A Quick Guide to Starting a Beehive
& With Colony Collapse Disorder consistently chipping away at our global honeybee population, the art of beekeeping has become more important than ever. So when I found out my local newspaper--the --had a rooftop beehive, I just had to see it for myself as I've been curious about starting my own hive for a few years now. I do hope what I learned on my visit inspires you to start your own apiary.Since 2009, colony loss levels reached 29-percent, , and they increased to 34-percent come 2010. Compounded by a steady drop in beekeeping since World War II, it's a scary time for our bees considering just how important they are to our global food system. We need more bees!Meredith May is one of the main beekeepers over at the Chronicle and she gave us a do-it-yourself tour of their rooftop beehive. May is also a reporter for the Chron, and I might add, has the perfect name for the job. It is very Lois Lane-ish, no?Now, let's start beekeeping!What You'll Need& Smoker - Any size will do but the buzz on the street is that the larger ones are easier to keep lit.Veil - You are going to need some sort of protective garments like a veil and a jacket. You probably do not need the full suit.Hive tool - Any flat bar will work, or a flat head screw driver if you are on a budget but if you can afford it, the Italian Hive Tool is the one to buy. It is well crafted for most any beekeeping task.Bee brush - No, this isn't for grooming the bees! You can buy one or you can use a feather.& Jenn Jackson for the San Francisco ChronicleTop Feeder - A gallon can with small holes in the cap that fits into a hole drilled into the hive's cover, into which syrup (2 parts water and 1 part sugar) is poured. The syrup gives them the energy to build the wax honeycomb.Spray bottle - Fill it with syrup. Do not reuse an older spray bottle if it has been used with other chemicals. Bees are very sensitive.Queen Catcher - This makes catching the queen a lot gentler on her. No one wants a ticked off queen bee, especially a bee keeper. And I have to say, living in San Francisco, the term "queen catcher" conjures up many different images.& Jenn Jackson for the San Francisco ChronicleBee Hives - Now the one place you don't want to skimp on is hive boxes. Get a few, at least three, because you never know when you are going to need an extra one. But when you do, you need it immediately and not a moment later. So having a few on hand will save you a lot of grief in those moments.Bottom board - wooden stand on which the hive rests. Set bottom board on bricks or concrete blocks to keep it off the ground.Extractor - It would be nice to have one of these but they are quite pricy. I suggest you go in on one with other beekeepers in your area or see if you can rent one.Queen Muff - Yes, I said muff. After catching the queen, put her in the muff and as to not worry about her flying off.Mail Order Brides Bees& Obtaining bees is not necessarily easy but it is a lot easier than you think it will be. You can get them off of Craigslist or just check for bee forums in your area. Lot's of beekeeping enthusiasts come across swarms they are always trying to unload. Of course, this requires some planning and a bit of serendipity as the perfect time for starting a hive is in the spring.A common type and amount of bees to order is a 3 pound package with an Italian queen. For a few dollars extra, you can have your queen marked. It is a good idea to have your queen marked. Since they will come in the mail (yes, in the mail) you will want to notify your local post office about them.There are three types of bees: the queen, the worker and the drone.Queen bees - The queen's sole purpose is to lay eggs, that is all she does. Heck, she doesn't even feed herself. She is like some self-indulging Roman emperor, just lying around being fed grapes all day long by the worker bees. I mean, they do all the work! They even get rid of her waste (eww!). During the height of laying season, the queen can produce around 1000 eggs a day.Worker bees - Worker bees are sterile female bees. And all they do, as their name implies, is work.Drone bees - Guys, be thankful you are not a bee. Like most guys, all these bees do is eat and think about sex. Their job is to get jiggy with the queen, that is it. But it isn't as sexy as it sounds. If a drone is lucky enough to mate, the queen bee rips out his sexual organs during coitus and stores the sperm for future use. He then falls to the ground and dies. If he isn't fortunate to find a queen to mate with, the worker bees will force him out of the hive come winter, as he is no longer deemed useful.Beehive Feng Shui& You want to place your bees in an area that encourages healthy flight patterns. For example, you want to take the bees away from your neighbors or your pets."Keep the hive in a dry [and sunny] place and you want the hive entrance near a wall near it because you want the bees to fly up and over something. It is also nice to have something like that to block drafts and wind," explains May. Bees kept in the shade are angry bees. Remember, no one wants angry bees.Of course, proximity to flowering plants and shrubs is good for bees. Bees tend to like lavender a lot but oddly enough, they really enjoy the color purple! They are very much attracted to it. They also love buckwheat.As Meredith jokes, "Buckwheat is like bee crack, they really go crazy for it!"You also need a water source of some sort, but nothing fancy. They prefer standing water with natural minerals so put away the cat drinking fountain. That isn't going to work here. And as you might know, bees cannot swim. So they need something to stand on in the water, such as rocks or a piece of wood.Installing Your BeesI think the best--and safest--way to learn about installing your bees is to watch a video on it.Up Next: Honey Bee Management
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Learn 7 valuable leadership lessons and organizational “survival” tactics through the eyes of one of the world’s most industrious and successful creatures, the honey bee.
