Aquiring Honey Bees

If you aren't allergic to honeybee stings beekeeping is a way for people who don't have a lot of money and acres of land to take an active role in agriculture. The start up expense of the average beehive is approximately $400 per hive. Once you have boughi a beehive it can be kept in a remote corner of your back yard, it is not uncommon to see some suburban neighborhoods with a beehive. People in the city even keep beehives on roofs of high-rise apartment buildings.

If you are thinking of starting a beehive the first thing you need to do is call your local state Cooperative Extension office. They will be able to tell you if you live in an area that restricts keeping honey bees or if you can keep honey bees. They will also be able to give you the contact information of your states beekeeping organizations where you can become a registered beekeeper and attend local bee meetings.

The next thing you will need to do is select a site for your potential honey bee hive.

Once you have selected a site for your beehive you will need to go about acquiring the equipment needed to successfully maintain a beehive. Some of the bee equipment you will need can be purchased used on EBay or at other beekeeping shops around the world. If you are unable to find the beekeeping equipment you need on EBay there are several on-line sites where you can purchase beekeeping equipment. If you need further direction in finding and purchasing a beehive and other beekeeping equipment call your local state Cooperative Extension office or the Federation of American Beekeepers.

Before acquiring bees for your beehive it's important to make sure that you are properly protected, this means you have to purchase beekeepers equipment.

Once your beehive is in place and you are satisfied that everything is in working order it's time to order your honey bees. The easiest way is to order honey bees from an established Apiary. You should plan on placing your bee order early in the winter months, the average beekeeper orders their bees in January and February. The order is typically shipped in March and April. Most Apiary's ship their honey bees through the U.S. postal service or some other major carrier.

When the honey bees arrive at the post office or shipping facility your mail carrier will call and ask that you pick up the honeybees. Very few mail carriers are comfortable driving all over the mail route with a car full of young angry honeybees in their vehicle and most honeybees are healthier if they don't have to spend several hours in a hot vehicle.

When you pick up your honeybees they should have been packaged in a special carrying case that is designed just for honeybees. This package should be a wooden framed "house" that has a screen covering the outside. This packaging allows the air to circulate to the traveling honeybees and keeps mail handlers, such as post office employees, from getting stung by the honey bees.

When you receive your honey bees, do not be surprised if you see a few dead honey bees laying in the bottom of the package. Traveling is hard on honeybees and they can't all be expected to live through the trip. The rest of the honeybees should be clutching the sides of the container ready to produce honey for you.

You will notice that one honeybee in the container has been separated from the rest of the beehive.This is your queen bee. The rest of the honeybees in the container will make up the rest of your bee hives hierarchy. Some Apiaries ship the queen with a couple of nurse honeybees. The top of the queen's container will be covered with piece of sugar candy.

You should also see a container that is filled with a sugar solution. This sugar solution is what the honeybees feed on while they are traveling. Once you get your honeybees home offer them something to drink. You do this by taking a spray bottle and covering the container with a very fine covering of water.