My first "hands-on" visit to a bee yard

[SystemShark]

A few days ago I finally got to put my hands on the hives and poke at some honey in the hives. I don't have any hives of my own yet and after emailing people in my state beekeeping association I was put in contact with Mr. Jim Fitzroy. After a few phone calls we had our first visit scheduled and I made my way to his home and got to help him while he was inspecting his hives. Even though we were using a smoker and the bees were over-all very gentle Mr. Fitzroy got stung a few times - luckily for me he let me use his jacket and viel too cause I'm sure I would have gotten stung as well!

So he has 8 hives most stacked high with 2 brood boxes, 3+ honey supers, and hive top feeders. Most of his hives were made from wood but he had one Polystyrene styro-foam looking setup that he said he was experimenting this year. From reading up online about them supposedly they are great for the winter season and overwintering the bees - aside from being MUCH lighter than the wooden ones. I wasn't able to find anything about their durability for the long term and since this was his first season using them Mr. Fitzroy didn't know either.

He showed me some pictures of him capturing some swarms and 2 or 3 of his hives were actually from wild swarms. He has a deal worked out with a pest terminator who calls him if there are honey bee swarms reported; which I hope to do too! There seemed to be a good amount of supers filled with honey but we didn't take any out yet; though i think he plans to soon. I got to see his whole set up - he had 2 different spinner extractors(One smaller hand crank and a 20 frame motorized) and a heated tank with a leaver/nozzle that he used to fill a fresh bottle of his wildflower honey for me.

The neatest thing I experienced was standing in front of the hives for a few mins caused a bunch of them to clutter up behind me; as soon as moved they flew right in the front door and were back to work. They didn't buzz or try to sting me but I'm sure they were a little aggravated with me blocking them from their work unintentionally. Even the recently captured wild swarm didn't seem bad mannered when we were inspecting them and getting them ready for a road trip to the mountains.

I did take pictures and made a short video clip but I misplaced my camera :p If I find it I'll be sure to share them. I also got hooked up with a few extra catalogs that he didn't need anymore so I can finally get a good idea of what kind of investment I'll need to put up to get started. I guess now that I've had a few days to absorb I find that I have a few more questions - maybe you guys can help!

I'd like to make this hobby a mini-business of sorts and I would like to have some average numbers to get going. Things like.. how much honey does each hive (say 2 brood/ 3 supers) make per year? Does it come all at once during a peak month or is it steady throughout the year? For that matter how much wax and propolis can a hive produce? I understand that it varies but lets say a low end estimate. Honey seems to sell for around 5$ a LB across the board (correct me if I'm wrong); the other products I think its a bit harder to judge..but if I knew quantities I could probably get a good estimate.

Basically I'd like to see how many hives I'd need to maintain to make a decent part-time income. I plan on doing other things once I get rolling too; like hives pollinating for farmers, swarm removal (free service?), and my sister is in the medical field and I've been trying to learn more about the "bee sting therapy" to maybe get something going there too. I think there is plenty of room in my local market..weekly farm shows; small grocery stores, roadside vendors lots of places to bring the "bee goods",

Thanks for reading my block of text! I await your insight =)

_David
(Very excited future western PA beekeeper)

[Kathyp]

what you are doing is great.  the more you learn before you spend money on your own stuff, the fewer mistakes you will make and the more fun you will have!

[Brian D. Bray]

Since you are getting ready to begin and doing research on the matter I would suggest you think strongly about using all medium boxes exclusively.  The uniformity of the equipment solves a lot of problems that will be encounters plus they are lighter and easier to handle.  I would also suggest using 8 frame over 10 frame for the same reasons.  Your equipment decisions will effect every aspect of your endeavor.

wish you luck.   

[SystemShark]

Thanks I actually was reading about the 8frame vs 10frame today in BetterBee catalog.
What do you think about the Styrofoam hives as opposed to wood. Weight isn't a huge concern for me at the moment but wintering the bee's is. When you say Medium box's are you refering to the super size for the honey or the larger brood boxes.

When I get set up I'm thinking two hives and a 3rd setup in case I capture a swarm. I'm hopefully going to make some connections at this meeting I'm going to on the 25th, use those connections to obtain my first two 4 frame nucs to start.

Anyone have numbers for me as far as estimate for the amount of bee product per hive? (Honey/Wax/Propolis) the business side of things is intriguing to me.

[Moonshae]

I was struck by the fact that he was feeding and collecting honey in supers at the same time. From what I understand from reading here, that's a practice that yields less than pure honey, since the bees will mix the feed and the honey they make.

[Michael Bush]

I have three of the styrofoam mediums, which, unfortunately, only come in ten frame boxes...

My beginner advice:
http://www.bushfarms.com/beesnewbees.htm

Uniform frame size:
http://www.bushfarms.com/beeslazy.htm#uniformframesize

Lighter boxes:
http://www.bushfarms.com/beeseightframemedium.htm
http://www.bushfarms.com/beeslazy.htm#lighterboxes

Bee Basics:
http://www.bushfarms.com/beesbasics.htm

Bee Math:
http://www.bushfarms.com/beesmath.htm

Things you will need to deal with:
http://www.bushfarms.com/beespests.htm

Old bee books online:
http://www.bushfarms.com/beesoldbooks.htm

[SystemShark]

Great info Michael thanks! I never thought to start with all medium boxes for uniformity but that does make logical and economical sense. Also starting with the small foundation for smaller comb size rather than the larger/natural comb size.

I'd still like to find out some average take-in numbers from some of you. I'm trying to plan for this financially too so if I knew about how much Honey you get per hive / per year that would help allot. I'm not looking for specific number just a low end average.

*edit* From some internet research I found that on average a single hive produces 80-100 lbs of surplus honey per year. So 20-25 lbs a season. Is that about what you guys get per hive?

[Brian D. Bray]

Yield depends on forage.  The more flowering plants the better forage.  You can put 2 identical hives 2 miles apart and see as much as 200% difference in harvest due to forage availability.  On the other hand you can put 2 hives side by side and see 200% difference due to individual hive activity.
There is no sure forecast.  With a strong hive, very active queen, and lots of good forage I've gotten as much as 300+ lbs per hive.  On the other hand I've had cases where the hive couldn't make it through the winter without help, let alone produce a harvest.

And then there's the weather.  This alone can invalidate everything I've just said.

If you work towards strong hives, active queens, multiple brood boxes (3-5 mediums) and have excellent forage you can get around the 300 lb mark.  Most cases average about 150 lbs per hive. If you're calculating on extra income be conservative and do your number crunching by figuring 100lbs per hive.  If possible work pollination services into your business model.  Most commercial beekeepers make their money (and most/all of their operating costs) from polination contracts.  The honey crop is usually the profit.