All About GOD - Growing Relationships with Jesus and Others

Bees, Beekeeping and Honey!

Well, May of 2012 I took the plunge and got into beekeeping: besides the honeymaking, I really needed beehives to keep the orchard, berry bushes and wildflowers pollinated and happy.

Studied and researched it all winter of 2011 and ordered all the equipment to get assembled in April before the bees arrived May 1.

I calculated I need 6 hives placed around the woods, so the list of equipment was:

BEE STUFF

Parson’s Gold Apiaries)

A. HIVES & EQUIPMENT

Beekeepers Master Pollinator Kit

1 - Painted Assembled Telescoping Metal Cover
2 - Painted Assembled Hive Bodies w/frames & Plasticell foundation
1 - Inner Cover
1 - Painted Assembled Bottom Board
1 - Metal 10" Hive Tool
1 - Bee Brush
1 - Smoker 4"x7" Stainless Steel w/shield
2 - 1 lb. of Smoker Fuel
1 - Entrance Feeder
1 - Beekeepers Zipper Veil Suit=Medium
1 - Plastic Helmet
1 - Economy Leather Gloves=Medium
1 - Hive and Honey Bee Book
1 - First Lessons in Beekeeping Book
1 - 1 year subscription to the American Bee Journal
1 - Medications Brochure
M58001 Beekeeper's Master Kit= $345.45

5 Complete Standard Un-Assembled Hives

B52105 1 CTN 5 Complete Unassembled Hives $325.43

Beginners Honey Production Kit

B38301 6 Hobby Kit #3 $83.93= $503.58

Beeswax Coated Plastic Foundation 8 3/8

F37000 5 10- 8 3/8" Plasticel $15.70= $78.50

Hive Stand

M00695 6 $15.93= $95.58

Hive Entrance Feeder

M00826 5 $7.15= $35.75

Suit, Hat & Veil Combo

V01170 Medium 1 $72.90

Economy Canvas Gloves

M01079 Medium 1 $12.99

Frame Holder

M00319 1 $23.81

Honey Bucket & Filtration Kit

M01354 1 $39.88

Book: Honey Bee Diseases & Pests

M00013 1 $12.95

Book: Increase Essentials

M00023 1 $17.75

Book: The Beekeeper's Handbook

M00094 1 $30.25

Book: The Complete Mead Maker

M00036 1 $23.95

Subtotal $1,618.77 Shipping IL ups ground $276.12

Total $1,894.89

B. BEES

3 pound bee Box

Package Description: Inside your package you will find:

A Queen Bee in a Queen Cage suspended from the top of your Package.

(The queen and the worker bees are originally from different hives and are separated until they get use to each other's scent.)

Worker bees: Aproximately 10,500 bees for 3lb Package.

Buy 1: $105.00. Buy 6 to 10: $95.00 each

6=$570.00; 337.67 ship UPS next day air

907.67

1,894.89 equipment/shipping, ordered/paid= 2/15 arrived =4/16

907.67 bees/shipping, ordered/paid= 2/15 arrival date=5/1

2,802.56 total

Lol, not a cheap hobby to get started; but expenses are very low from the initial startup, mostly supplies to store all the honey (I trade a lot of it with local Amish farmers for fresh meat, eggs and such).

0 members like this

Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by Ricprimus on April 7, 2013 at 9:55am

Beekeepers Master Pollinator Kit for beginner's, everything for 1 hive minus the bees along with basic honey processing.

Permalink Reply by Ricprimus on April 7, 2013 at 9:58am

All the parts for 5 extra hives minus bees..took several days to get everything assembled then another day to get hives positioned where I wanted them around the property.

Permalink Reply by Ricprimus on April 7, 2013 at 10:07am

Once the hives are assembled, painted, setup and given time for the paint fumes to dissipate, it's time for the new inhabitants to be added. I got the hives all set the last 2 weeks of April and had the bees scheduled to arrive May 1st. Bees usually arrive in a 3 pound wood and screened box with a small separate cage for the queen suspended from the top. (The queen and the worker bees are originally from different hives and are separated until they get use to each other's scent.)

Aproximately 10,500 bees for 3lb Package: each hive gets it's own box of bees.

Permalink Reply by Ricprimus on April 7, 2013 at 10:26am

Her Highness comes with 3 or 4 attendants to keep her happy in her separate box with sugar wafers.

Permalink Reply by Ricprimus on April 7, 2013 at 10:40am

Once the bees were added to their new homes May 1st, I left them alone the entire month except for a weekly visit to each hive, bringing them a dish of sugar water so they would get used to me and my scent. Plus I'd often sit by a hive and just watch their comings & goings. The hives were healthy, and well, busy as bees. Note: for the first 4 months I always was fully suited up on my visits, from then on they knew me enough I could open the hives with ordinary clothes without being stung. June 1st it was time to attempt a first harvest from the hives. Each of my hives have two levels of 10 or 12 honeycomb frame panels. I only harvest full panels of honeycomb and no more than 1/3 of the total panels: usually 5 panels each month.

Photo is from June 1st, after smoking a hive, I open it.

Permalink Reply by Ricprimus on April 7, 2013 at 11:09am

A half filled frame (smoker at ready for frisky bees)

Permalink Reply by Ricprimus on April 7, 2013 at 11:11am

A full frame of honeycomb packed with honey.

Permalink Reply by Ricprimus on April 7, 2013 at 11:14am

Four full cleaned frames in transport box ready to take to cabin to process.

Permalink Reply by Ricprimus on April 7, 2013 at 11:23am

Raw honeycomb being cut from frame.

Permalink Reply by Ricprimus on April 7, 2013 at 11:26am

A plate of completely unprocessed, unfiltered, unheated honeycomb with honey oozing out; and so mouth watering I took a break and had honey on warm biscuits and raspberry tea sweetened with honey.

Permalink Reply by Ricprimus on April 7, 2013 at 11:29am

After the honey feast, the real work began since I had 28 full frames of honeycomb to process. This is a honey extractor: after cutting honeycomb from frame it is put in here: it warms everything and has 4 large blades that chops the honeycomb into bits.

Bees, Beekeeping and Honey!

Replies to This Discussion

The Good News

Meet Face-to-Face & Collaborate