際際滷

際際滷Share a Scribd company logo

So You Want To Be a Beekeeper?

Jonathan Engelsma
Jonathan Engelsma

This is a talk I gave recently to beginning beekeepers. How to get up the beekeeping learning curve, what equipment you need, how to get bees, how to care for your bees, honey production and how to prepare your bees to survive over a long cold winter.

1 of 43
Download to read offline
JONATHAN R. ENGELSMA, PH.D. H T T P : / / W W W. H U D S O N V I L L E H O N E Y. C O M SO YOU WANT TO BE A BEEKEEPER?
TOPICS Getting up the learning curve. Equipment youll need. Getting your bees. Caring for your bees. Harvesting Honey Wintering bees.
TOPICS Getting up the learning curve. Equipment youll need. Getting your bees. Caring for your bees. Harvesting Honey Wintering bees.
SCALING THE LEARNING CURVE Get yourself a local mentor! Join a local bee club. Read some good bee books. Engage in the online beekeeping community.
GET YOURSELF A MENTOR!
G E T I N V O LV E D : JOIN A BEE CLUB
READ SOME GOOD BEE BOOKS! Backyard Beekeeper / Kim Flottum How to keep bees and sell honey / Walter T. Kelley Honey Bee Biology and Beekeeping / Dewey Caron
VISIT SOME GOOD WEBSITES! beesource.com scientificbeekeeping.com michiganbees.org bees.library.cornell.edu
TOPICS Getting up the learning curve. Equipment youll need. Getting your bees. Caring for your bees. Harvesting Honey Wintering bees.
THE MODERN BEEHIVE Invented by the Rev. L.L. Langstroth in 1851. Removable frames Size matters: bee space
THE HIVE Decisions to make: 10 frame vs. 8 frame / be consistent! Deep vs. medium for brood chambers.
HIVE COMPONENTS hive stand inner cover bottom board outer cover entrance reducer rims / shims hive bodies honey supers frames feeders foundation queen excluder
SMOKERS
THE HIVE TOOL Most essential tool! Multi-purposes: prying, scraping, etc. The simple $4 hive tool will suffice!
VEILS & BEESUITS, ETC. Veil is essential equipment. Wear a bee suit / white coveralls as needed. Gloves / gauntlets optional. Avoid wool clothing.
TOPICS Getting up the learning curve. Equipment youll need. Getting your bees. Caring for your bees. Harvesting Honey Wintering bees.
GETTING BEES FOR YOUR HIVE 3 options for getting bees: package bees nucs catch a swarm!
PA C K A G E B E E S
NUCS
C AT C H A S W A R M ! !
PA C K A G E S V S . N U C S Packages Nucs (northern raised) raised in the south build up faster slower start get stock that winters no old combs! well. you might get junk combs ORDER YOUR BEES EARLY!!!
TOPICS Getting up the learning curve. Equipment youll need. Getting your bees. Caring for your bees. Harvesting Honey Wintering bees.
CARING FOR YOUR BEES In order to care for your bees, you need to think like a bee NEED TO UNDERSTAND BASIC BEE BIOLOGY!
Source: The Honey Bee by Frank C. Pellett. 1919
CAN YOU FIND THE QUEEN?
CAN YOU FIND THE QUEEN? CAN YOU FIND A DRONE?
THE QUEEN 16 days from egg to bee fertile female: mother lives 2 or more years lays as many as 2000 eggs per day mates (in flight) with a number of drones
HONEY BEE BIOLOGY Worker bee 21 days from egg to bee infertile female does all the work: housekeeping, childrearing, foraging, guard, etc. Drone bee 23 days from egg to bee mates with queen (maybe) kicked out when going gets tough
BEEKEEPING / S P R I N G TA S K S Start new colonies (feed!). Feed wintered colonies if necessary. Monitor/treat for mites Split strong wintered colonies to prevent swarming.
BEEKEEPING / S U M M E R TA S K S Monitor for mites Super colonies Harvest honey
BEEKEEPING / F A L L TA S K S Monitor / Treat for mites Feed if needed. Prepare hives for winter
YOUR #1 CHALLENGE IN KEEPING YOUR BEES ALIVE: VA R R O A D E S T R U C T O R
D E A L I N G W I T H VA R R O A M I T E S Hard Chemicals (miticides): not recommended Soft treatments: formic acid, thymol Integrated Pest Management Note: If you dont do something for mites, you will most likely be buying new bees every year!
TOPICS Getting up the learning curve. Equipment youll need. Getting your bees. Caring for your bees. Harvesting Honey Wintering bees.
IF YOU ARE NICE TO YOUR BEES, THEY MAY PRODUCE S O M E V E R Y TA S T Y H O N E Y ! !
C O M B H O N E Y: R E A L LY R A W !
EXTRACTING HONEY Required Equipment Extractor (spinner) Uncapping melter Wax melter
EXTRACTING HONEY
TOPICS Getting up the learning curve. Equipment youll need. Getting your bees. Caring for your bees. Harvesting Honey Wintering bees.
GETTING READY FOR WINTER!
So You Want To Be a Beekeeper?
THANK YOU!
O U R C O N TA C T I N F O Jonathan & Mieke Engelsma, Nunica, MI Phone: (616) 209-9BEE Email: sales@hudsonvillehoney.com Web: www.hudsonvillehoney.com Facebook: www.facebook.com/hudsonvillehoney Twitter: @honeyandcandles

More Related Content

So You Want To Be a Beekeeper?

