Subject: Re: Should I Start?

From: [email-masked] (Bill Sheaffer)
Date: Mon, 27 Feb 1995 16:44:26 -0500

In article <[email-masked]>, [email-masked] wrote:

if this hobby is more high maintenance than I'm
> ready to accept...

   I know with roses, we figure about 1 hour per plant per year. Is there
a similar estimate for bees/hives? I am debating starting with 1 hive or
maybe 2 or three. If I could get an idea as to how much time is involved a
hive, I could  figure out how many start. That may sound like a strange
'newbie' question but my partner and I have access to probably 6 or 7
hives. 

Bill

-- 
_________________________________________________________
|                                                       |                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                            |             Bill Sheaffer <Braxton>                   |                      |                                                       | 

|   "Wasting time creatively is my life's ambition"     |
|                                                       |
|                Temple U.                              |
|             Millersburg H.S.                          |
|          Millersburg Ferryboat                        |
|       Harrisburg Astronomical Soc.                    |
|         ________________________                      |
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|         |   []  []   []  []    |   \ /                |
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|---------|______________________|---/ \----------------|

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From: [email-masked] (Gordon Scott)
Date: Tue, 28 Feb 1995 22:17:58 +0000

In article <[email-masked]>
           [email-masked] "George Stoneberg" writes:

> difference in the amount of free time I have for hobbies.  I was hoping that
> the bees would do their thing without my interference or help.  That may not
> be the case.  How much work would I be taking on?

It all depends.. doesn't it always.

I reckon that as an enthusiastic beginner you need to allow _at_least_ a
half  hour  per colony per week.  There's nowhere near that much work --
bees are just so fascinating.

The 'pros' get it down to about three minutes but look at  what  they're
missing!

Enjoy, regards,
-- 
Gordon Scott	[email-masked]		100332,3310 on CompuServe
Newsletter	[email-masked]	ditto
		Beekeeper, Kendo Sandan, sometime sailor.
		Basingstoke, Hampshire, RG22 5HP, UK

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From: [email-masked] (George Stoneberg)
Date: Mon, 27 Feb 1995 18:45:20 GMT

I've been reading this newsgroup for a few weeks as I have always thought
it would be fun to have a bee-hive.  Honey-comb on toast is one of lifes
great pleasures.  Until recently, bees were not an option as I lived in the
suburbs on a half acre lot.  However, a job transfer has landed me on an
acreage (21 acres) with a pond and an orchard of about a dozen fruit trees
in the country (Eastern Nebraska).  However, all the recent talk of AFB and
wax moths has made me wonder if this hobby is more high maintenance than I'm
ready to accept.  The upkeep on the new place is already making a huge 
difference in the amount of free time I have for hobbies.  I was hoping that
the bees would do their thing without my interference or help.  That may not
be the case.  How much work would I be taking on?  I'd rather not start than
get into it and not be able to handle it.  I'm sorry if there's a FAQ that 
handles questions like this, I must have missed it.

George Stoneberg
[email-masked]

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From: [email-masked] ("T. Alex. Shaw.")
Date: Tue, 28 Feb 1995 20:18:22 +0000

I don't think there is an answer to the question of where to keep bees and 
how long does it take.

I had a friend who kept bees in a large town.   There were lots of keen 
gardeners in the area who planted for something to be in flower thoughout 
the year and whilst those beekeepers in the countryside were dependant upon 
the weather being fine at the time of the greatest honey flow his bees 
worked throughout the season - he always did better than other local 
beekeepers.

One year he was quite ill and spent spring and summer in hospital.   Guess 
what?   That year he did even better.

You have got to check the health of your hives at least 2 or 3 times a year 
for the sake of other beekeepers in the area but other than that its up to 
you how much time you spend at your hives.

-- 

							AleX.

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From: [email-masked] (geoff butt)
Date: Wed, 1 Mar 1995 00:53:19 +0000

> 'newbie' question but my partner and I have access to probably 6 or 7
Hello Bill

I remember in the year I started keeping bees I had one hive for several 
months.  Those poor bees must have thought their hive was opened up more
often than closed.  If you are new to the hobby you'll be wanting to
observe the endless miracle of what goes on in your first hive, probably to
the detrement of the colony, but greatly enriching your knowledge.
I was bold enough to buy a second hive after a while, but then I found queen
cells and by using the Cheshire method for swarm control ended up with three.

