (2) easier to transport when necessary. I would usually recommend starting with Nationals for those two reasons, plus there are more second-hand ones about. Later on, by all means buy a WBC to put on the lawn. You can save some money by buying hives 'in the flat' for self-assembly. Roughly £100 - £200 new with supers, frames, etc.

Tools: a smoker and hive-tool are essential. Say £30 - £50 new.

Finally: some bees. Not essential, but swanning around in all that white clobber soon palls if you omit the bees. You can buy a hive (or 'nucleus' - an abbreviated hive) with bees, but most people begin with a swarm obtained through a society member, usually in early summer.

Later on you will need an extractor, to remove the honey from the combs. A relatively expensive piece of equipment to buy, but you may initially be able to borrow or hire the machine. Other bits and pieces may be purchased as and when. Taking a shopping list with you to the BBKA Spring Convention at Stoneleigh is a good idea, for example.

SHOPPING LIST

National Hive. A basic hive consists of

1. Floor.
2. Brood box (deep).
3. 12 deep frames (Hoffman self-spacing recommended - DN4's).
4. 12 sheets of brood wired worker foundation.
5. Crown board.
6. Roof.

To collect honey from your bees you will also need

1. A queen excluder to keep the queen down in the brood chamber.
2. Super box (shallow).
3. 12 shallow frames (SN1's).
4. 24 wide spacers.
5. 12 sheets of super wired worker foundation.
6. 2 Porter bee escapes (to clear bees from the super).
7. A clearer board. This is a crown board with two holes to take the Porter escapes.

Use 15mm and 20mm veneer pins to put the frames together. The boxes may be bought 'in the flat' to save money. A waterproof glue and rust-proofed nails are a good idea.

You can put the hive on bricks, or make up a stand from half-round wood, with four uprights banged in the ground, and two long, two short pieces to make a frame. Two to three feet high. The stand is particularly useful if you are not able to cut the grass and herbage very often.

Tools:

1. Hive tool. The hook-ended one is useful for prising up frames. The wide-ended one is good for prising boxes apart. Best get both.
2. Smoker, medium sized one. Stainless steel if you can afford it.
3. Smoker fuel. Collect egg boxes and well-rotted wood or sacking.
4. A manipulation cloth, used to cover the open hive during examinations.
5. A tool box to keep your bits in.

A full bee suit, wellies and a pair of household gloves. The cheaper gloves will do as they soon get stickied up and need replacing.

EQUIPMENT SUPPLIERS

http://www.thorne.co.uk/

http://www.beekeeping.co.uk/

LOCAL SUPPLIERS

BOOKS

There are hundreds of titles available, but many are aimed at the more advanced bee keeper. Titles in the following very brief list may be available from your local library or from book suppliers (e.g. Northern Bee Books www.beedata.com).

Backyard Beekeeping. Prism Press. Very basic. It's really a pre-beginners book, giving an outline, a taste of bee keeping in a simple, easy to read, style.

The Complete Guide to Beekeeping. Jeremy Evans & Sheila Berrett. Large format, well written, well illustrated.

Bees at the Bottom of the Garden. Alan Campion. Excellent photographs and drawings.

A Guide to Bees and Honey. Ted Hooper. Not for beginners, but a useful reference book.

If you have a bee keeping book you have found ideal for beginners, please send us an E-mail.

A small collection of books will be available at meetings for short term loan. Talk to John Welch.

EQUIPMENT STORAGE

A common source of frustration for a bee keeper is not being able to find a vital piece of equipment when you need it - often when you have a hive open, you are fully installed in protective gear, and you have a growing suspicion that it's back in the shed or maybe you even left it behind somewhere. Reject the cluttered cardboard box (left) and invest in a decent tool box. Stanley have a very handy twin design which has ample room for a good collection of tools and bits & pieces, plus room for half a dozen spare frames in the lower section.

It's washable and, with just a minimal amount of self-discipline (always return items to their allotted place before moving off site), you can be confident you will have the right tool to hand to cover the majority of situations.

So there you are then. Off you go!