What do you Need? Starting Bees with North 40
This is one of the closest "full-service," starting bees resources you are going to find this year. From the best "bee" areas and brood boxes and supers to suits and smokers- this is it.
Well- first you need a clean, well-lighted place to put your bees. Well-lighted is usually an indication of flowering plants necessary for bees who survive on pollen from those flowers.
I guess well lighted is not a necessity- many plants and flowers grow in the shade. Your bees just need to have access to flowering plants the TYPES of flowering plants will effect your honey taste/color/bouquet, and that is awesome: fireweed honey, wheat honey, pine honey- if you are a veteran beekeeper, what are your favorite honey types?
We've come across people who use GPS coordinates on their honey jars so they and their honey buyers will know EXACTLY where the honey they eat comes from also very cool.
As you can tell, we are into bees here at North 40- we started our own hive last year using bees from Polson, Montana (check it out here) and a brood box from Harvest Lane Honey. So let's get into the equipment you will need.
Beekeeping Equipment
The brood box is an absolute necessity to getting started. It is where your newly acquired queen bee will start her colony, her honey empire. When you transplant to a brood box, this is where all the new bees, from drones to nurse bees will live and work.
Get your brood boxes from us here-.
And then check out what will happen INSIDE that brood box!!!
So you can order your brood box from us if you already have bees and are thinking about splitting your hive, or you can just get the full starter kit like we did last year, and like the majority of people in the office are getting this year. It is a one stop, inclusive kit for starting your first colony.
It includes a flat metal hive top to keep pests out, an inner hive top cover (which you can replace later with a queen extruder when you want to add supers), an inner hive feeder to help your bees transition, or to feed them through winter, frames, smoker, bee brush and so much more.
Also something to think about a source of food to help your bees transition from the long haul to their new home. There are feeders with cap and ladders systems you can buy or brood patties with the specific macro and micro nutrient breakdowns to help your bees adjust to their new home.
Protective Gear for Bees
So now you have your brood box or your complete starter kit- you've ordered your bees from a local supplier- they are on the way.
Now what?
You are going to need some basic protective gear.
Also, side-note, don't be like Drew and Cutter and wear black shirts to pick up your bees. Where white. Trust.
Basic protective gear includes a suit, gloves and a mask. When moving bees or doing hive inspections, you will be required to lift the hive top off, use your smoker to drive the honey-engorged bees down to the bottom, and look around in your hive for parasites, honey production and myriad other reasons- what's that mean?
It means unless you have the hardened skin of a black bear or grizzled bee veteran- you will want to avoid those stings you are sure to get when messing around with an empire of honey.
Buying your Bees
Western Bee supply in Polson, MT (under 100 kits left as of 2/5/2016): 406-883-2918
Northwester Bee Supply in Sequim, Washington: (855) 796-8544
Sunrise Honey Company in Clayton, Washington: (509) 999-2252
Draper's Apiaries: Shipping available-- 100% insurance ALSO available! Italian Bees, Buckfast, All-American Hybrid: 1 (800) 233-4273
Upping your Bee Game
So now- you've got your brood boxes, your queen and smokers, your suit and gloves- it's been a couple weeks/months (depending on rainfall and other environmental factors)- now what?
You'll need to add a super.
Now it's time to do your first hive inspection... if you order your complete beekeeping kit from us, it will come with the hive tool you will need to lift off the hive top, inner top and check the progress of your frames (you should probably wait AT LEAST two weeks to give your new colony ample time to expand into the brood chambers).
When you are looking to see if your brood box is successfully expanding, check the outside frames the colony will build from the middle out, so if those outside few frames are looking healthy and becoming full, you can go ahead and add a super to your brood box.
You will need a queen excluder to keep your matriarch in the brood chambers this will allow the worker bees to climb upwards and deposit honey.
Networking like a- Bee
So now you have gear, flowering plants, full brood chambers and supers- now what? Well besides preparing for winter with bee feed and pollen patties (which you can get from us online here)- Now it's time to get involved in the local bee community.
There are a range of social groups devoted specifically to beekeeping and bees. You can find a decent list here, but this list is far from complete, and if you know any local groups, please feel free to share them with us in the comments. We'd love to help get people connected.
Bees- this is the only way to go. Check out the groups below and get active!!
Find a beekeeping community near you:
This list is far from exhaustive, please comment with any relevant additions you think should be listed and we will get them up ASAP! Thanks!