I am thinking of having one or two beehives on my country property. I am starting to plant diffrent fruit berring plants such as blue berries, muscadine and what ever is low maint and will grow good in the area. So I got to thinking why don't I try my hand at bee raising  since I have the room for it and I always believed that it is good to have honey bees around. I know jack crap about beekeeping asnd need some basic info to see if I should travel this path. I plan on being out there every weekend or 2 . I have 2.5 acres of pasture and 3 acres of woods. This will be a hobby not a buisness. How much time would I have to give and what basic costs can I expect?

Nope... There aren't any at this site...  

Isn't there a guy called THEBEEKEEPER???

Look at Amazon.com on beekeeping. That should get you started.

You could also call your local agricultural extension office, they could get you going.

TBK1 don live here no moe.........move along, nothing to see here.  

My wife and I have four bee hives five bee hives, we caught a swarm yesterday.  Email me and I will help get you set up.

There are a couple of good websites (my wife knows them) and you can get catalogues from Brushy Mountain, Kelley's Bee Supply (about a forty-minute drive from here), and Dadant.  A Google Search should be able to get you websites and links for catalogues.

The problem is most people placed their orders in the Fall for their bees, which are normally delivered around here in April.  We got our first two hives from Willbanks in Georgia, and then caught two swarms last year and an additional swarm yesterday.

It is very likely that you may not be able to get bees until next Spring.  In the meantime, get your catalogues and find out if there is a regional bee organization in your area (we belong to the Association in our county of residence as well as an adjoining county).  Attend some meetings, meet some fellow beekeepers, and learn a lot before getting your own bees.

You can learn about hive construction, placement of hives, bee behavior and life cycles, re-queening the hive, bee pests and diseases (and ways to prevent them)...

Some members may help you out with not just knowledge, but supplies, and even swarms of bees they have caught.

Also check with your local AG Extension Agent as they are very helpful and can even see about getting you Federal Grant Money to help with supplies.

Drop me an email and I will discuss specifics with you.

uxb

The bees upon arrival: three-pound packages:



Our bees:



The first morning in their new homes:



A parasitic mite on a baby bee larvae:



A frame of bees.  There are 9 or 10 per hive body.  You can see bees tending and working the surface of the frame, capped brood waiting to hatch (chocolate brown capped areas in top-center of frame), then honey (the dark ring of cells surrounding the brood), and pollen (bottom right-hand corner - look at the different colors of pollen they have collected):



And TheBeekeeper1 used to tend bees as well.  

Oh, and if you get stung on the face, expect to look like this...