How to Culture Bees

Bees do more than provide wax and honey. They pollinate one-third of all the food grown, carrying pollen from flower to flower, resulting in cross-pollination and better crops. Our survival is so intertwined with bees that, though there is some dispute about the validity of the quotation, the National Union of French Apiculture quotes Albert Einstein as saying that the loss of bees would be the end of humankind in four years. With Colony Collapse Disorder (CCD) wiping out the bee population, many hobbyists are turning to beekeeping to help stem the loss.

Bee hat with veil
Beekeeping suit
Beekeeping gloves
Hive tool
Bee smoker
Bee feeder
Starter bee hive
Bees
Queen bee

Instructions

- 1
  Confirm that local nuisance laws don't forbid beekeeping. Order your honey bees from a reputable apiary before February to assure timely delivery by March or April. Prepare the hive area before the bees arrive.
- 2
  
  Sunflowers are beautiful and are a bee favorite.
  
  Establish a hive location where there is sun and little wind and plenty of bee-friendly flowering trees and plants, such as fruit trees, berries, lavender and rosemary. Avoid using any pesticides. Install a six-foot fence or hedge between the hive and neighbors to keep the flight path above people's heads and to act as a wind break. Place the hive so it faces southwest for morning sunlight. Provide a water source such as a fountain or bird bath.
- 3
  Dress in protective clothing. Open the beehive box. Remove three frames from the center of the bee box. Confirm that the queen bee cage is still sealed; seal it with a marshmallow if the candy seal has been compromised, to keep the queen from flying away and taking your bees with her. Insert the queen cage between two frames with the opening up so the bees can eat through the candy and release the queen. Fill the bee feeder with sugar water at a 1:1 ratio and place it inside the hive. Keep the bee feeder available until the bees have produced enough honey to survive.
- 4
  Dump the worker bees inside or directly in front of the beehive box. Allow time for the bees to walk inside. Replace the three frames and bee box lid. Place a rock or other weight on top to keep the lid in place. Check the hive several days later to confirm that the queen is free and the workers have accepted her, but not before. Remove and discard the queen cage once you are sure she is released and has moved down inside the hive.
- 5
  
  Observing an arc of brood (eggs and larvae), pollen and nector is common.
  
  Examine the hive periodically over the next few months for disease, invasive attacks or overcrowding, which could cause swarming. Place dried grass in the smoker; light the smoker, and pump the smoke out to chase the bees down to the bottom of the hive. Use the hive tool to pry the frames apart for removal. Remove a frame close to the hive box wall, where the queen is less likely to be. Work slowly and gently; avoid banging frames around and upsetting the bees. Hold the frame over the hive in case the queen is on that frame and falls off. Look for the queen or evidence of eggs. Return the frame to the same position it was in before.
  
  Allow the bees to stock the hive for their first winter. Harvest the honey the following summer, leaving enough for the bees to feed on.
- 6
  Avert swarming, most common in spring of the second year, by stacking additional boxes or splitting the colony into two separate hives. Clipping one of the queen's wings helps to keep potential swarms from going far.

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