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Learn 7 valuable leadership lessons and organizational “survival” tactics through the eyes of one of the world’s most industrious and successful creatures, the honey bee.
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I have read hundreds of business leadership books and still found this book timely, interesting, and easily adaptable to share with teams.
The chapters for each skill are short, to the point, and include a chapter ending list of questions to provoke conversation and understanding.
This book is a great tool to develop leadership in teams!
Jared Eckler, President, Townsend Leather Company
In addition to being a good read, The Survival of the Hive is an effective business tool.
Mackin and Harrington take the timeless concepts of strategy, vision, belief and purpose and translate them into a multi-dimensional package full of ideas to help enhance your corporate culture. The Honeycomb Model blended with the 4R Strategy, Perfect Product, CAMP, Front Porch and many other approaches provide great topics for conversation and are bound to elicit creative new ideas for managers and the teams they lead. Once again, Mackin and Harrington use their vast experience in transforming teams and corporate cultures to help leaders evolve on the path to success!
Melissa Feck, Vice President of Human Resources, Healthcare Association of New York State
I have been a leader for almost 50 years - the first 23 of which I served in the U.S. Air Force.
This little "bee-book" reinforces leadership lessons I learned on the journey.
The excellent discussion questions at the end of each chapter can stimulate individual and organizational growth.
I think this book is a winner.
Paul D. Raino, Lt Col USAF (Ret), OD and Training Practitioner
Creative and fun way to educate seasoned as well as new managers on the importance of leading your team to success!
Liz Fisher, Human Resources Manager, Boise Paper
Survival of the Hive’ harnesses the very essentials of the stewardship of leaders through the eyes or the world’s most industrious and successful creatures, the honey bee.
It purports to identify the optimum leadership footprint that holds vision, strategy, and belief at its epicenter and creates a culture that encourages competency, autonomy, meaningfulness, and progress.
A wonderfully written book that not only is easy to relate to, but one that also ingeniously simplifies the world of leadership.
Manish Mehta MD MPH, Partner, The Vascular Group PLLC
Survival of the Hive utilizes the roles of bees in the hive to show us the value of Servant leadership in guiding an organization to meet its goals.
We also realize how much the leader "communicates" without saying a word and how important it is to listen for the buzz!
Kudos to Deborah and Matt for sharing the lessons of the hive!
Michele Kelly, Chief Financial Officer, Catholic Charities
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This book has some phenomenal lessons in leadership, culture, products, relationships and more. I call it the Who Moved My Cheese? of 2013 because of how the allegories in the book help explain modern principles in business.
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If you're looking for information on how to keep bees in a more natural and sustainable way you've come to the right place!
You'll find information on top bar and Warré hives, links to other beekeeping sites and of course you can order your very own Warré hive. If your're thinking of taking up beekeeping this year, now is the perfect time to order your hive so that you're ready to order a nucleus in the spring, or collect a swarm.
Now taking orders for delivery at the end of June.
includes photos of both our cedar and pine hives.
You can also follow our
where Matt relates his adventures in beekeeping.& We'd love to hear from you too!
Hi, my name's Matt and I'm the founder of www.warrebeehive.co.uk
I'm a third generation beekeeper and currently keep bees in both Warré and Langstroth hives.
Abbé ?mile Warré (1867 - 1951) lived in France and kept bees in a wide variety of hives with the aim of finding the best hive for both bees and beekeeper.
The Bee-friendly Beekeeper by David Heaf&(paperback, 170 x 244 mm, 160 page)
In recent years beekeepers have suffered heavy losses of colonies. This book examines the possible issues behind this problem and drawing on our knowledge of bee biology identifies a possible approach to keeping bees that is more bee-appropriate.
If you're interested in Warré hives and keeping bees in a more natural and sustainable way you need to read 'Beekeeping For All'. &
This book was written by Abbé Warré and describes his 'People's Hive' which he designed with the aim of producing a hive that was simple, economical and bee-friendly whilst at the same time providing a surplus of honey for the beekeeper. &L'Apiculture Pour Tous has been translated into English by Patirica and David Heaf and is now available in print for the first time.
Copies are available for ?12.50 including postage.&
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The bee population is declining because of
Pesticides
Decline in the number of beekeepers
Modern beekeeping methods
Other diseases
Climate change
External Links
David Heaf's Warre beekeeping site
A blog about smart, sustainable beekeeping
Natural Beekeeping in top bar hives
Natural Beekeeping Trust
The world needs bee guardians
New Forest Beekeeping Association}