Originally Posted By ColonelHurtz: I'm no beekeeper but I did rob hives once. A separator uses centrifugal force to sling the honey out of the comb. Sometimes known as an extractor. See here:images.google.com/images?svnum=10&um=1&hl=en&q=honey+separator+&btnG=Search+Images Colonel Hurtz

It's actually correctly called an extractor, though there may be localities that refer to it as a separator.

If you look in catalogs for equipment, you will find extractors. But I would call it whatever the locals call it to stay in good graces with the locals.

Well, quite often, the first year, you don't harvest ANY honey. Harvests vary by locality, and based upon weather conditions, climate changes and the strength/condition of the hive. No two hives are alike. The beekeeper recognizes this and tends each hive as its own separate entity.

One generally does not go into beekeeping just for the honey. It's best to go into beekeeping because you're interested in the art/science of keeping bees. The honey is a good product, and can be a cash crop, but there is a lot to learn about keeping bees.

One cannot simply stick a box of bees in the back yard and expect to reap the harvest without significant investment of time and energy.

HERE, in Kentucky, I think the average harvest is maybe 50 lbs of honey per established colony per year? Okay I'm guessing. I have not seen the figures recently. But if you contact your local county extension agent for agriculture, they will have those figures, or can get them easily for your locality. The average for your state or region is the figure you go by.

And even on a good year, some weaker hives will produce hardly any honey, and some very strong hives will double, triple, or quadruple that figure.

Oh, forgot to say, GENERALLY you harvest once per year, but SOMETIMES twice. But not usually. Usually the late crop of honey is left for the bees. YOU HAVE TO LEAVE THE BEES ENOUGH TO LIVE THROUGH THE WINTER. The beekeeper takes only the "extra" honey.

Kitties

Originally Posted By KG5S: 50 LBS ....WOW thats a bunch of honey ! I had no idea they could produce that much . I just thought it would be a cool hobby with a little something sweet at the end.

This is a GOOD reason to get into beekeeping.

It is a very cool hobby. You will never be bored. You will never learn all there is to know. You will never stop worrying about your bees.

Tomorrow I will get uxb to upload some pics of our equipment and classes and such to fototime, and I'll post them here if you want to see.

Kitties

I'll look at all the pics you want to post , looks like I need some more info anyway ! I'll look for them tomorrow .

We have a place that sells everything for bee keeping just to the north east of me, I have looked at there website but they had no price on anything , I can't remember their name , I'll have to see if I can find it again .

Anyway I gota hit the rack , I have 150 lbs of ribs I have to smoke in the morning , CU

All I can remember is that they were out of Truman AR, I'll look it up.

Sure just make me wait another day..........j/k.... No problem !

ETA: My smiley must be stoned , I can't get him to come down !

Kitties-with-Sigs,

Are they Screened Bottom Boards on your hives

Kitties-with-Sigs thanks for starting the thread. I've been a bit busy getting in our 2nd cutting hay crop in (absolutely dismal) and canning...and filing police reports on guys doing joy rides through our corn.

I asked about Bee keeping originally because I happen to find in mint condition (I think) one of my great grandfather's be hives, including the frame sticks (?)(the cross pieces that the bees build the comb to. Then about three months ago, my neighbor gave me a smoker and veil/helmet.

So I thought...hmmm, the start up cost just got a whole lot cheaper if I want to try it.

I have a fairly large garden and more importantly apple trees, a couple other fruit trees, and a whole bunch of new vines in hopes of making both wine and preserves/jam.

I just thought bees would be the natural next step in the while process, both to harvest honey, and to better pollinate the fruit trees and vines.

Reading the comments, I can also heavily predict and influence any spraying and have some large alfalfa, grass, and clover crops surrounding the area on my property (about 320 acres).

It sounds like the best thing to do is to find local groups or apiarists.

To start off, I was wondering what I should look for in terms of usability in the gear I currently have and a location for the hive.

I'll get the stuff out and take pictures of it when I get a chance.

HomesteadingToday has a great beekeeping forum.

Okay, KG5S, take a look at Duranda1's equipment. It's similar to what you will need to start. The first pic, looking at that stack of boxes, ignore the one on the bottom. Next one up is a ten-frame hive body. Above that are two "supers". A super is just another box stacked on top of the bottom one. It can be this size, or other sizes. Lots to learn and decide about as far as what sizes you want. Some people keep bees with all one size, others mix the sizes for different reasons, etc.

Originally Posted By Duranda1. THis is what I have: gallery.mac.com/thesw0rdofroland/100046/IMG_4906/web.jpg In the smoker pic, this is a typical smoker. As long as it holds smoke and blows air reasonably well (bellows is tight and does not leak) it will do fine. Some kind of stopper is convenient for the smoke hole. My stopper is a whittled down piece of wood that I shove into the hole. Smoker, bellows type. gallery.mac.com/thesw0rdofroland/100046/IMG_4893/web.jpg In this picture, you see the inside of a super with "frames" installed. Also, you see a frame sitting outside with some comb leftover, so you can get an idea of how the bees build comb in the frames. when Duranda cleans his equipment, he will likely remove all this old comb from the frames. In any case he will scrape the frames down and brush them off to get rid of dirt and stuff. Bees like a clean house. Base with "reducer entrance" and 2nd level. gallery.mac.com/thesw0rdofroland/100046/IMG_4898/web.jpg gallery.mac.com/thesw0rdofroland/100046/IMG_4899/web.jpg You also see the hive top. The top you buy will not likely be this cool "house like" gabled top. It will probably be a flat top with a metal cover like the ones on my hives in the first picture of the thread. Roof and additional level (silly question since I haven't read too much, but what is the hole for?) gallery.mac.com/thesw0rdofroland/100046/IMG_4900/web.jpg Another "addition" gallery.mac.com/thesw0rdofroland/100046/IMG_4901/web.jpg Base level gallery.mac.com/thesw0rdofroland/100046/IMG_4904.jpg?derivative=medium&source=web.jpg&type=medium

Posted by Duranda1
"What types of locations should I look for to place hives? Shaded? Should they be suspended off the ground? Keeping weeds away important or helpful?"

