After raising Solitary Bees for a few years I decided to buy two hives for some Honey Bees next year. I should get the actual bees in March depending on weather. But for now I got all the gear, hive hardware and put my deposit down on next years bees.
Now I have a bee suit I can go after yellow jackets better when they become a problem. And will be a nice shield between me and the Honey Bees. I don't need any protection from the Solitary Bees but the Honey Bees are new to me and want to really wear good protection.
The community on Hive has really encouraged me to further my bee husbandry and doing something with Honey Bees have always been in the back of my mind. Figured this would be a great time to start and document my progress along the way.
I found a bee supply shop a few hours from home. Brought along my Hive logo and the shop owners helped me out with a photo. They have a really informative youtube channel and made me really interested in the process. You can find them at Barnyard bees. The guy that does the video wears little to no protection and I'm not that brave.
The bee hives come in pieces and I have to put it all together and paint the outside. The inside stays bare and the bees prefer it that way from what I've been told.
I bought enough supplies to build two bee hives. Each holds eight trays. I'll need to let the bees build up their colany before I can get honey from them but should have some this year to try. Really excited to try local honey sourced by bees finding local sources.
The foundation trays, are put in every two trays to help keep the hive a consistant shape. I could smell the wax on them, encourages the bees to use them.
So next up is to build everything, paint it. And to prep the area for hives. I plan on using cinderblocks and 4x4 poles to set the bee hives on. I'll do all of that during the fall and winter when it cools off.
By next March I should have boxes of bees and the fun will start.