Which brings me to my key point:  as a new beekeeper with a few hives you
will *always* be short of equipment!  The number of times I worked late into 
the night to build another brood chamber or more supers...!  If you have 
access to 6 hives I'd make sure only half of them had bees in to start with.

We are having an amazingly mild winter this year in the Uk.  The bees were 
flying vigorously today piling quantities of pollen into the hives from a
wealth of unseasonal flowerings.  But then;  every year you learn something
new.  Whatever else you do - get started!

Best wishes - Geoff
-- 
geoff butt
[email-masked]

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From: [email-masked] (Gerard Worrell)
Date: 28 Feb 1995 21:35:35 GMT

T. Alex. Shaw. ([email-masked]) wrote:
: I don't think there is an answer to the question of where to keep bees and 
: how long does it take.

: I had a friend who kept bees in a large town.   There were lots of keen 
: gardeners in the area who planted for something to be in flower thoughout 
: the year and whilst those beekeepers in the countryside were dependant upon 
: the weather being fine at the time of the greatest honey flow his bees 
: worked throughout the season - he always did better than other local 
: beekeepers.

: One year he was quite ill and spent spring and summer in hospital.   Guess 
: what?   That year he did even better.

: You have got to check the health of your hives at least 2 or 3 times a year 
: for the sake of other beekeepers in the area but other than that its up to 
: you how much time you spend at your hives.

: -- 

: 							AleX.

Hate to disagree with you Alex, but in the US recently, those who do not 
manage their bees do not keep bees very long! Years ago, before the 
mites, we got away without tending our bees so much. With both trachael 
and Varroa mites, without managing to control them, losses have been very 
high. Resistance has not developed well enough not to treat. Therefore, we
spend more time on the bees than even 5 yrs. ago. One hive or 10, if they 
are at a distance from home, you have to schedule the time and make the trip.
I have 3 out-apiaries and the time spent getting to the smaller one 
doesn't seem to matter as much as the time to get to them.

  Depending on how quickly you can make an examination of brood, etc. 
assume 1/2 hour per hive per ev two weeks in mild weather, once a month 
in winter. figure on requeening every year or two. Add time for adding 
supers, removing and extracting honey. Winter time needs to be set aside 
for repairing equipment ( replacing old combs with new 
foundation,repairing supres,brood chambers,etc.)

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From: [email-masked] ("T. Alex. Shaw.")
Date: Thu, 2 Mar 1995 21:37:49 +0000

In article: <[email-masked]>  [email-masked] (Gerard 
Worrell) writes:

> manage their bees do not keep bees very long! 

Yes Gerard, I forgot about varroa.   I have kept bees for many years in an 
isolated location in the north midlands of England.   The mite is advancing 
from the south and I was only thinking the other day that this season I 
shall have to be more attentive.

I have coped with most troubles (but escaped foul brood), however, I have no 
experience of varroa.   Is there any affective treatment yet and if not what 
is the next best thing?   If you would rather not digress this thread too 
far e-mail me.

I know now how beekeepers must have felt with the advance of "Isle of White" 
disease (Acarapis woodi) which virtually annihilated the British black bee 
at the beginning of the century to the extent that Italian bees had to be 
imported to replace them.   It was some 40 years before a treatment was 
developed but prior to that beekeepers used a cocktail of volatile chemicals 
like petrol and camphor to treat their stocks.

-- 

							AleX.

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From: [email-masked] (Allen Dick 546-2588)
Date: Sun, 5 Mar 1995 16:38:17 GMT

T. Alex. Shaw. ([email-masked]) wrote:
: In article: <[email-masked]>  [email-masked] (Gerard 
: Worrell) writes:

: > Hate to disagree with you Alex, but in the US recently, those who do not 
: > manage their bees do not keep bees very long! 

: Yes Gerard, I forgot about varroa.   I have kept bees for many years in an 
: isolated location in the north midlands of England.   The mite is advancing 
: from the south and I was only thinking the other day that this season I 
: shall have to be more attentive.

As far as I know, it is a very simple problem for the hobbyist to deal 
with.  A couple of strips installed routinely once or twice a year at acost 
of $5 maximum per hive should do the trick.

It's a no brainer.  Just check your local recommendations.

Do it!

Allen
-- 
W. Allen Dick, Beekeeper                        VE6CFK 
Rural Route One   Swalwell   Alberta   Canada  T0M 1Y0 
Email:   [email-masked]    or   [email-masked]
Virtual Art Gallery: http://www.cuug.ab.ca:8001/~dicka