You should choose the location, as best you can, to include the following criteria:

1) Hives face east or southeast or south (mine face due south). This allows the sun to strike the hive entrance at the earliest possible time in the day.

2) Hives should have SUN but should be protected from prevailing winds (especially winter winds) if possible. The picture of the bee yard above with all the white hives is ideal. They are set against a windbreak that I'm betting is on the north/northwest side of his hives, and the front of the hives faces outward into an open space so the sun can hit the hives during the day.

3) Hives should be elevated if possible--concrete blocks work great and they don't rot. ALSO if possible, use some sort of ground cover/cloth to keep down weed growth right around the hives. (Also, for the future, SHB (Small Hive Beetle) larvae burrow into the dirt outside the hives to pupate, so any barrier to this is a good thing.) ALSO, bees don't like lawnmowers. So if you don't have to weedeat/mow right around the base of the hives, that will make your life easier too. Lots of people don't bother with this step, but it's helpful to me and to other beekeepers I know.

Depending on your climate, there may be subtle differences in where you may wish to place hives. Your local beekeepers will be able to tell you this.

As you can see, my hives don't have much of a windbreak, however, they are in the lowest spot in my yard, and the wind can be howling, but when I walk to that part of the yard, it's considerably reduced.

Don't place the hives in an area that will flood, for obvious reasons. Bees are not good swimmers, and do not possess teeny weeny sets of dive gear.

Okay for both question askers:

Okay, look at the pic of my hives at the top of the thread. See the bottom-most green wooden parts that sit on the concrete blocks? The narrow boards with the slits in the back?

Those are not just regular bottom boards. Those are screened bottom boards. You want to fork over the bucks to buy one for each of your hives. $20 each at Walter T. Kelley Co. in Clarkson, KY. Every bee supply place now has them. They are really important as tools for integrated pest management. Pests are now immune to chemicals, and becoming more immune with each season, so you want to control them in other ways if possible. These boards help, particularly with varroa control. Mice won't nest on them either. Also, you can remove the inside plastic or wood insert (you can see the white plastic inserts installed in mine if you look closely) and the bees get great air flow in the hot months. Many beekeepers leave their screened bottoms open the entire year. Again, this is an issue best brought up with your local beekeeping mentors.

Duranda1, that bottom base with hive body inside is unusual. I haven't seen anything like that before. I'm guessing it's home-made. I just can't figure out exactly its purpose or why it's built that way from looking at it in the pics.

OH! The hole you asked about...

It could be one or both of the following:

1) a top entrance. Lots of beekeepers use these, especially during the honey flow. It adds airflow, and keeps the bees bringing in honey from having to track all the way across the nursery and already-filled combs (no trackin' dirt in the house!) to get to the top section where the bees are likely working the comb/honey.

2) It could be an entrance for some sort of pest-control smoke/fumigant. This will likely be answered as true or false when you tell me when the equipment was last used.

In either case, is there a way to close off the hole? This is absolutely necessary. At least some sort of screen wire closure so you have control over who is using the entrance and when. You don't want this open at certain times of year, and you don't want it open when the hive is new, small, and weak. Otherwise stronger hives of bees, hornets, wasps, and other sweet-loving insects will invade through this hole. Bee wars are not pretty, and are very discouraging to the bees as well as the new beekeeper.

Hope these answers help a little. More to come. Keep asking questions too.

Kitties

Originally Posted By KG5S: Wow , I didn't know there was so much you had to do to raise bees ! Arkansas Apiary Law I always thought you just went and bought the stuff and did it , man I was wrong ! If you want to raise bees , you better check your State laws !

Not all states have laws like these, but it's becoming more common. I read through it and it's attempting to prevent the spread of diseases that will destroy the honeybee population.

Basically in ARkansas then, you are required to have an annual inspection. This will be something you will actually enjoy and that will help you.

The rest of it is mainly to regulate bees used as pollinators-for-profit and what I call "migrant" beekeepers--people who bring in tractor trailer loads of hives from other states to pollinate crops. This is one of the primary ways that bee diseases and pests spread across the country--because bees are moved across the country and carry the diseases with them.

I'm betting there is no charge for inspections, and once you're in a local beekeeping organization, you will find folks there who may not only be inspectors themselves, but will be getting inspections regularly and may sell you nucleus colonies from hives that you know are "clean." This is very important. It's really discouraging to start out and end up starting with weak or diseased bees.

The alternative is to buy packages of bees from down south (that's how we started). These package sellers will all have certificates and you will have no problem. All you'll have to do is show your purchase receipt to the inspector. You can get your equipment set up and the bees home and installed in their hives, then file the paperwork to say you have bees. Most of the work is done in advance of the arrival of the bees.

Worry not. Beekeeping regs like these are good for beekeepers.

The ones we worry about are the ones that say "you can't have bees in this neighborhood cuz your neighbors are afraid of bees." And yes, there are some of those. Those are the ones we're fighting against. Beekeepers have actually been a part of getting these inspection laws on the books in most states. It's the only way we can save our bees.

Kitties