Acquiring the Bees

As long as you aren’t allergic to bee stings beekeeping is a way for someone who doesn’t have a large amount of money and acres of land to take a lively role in agriculture. The initiate expense of the normal hive is approximately $300 per hive (you only need one to get start with). Once you have obtained a hive it may be retained at a distant corner of your back garden, it is not uncommon to see some suburban homes with a bee hive.

If you are considering starting a beehive the initial thing you should do is call your local Cooperative Extension office. They will be able to state if you live in an area that restricts keeping bees. They will likewise be able to present you the contact details of your states beekeeping establishment where you are able to become a registered beekeeper.

The next thing you should do is select a site for your potential honey bee hive.


Once you have selected a site for your beehive you will need to go about acquiring the tools required to successfully conserve a beehive. Some of the tools you will need can be bought used on EBay. If you are not able to find the tools you need on EBay there are lots of on-line sites where you can buy equipment. If you need further assistance finding and buying a beehive and different beekeeping equipment call your local Cooperative Extension office or the Federation of American Beekeepers.

Before acquiring bees for your hive it is essential to ensure that your property protected, this means you need to purchase beekeepers gear.

Once your hive is in place and you are confident that everything is in good order it’s time to order your honey bees. The best way is to order Honey Bees from an acknowledged Apiary. You should plan on placing you bee order early in the winter, the normal beekeeper orders their bees in January and February. The order is commonly shipped in March and April. Most Apiary’s ship their bees through the U.S. postal service. When the bees reach the post office your mail carrier will call and ask that you collect the bees. Only a couple of mail carriers are happy driving all over the county with a car full of young angry bees in their car and most bees are more healthy if they don’t have to spend several hours in a hot car.

When you collect your bees they ought to have been packaged in a special carrying case that is designed just for bees. This package will be a wooden framed “house” that has a screen covering the outer. This packaging allows air to circulate to the traveling bees and keeps handlers, such as post office staff members, from getting stung.

When you get your bees, do not be surprised if you see some dead bees laying in the bottom of the package. Traveling is hard on bees and they can’t all be expected to recover from the trip. The rest of the bees should be clutching the sides of the container.

You will observe that one bee in the container has been separated from the remainder of the hive. This is your queen bee. The rest of the bees in the container will make up the remainder of your bee hives hierarchy. Some Apiaries ship the queen with a couple of nurse bees. The surface of the queen’s container will be covered with piece of sugar candy.