The Honeybee is the world's most beneficial insect.
In addition to producing delicious honey and beeswax.
These industrious creatures also help to pollinate many crops.
About 80% of the pollination work is done by this one species of bee
And it's been estimated that they add more than $30 billion to the American
agricultural economy every year by significantly improving produce yields.
But it's not just the economy that benefits from these amazing
creatures, both relaxing and fascinating.
The craft of beekeeping can be a rewarding and enjoyable hobby.
It's fun to watch nature work and to quite literally
taste the fruits of your labor.
In this case, fresh, delicious honey.
Whether living in an urban environment or in the rural countryside,
practically anyone can keep a hive of honeybees.
If you're willing to commit a little time and effort and invest
a little money to get started, you can help a beehive to thrive.
So the question is, is beekeeping right for you?
Hi, I'm Jon
Zawislak with the University of Arkansas System Division of Agriculture.
If you like the outdoors, enjoy gardening and love to learn.
You may find the hobby of beekeeping is just right for you.
And you wouldn't be alone.
Beekeeping is an increasingly popular hobby that puts you in touch with nature
on an intimate level.
Honeybees are living creatures and they do require a little bit of care.
So before you jump right in, here's a few things to consider
for the hobby of beekeeping.
The first thing you'll need, of course, are the bees themselves.
There are several ways to get your first colony of honeybees.
You could purchase a nucleus hive or nuc
from a local beekeeper, or you can order a package containing 3 lbs.
of bees that are shipped to you in the mail.
You might be lucky enough to catch a swarm, but
that can sometimes be tricky for people with no experience with honeybees.
The modern
langstroth beehive is a modular design that allows beekeepers
to adjust the size of the hive depending on conditions.
We can open up the hive and inspect the conditions
of the bees for their health and for their productivity.
Each one of these wooden boxes contains wooden frames
and these frames encourage the bees to build nice straight honeycomb
so that we can lift them out, inspect them, and put them back in the hive.
We can rearrange them.
We can encourage bees to work in different parts of the hive.
Typically, the lower boxes are where the queen bee
would live and raise her young.
So we call this the brood area.
The upper boxes are typically where the bees store surplus honey
that can be removed and harvested by the beekeeper
without taking away too much from the honey bees.
There are many other types of beehives in use, but most beekeepers
have been using a design similar to this for well over 150 years.
It represents a good compromise between what bees want and what beekeepers need.
It's something else that beekeepers need is protective clothing.
At the very minimum, you'll want to keep the bees away from your face.
A hat and veil combination such as this will allow you
to make a casual inspection of your beehive.
Without risking a sting on your face.
An Inspector's jacket is another good choice.
Not only does it protect your face and head,
but also protects your arms and it keeps your clothes clean.
It zips up securely along the chest and around the neck to keep all the bees
out, allowing you to perform all the necessary tasks in your hive.
And don't forget about your hands.
While many experienced beekeepers prefer to work barehanded,
most beginners do prefer to wear gloves while they work their bees.
These gloves can prevent stings on your hands and arms,
but you'll still need to work your hives very gently and carefully.
They may be sting resistant, but they're not sting proof.
A determined honeybee can put a stinger right through these gloves.
Even if you do prefer to work with your bees bare handed,
keep a pair of gloves handy
because there are some tasks where you'll want to suit up.
One of the most
important tools you'll want to invest in as a beekeeper is a bee smoker.
So get a good quality one that'll last you a long time.
Honey bees communicate with each other
using a complex language of chemical odors we call pheromones.
One of the most important is alarm pheromones.
To us, it smells a little bit like bananas.
But to honeybees, it's an indication that danger has been detected nearby.
And when honeybees are alerted to danger, they become much more defensive.
That is ready to sting by puffing a little bit of smoke
in and around the hive as we work, it tends to keep our bees less defensive,
much more calm and much more pleasant to work with.
A beehive is a sticky place.
It's full of honey and beeswax and a resinous substance
the bees collect from trees called propolis The bees use it to waterproof
the inside of a hive or a hollow tree, also to seal up cracks in between boxes.
Your hive tool is used for scraping and prying.
We can scrape off excess propolis, bits of beeswax, and honeycomb
that are built in the wrong place.
We can also use it to lift out frames when we inspect a beehive.
So get a couple of hive tools. They're easy to lose.
They're not very expensive, but you'll be glad you have an extra one.
A bee brush is handy for gently moving bees off of a comb
so that you can see what they're doing underneath.
It allows you to inspect the bottoms of the cells.
It's also handy
when you're harvesting honey to get the last few bees off of a honeycomb.
Beekeeping catalogs are full of tools and devices designed for beekeepers.
Some of them are intended for very specific purposes.
The basic set up with a smoker, a hive tool, and a bee brush are sufficient
for just about everything you're going to need to do
your first couple of years as a beekeeper.
An important consideration for a lot of people is the cost of starting beekeeping.
For your first couple of hives.
The bees inside, your protective clothing, and your basic tools.
Expect to spend about $600 to $800.
Now these start up costs may seem high.
But remember, if you take care of your equipment
and you keep your bees healthy, they should all last for a very long time.
Of course, this is just a brief introduction to help you decide
if maybe you're right for honeybees.
Beekeeping can be a challenging hobby, but it can also be very rewarding.
If you think this is something you might like to do
then I would encourage you to keep learning.
Find a good reference book on honey bees.
Join a local beekeeping club and meet others
in your area that are passionate about these little creatures.
And you can enroll in a comprehensive beekeeping course,
such as those offered by your local Cooperative Extension Service.
Check out the links below for more information.
And don't forget to like and subscribe to our channel for more videos
on honeybees and beekeeping.