Beekeeping!?

[Knotty]

Hey everyone!
Isaia here 😊

Since I'll have a vacation from studies very soon,
I was hoping to work on a bigger scale project in our country property.

Anybody works / ever worked with bees?

I was hoping to get a couple tips from experienced fellas in such thing.


This would be mostly as a hobby and maybe (once we got a few colonies established), rent the hives to plantations in pollinating/flowering season, which would do good for farmers and for the bee'a honey.

I've been studying about this sbject lately and got very interested,
However, most of the bees commercialized in Brazil are Africanized Bees (which apparently are more aggressive than the Apis , European specimen).

Would appreciate any tips and/or suggestions!

Thanks in advance and have a good day!

[wizardgoat]

Hey Knotty, there's a few message boards out there that solely focus on bee keeping. I'm sure you'd have better luck getting info from those site, but I know there are a couple guys here who keep bees as well

[Pat B]

JW keeps bees as do a few other guys here.

[Chippintuff]

I was the bee keeper on our little family farm many years ago. Though I can's say I am an experienced bee keeper, I did learn some about them.

1. Always dress in white when working honey bees.
2. Use smoke when robbing them.
3. The wild types in the SE USA vary a lot in aggressiveness.
4. Don't mess with them when the temp is really hot.
5. If the hive has overflowed with bees and honey to the point they are hanging on the outside of the hive, don't mess with them till cold weather.
6. When they swarm, they are not aggressive at all. You can walk right up to them and gently rake them into a new hive without using smoke. Smoke makes them panic and move. If honeybees are moving into your house or yard, burn a few cotton rags close to them, and they'll find a new place to make home.
7. I don't know anything about African honeybees.
8. Don't rob them late in the flowering season. They need the honey to get through the winter.
9. Keep them up and away from ants.
10. If you want to locate a wild hive to rob or capture them, put out some fruit juice. When they find it, you can watch to see exactly what direction they leave depart to when full of juice. That line of flight points exactly straight to the place where they live.
11. Plan to get a few stings in spite of the best precautions.

WA

[Knotty]

Great advices @ChippinTuff , thank you so much!

Let me ask you about point number 4 and 8.

Number 4: Temperatures here (Brazil) are always hot.. Soo..!?

Number 8: There isn't really Summer or Winter as in hotter and colder temperatures, meaning that bees will be able to pollinate flowers ALL YEAR LONG. Does that still mean that in the winter they will need their honey?

Thanks to everyone who has/ would like to contribute to this thread.

[Chippintuff]

In my experience, we have had blazing hot July and August almost every year. Our bees were always irritable and aggressive during those times.

If you have flowers all year long, there should not be any reason to dodge harvesting at any particular season. Here the winters are cold enough that they are shut down with no flowers till spring.

WA

[Knotty]

I understand, I guess that keeping the bees in a partial/full shade area should help.

I'll ask in a couple apiculture forums aswell!

Thanks for your general advices , really appreciate them.

[JW_Halverson]

Best and most complete advice I can give you is to buy a (used) copy of Beekeeping for Dummies. 

Read it cover to cover a couple of times before you buy any other books on the subject.  I own a number of books on the subject, but the one I keep going back to is the one written with me in mind...the dummy. And remember, the bees know what they are doing...ALWAYS.   They never make mistakes, that is always on the beekeeper.  Whether it is not providing enough space in the hives, harvesting too soon or too late, not checking for parasites/pests, etc, get used to being the person to blame in all situations. 

Oh, and do not scrimp on materials or your safety equipment.  I developed an allergy to beestings incredibly fast and I cannot afford $600 for Epi-pens!  Your mileage may vary. 

[Knotty]

Alright, thank you so much!

[Hummingbird Point]

I was a backyard beekeeper for ten years with 2-6 hives.  I quit because I lost interest and really sucked at it.  I never really did figure the buggers out.

Anyway, heres the main thing:  A huge amount of beekeeping is knowing what to do when, based on your specific area.  If at all posible join a local beekeeping club.  If none, try to find an experienced keeper (or two) in your area  and in the least get them to take you through a typical "year in the life".  Take careful notes.  What should you expect and what do you need to do each month? 

Keith

[mullet]

JW, you can google Epipens and find the site from the manufacturer. They have a coupn you can print and get two Epipens for free. That's what I paid.

[Knotty]

Thank you very much HummingBird! I appreciate all the advices.