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3 Things to Know Before Getting Bees As a hobby, potential beekeepers must be willing to devote their time, energy, and space to their hive(s). They must also be willing to accept the potential for bee stings – it will happen. Would-be beekeepers often forget: bees aren’t like other pets. A honey bee won’t cuddle with you at night or demand to be walked during the day, but bees will need more oversight than a tomato garden. They won’t just survive on their own. Regardless of how many books you read, documentaries you watch, or beekeeping friends you know, you are going to run into problems. Here’s what you really need to know before making the commitment.
1
Beekeeping is expensive.
Beekeeping can be more expensive than other pastime hobbies like painting or knitting and requires a lot more materials. To set up a nuc, beekeepers need a smoker, hive tool, bee brush, extracting equipment, and protective gear, costs which add up easily – and that’s not including the price of a 2 lb. package of the bees themselves, which can vary between $95-$130. (And yes, they can be shipped through the U.S. Postal Service.) However, some beekeepers make back some of that money by selling honey, beeswax, pollen and even bees themselves.
2
Beekeeping is time-consuming.
The amount of time you need to spend on your hive changes like the weather. Literally. It’s recommended that beginners check on their bees every 7 to 10 days during the spring and summer. Checking on them too often (more than once a week) could upset the bees. In contrast, during a brutal winter, bees can go up to 4 months without needing inspection and shouldn’t be inspected in temperatures below 57 degrees.
3
Beekeeping is physically demanding.
Picking up a 16 oz. jar of honey in the grocery store isn’t hard – harvesting honey off a 25 lb. frame under the unforgiving August sun is. During the peak spring and summer season, beekeeping will take a lot of sweat out of you, and, as with any physical activity, there’s always the potential for back problems (though some would argue this is a small price to pay for a lifetime supply of free honey).
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alexandrialivingmagazine.com • March / April 2019
Nucleus colonies, or nucs, are small colonies created from larger colonies, housed in a standard 10-frame Langstroth hive — a vertically structured beehive with a bottom board entrance, boxes of frames for the queen’s eggs and honey storage, and an inner cover and top cap sealed for weather protection. Nucs contain bees in all stages of development and act as starter colonies for beginners. Unlike many other hobbies, beekeeping is unpredictable and requires a lot of seasonal problem-solving; commercial and small-scale beekeepers can spend up to 6 months out of the year without seeing a single honey bee. “Any beekeeper will tell you: if you ask three beekeepers the answer to a problem, you’ll get seven different answers. Everybody’s got their own idea,” said Bennett, adding, “if you want to be a responsible beekeeper, you really have to stay on top of what’s going on in your hive.” But for all the responsibility, landscape designer Lynley Ogilvie, who took NVBA’s “Intro to Beekeeping” course, loves sharing her hobby. “I can’t say enough good things about the hobby of beekeeping,” said Ogilvie, who shares her enthusiasm for apiculture with her son, George, a junior in high school. “I am his sous chef – I stand quietly to the side, handing him tools and equipment each time he does a hive check,” Ogilvie explained. Over the past year, the two have become enamored by their bees, merging their two hives in October in hopes of giving the colony a better chance to survive their first winter. As time progresses, the pair is looking to expand to three hives. When they welcomed their first hive last spring, Ogilvie embraced her new guests by planting meadows of native trees, grasses, and perennials in their front lawn that bloomed in succession from March until December. “Standing in the meadows this summer was one of my greatest joys. Each time I went to weed the new beds, honey bees, native bees, butterflies and birds buzzed and swooped around me. Even in McLean, the world is alive with nature if you take the time to notice,” Ogilvie said.