  • 1. JONATHAN R. ENGELSMA, PH.D. H T T P : / / W W W. H U D S O N V I L L E H O N E Y. C O M SO YOU WANT TO BE A BEEKEEPER?
  • 2. TOPICS Getting up the learning curve. Equipment youll need. Getting your bees. Caring for your bees. Harvesting Honey Wintering bees.
  • 3. TOPICS Getting up the learning curve. Equipment youll need. Getting your bees. Caring for your bees. Harvesting Honey Wintering bees.
  • 4. SCALING THE LEARNING CURVE Get yourself a local mentor! Join a local bee club. Read some good bee books. Engage in the online beekeeping community.
  • 6. G E T I N V O LV E D : JOIN A BEE CLUB
  • 7. READ SOME GOOD BEE BOOKS! Backyard Beekeeper / Kim Flottum How to keep bees and sell honey / Walter T. Kelley Honey Bee Biology and Beekeeping / Dewey Caron
  • 8. VISIT SOME GOOD WEBSITES! beesource.com scientificbeekeeping.com michiganbees.org bees.library.cornell.edu
  • 9. TOPICS Getting up the learning curve. Equipment youll need. Getting your bees. Caring for your bees. Harvesting Honey Wintering bees.
  • 10. THE MODERN BEEHIVE Invented by the Rev. L.L. Langstroth in 1851. Removable frames Size matters: bee space
  • 11. THE HIVE Decisions to make: 10 frame vs. 8 frame / be consistent! Deep vs. medium for brood chambers.
  • 12. HIVE COMPONENTS hive stand inner cover bottom board outer cover entrance reducer rims / shims hive bodies honey supers frames feeders foundation queen excluder
  • 14. THE HIVE TOOL Most essential tool! Multi-purposes: prying, scraping, etc. The simple $4 hive tool will suffice!
  • 15. VEILS & BEESUITS, ETC. Veil is essential equipment. Wear a bee suit / white coveralls as needed. Gloves / gauntlets optional. Avoid wool clothing.
  • 16. TOPICS Getting up the learning curve. Equipment youll need. Getting your bees. Caring for your bees. Harvesting Honey Wintering bees.
  • 17. GETTING BEES FOR YOUR HIVE 3 options for getting bees: package bees nucs catch a swarm!
  • 18. PA C K A G E B E E S
  • 19. NUCS
  • 20. C AT C H A S W A R M ! !
  • 21. PA C K A G E S V S . N U C S Packages Nucs (northern raised) raised in the south build up faster slower start get stock that winters no old combs! well. you might get junk combs ORDER YOUR BEES EARLY!!!
  • 22. TOPICS Getting up the learning curve. Equipment youll need. Getting your bees. Caring for your bees. Harvesting Honey Wintering bees.
  • 23. CARING FOR YOUR BEES In order to care for your bees, you need to think like a bee NEED TO UNDERSTAND BASIC BEE BIOLOGY!
  • 24. Source: The Honey Bee by Frank C. Pellett. 1919
  • 25. CAN YOU FIND THE QUEEN?
  • 26. CAN YOU FIND THE QUEEN? CAN YOU FIND A DRONE?
  • 27. THE QUEEN 16 days from egg to bee fertile female: mother lives 2 or more years lays as many as 2000 eggs per day mates (in flight) with a number of drones
  • 28. HONEY BEE BIOLOGY Worker bee 21 days from egg to bee infertile female does all the work: housekeeping, childrearing, foraging, guard, etc. Drone bee 23 days from egg to bee mates with queen (maybe) kicked out when going gets tough
  • 29. BEEKEEPING / S P R I N G TA S K S Start new colonies (feed!). Feed wintered colonies if necessary. Monitor/treat for mites Split strong wintered colonies to prevent swarming.
  • 30. BEEKEEPING / S U M M E R TA S K S Monitor for mites Super colonies Harvest honey
  • 31. BEEKEEPING / F A L L TA S K S Monitor / Treat for mites Feed if needed. Prepare hives for winter
  • 32. YOUR #1 CHALLENGE IN KEEPING YOUR BEES ALIVE: VA R R O A D E S T R U C T O R
  • 33. D E A L I N G W I T H VA R R O A M I T E S Hard Chemicals (miticides): not recommended Soft treatments: formic acid, thymol Integrated Pest Management Note: If you dont do something for mites, you will most likely be buying new bees every year!
  • 34. TOPICS Getting up the learning curve. Equipment youll need. Getting your bees. Caring for your bees. Harvesting Honey Wintering bees.
  • 35. IF YOU ARE NICE TO YOUR BEES, THEY MAY PRODUCE S O M E V E R Y TA S T Y H O N E Y ! !
  • 36. C O M B H O N E Y: R E A L LY R A W !
  • 37. EXTRACTING HONEY Required Equipment Extractor (spinner) Uncapping melter Wax melter
  • 39. TOPICS Getting up the learning curve. Equipment youll need. Getting your bees. Caring for your bees. Harvesting Honey Wintering bees.
  • 43. O U R C O N TA C T I N F O Jonathan & Mieke Engelsma, Nunica, MI Phone: (616) 209-9BEE Email: sales@hudsonvillehoney.com Web: www.hudsonvillehoney.com Facebook: www.facebook.com/hudsonvillehoney Twitter: @honeyandcandles