By: Peter Baxter
Submitted: 2010-08-24 01:40:37 | Word Count: 511
Important Decisions
One of the most important things to do is sort out the important decisions from the less vital decisions. If you pay attention to the rest of this you'll see that hardly anything I WOULD buy is in a newbie beekeeper starter kit.
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I would like to point out that there are lots of things in beekeeping you be able to easily change as you go along. There is no point stressing out over these things. There are other things in beekeeping that are an investment and are difficult to alter later.
Getting Bees.
First you need to make a decision how to find some bees. It really is actual hard to get them from a tree or a neighbor's house when you actually do not know anything about them. This is actually an advanced undertaking. That said, I acknowledge that is just what I do. I took them out of houses and trees and bought some queens. But I in fact didn't do so well at it and I got stung a lot. So all in all I do not believe it was that good for the bees, even though it was educational for me.
If you have local beekeepers you may be able to get a nuc or some frames of brood etc. The downside to this is they are most likely on Deep frames (9 ¼" frames that go in a 9 5/8" box). I'm not going to recommend deeps.
You can order package bees. I used to get them through the mail, but lately that has gotten more and more expensive. Most places you can find a bee supply place that brings in a truck load of package bees in the spring. If you find a local bee club or association they can probably be able to advise you on this. Two packages would be a excellent start.
Race of Bees
Assuming you are going to buy a package of bees, the next decision is what race. I hate to not have an view, but I in fact have not seen a race of honeybees I didn't like. Well, I did have some actually mean ones once, but they were the same breed I had been raising for decades. I will recommend you get something that is not a hybrid and can be open bred by you with good results. Caucasian, Italian, Cordovan (Italian), Russian and Carniolans are all fine. Take your pick.
Protective Beekeeping Equipment (Beekeeping clothing)
Minimum equipment is a veil and a smoker. I would propose a jacket with a veil instead of the veil and a ful beekeeping suit for those times you need extra security. Also a spray bottle of light syrup (2 parts water 1 part sugar by volume), and an Italian Hive tool (Brushy Mt.). A bee brush. A hair clip queen catcher. A good frame grip is good, but not necessary.
