# Why do you keep bees?



## Grant (Jun 12, 2004)

I started keeping bees because I had the idea I could make a living and get filthy, stinking, independently rich. Seriously.

What launched my interest in bees was "Entomology 222: Beekeeping" taught by Richard Trump at Iowa State University, spring quarter, 1979. I needed an easy class to raise my battered grade point average (too much beer and pizza). Mr. Trump inoculated me with this horrible affliction and the only cure is keeping bees.

I continued keeping bees because it was interesting, it got me out of the office, I got to spend some quality of time out in nature to feed my inner introvert, and because I made a little money on the side.

I am in beekeeping today because it's still not "work," it gets me out of the office and away from the drain on my inner introvert, connections me with my Creator, and with expansion over the years, I am making some serious money. Not rich in dollars, but wealthy beyond all comprehension and my wildest imagination with relationships, service opportunities, speaking engagements, etc.

I started when beekeepers were considered to be like the crazy lady in the rickity old house with a thousand cats (the one that smelled like urine, even when standing in the street). Today I'm treated like a guru. Locally, I'm the "honey dude."

Grant
Jackson, MO https://www.createspace.com/4152725


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## KPeacock (Jan 29, 2013)

I'm still not sure why I decided to keep bees. I was just returning home from a business trip to Montana and as I drove down the 2-lane country road I thought "Hey, I should have some bees." I've got 10 acres with a couple of nice ponds, a creek, a garden, and some fruit trees. If you're going to have a garden you need bees right? well, i started reading online, watching youtube, reading books, and visiting this place. Before too long I sourced my nucs and then really got into learning about bees. I had pet scorpions in college and I figured bees can't be any worse than them.

I figured 2 was a good place to start for someone that might or might now wants to have bees. I went into winter with 6 hives and no real aspirations to have more than that. Now that winter is dragging on longer and longer, i'm thinking more about expanding to a dozen or so hives and maybe half a dozen nucs. I still have no aspirations of making any type of money off of these little creatures. its just a hobby that i think is pretty neat. A crop share that I buy into did contact me about pollination, so I'm going to bring some hives out to the farm. the way I see it, I just got a free crop share and also an out-yard for bee manipulations 

I'll use this season as a learning year for honey extraction and maybe get into bottling a little bit next year. if that works out alright I"ll set some out by the road, but I wouldn't expect to make anymore than about $50 in honey sales. That'll help offset some of the hobby costs, but it's clearly not the way to go get filthy rich.

Anyways, that's my story. It's not all that good of one, but that's the one I've got. I have set personal limits on this hobby starting at 5 hives. well, now that i have 6 the limit has shifted to 12. I'll quickly hit that number this year and then reason why it actually makes more sense to have double that. I think beehives are a lot like the potato chips. it's rather difficult to have just one, and a small handful really isn't satisfying.


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## Acebird (Mar 17, 2011)

I think deep down most people keep bees because they are a glutton for punishment and are trying to win the gamble.


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## Michael B (Feb 6, 2010)

Like most, I wanted more pollination in the vegetable garden. After I kept a few hive I realized my meager 5k sqft garden was rather silly to think that the bees would really stop there.

Now I keep bees because I really enjoy it. I am always facinated by the hive dynamics. Plus, I now make extra money from my bees. I have been averaging 3-5K a year in honey, bees, and hive sales.


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## Mr.Beeman (May 19, 2012)

I started after watching a documentary about the recent decline in bee populations. I am sure it has been going on over the years, but it was just brought to my attention. 
Anyhow, it got me to thinking that I haven't seen a bee in my yard for some time and wondered if I could do something about it. I figured... one hive would be cool to have. That one hive idea lasted about three weeks. Swarm call after swarm call and removlas put me over 6 hives real quick.
Once I got into it, very quickly I realized there was a win/win situation for the bees and myself. Being a residential -commercial builder, I did some research and found that a lot of beekepers are willing to remove bees from structures, but were not so willing or capable to repair the damage that as caused by the removal.

Thus, the HONEY B GUYS were created. 

It does offset all the costs associated with beekeeping and helps with Christmas gifts.
This year we will actually sell honey in which the profits will be put back into the company.


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## MaydayMalone (Jan 19, 2012)

Teal said:


> I like to read stories
> 
> I'm just interested to know how you all got started in beekeeping. What made you want to do it? Was it what you expected? What do you like most about it, what has been your favorite experience?


My Great Uncle kept bees when I was a little kid. I have memories of going to his house and seeing the hives out next to his huge garden. I remember his home-made solar wax melter sitting next to his driveway. At that young age, I had absolutely no interest in bees. I never inquired about them. Now, almost 40 years later, I wish that I would have asked him how he did it. Things were much different then....no Varroa mites, no CCD, no hive beetles. 

So now flash forward about 38 years. I was sitting in my hooch on a U.S. military base in a town called Ar-Ramadi, Iraq. This was the hot spot of Iraq in the early days of the war. I had a lot of time on my hands after duty hours. You can only pass so much time at the dining hall or the gym. A few years earlier, I had brought the subject of honey bees up with my father. He lives on a nice little farm in the Pocono Mountains of Northeast Pennsylvania. We talked about placing some hives on the property, but it never panned out. While in Iraq, I decided to make a go of this strange new hobby when I returned. It's amazing of the things that you wish you would have done and things that you regret doing when you are in an environment like that. 

I spent my free time on the internet reading anything that I could find on the subject of honey bees. How to get started....what equipment was needed....where to get bees. I ordered books from Amazon.com. I watched videos. When I finally returned home in late June 2011, I found myself returning to a divorce and trying to cope with that stress, PLUS trying to transition myself back into a normal life. I made the decision that I would set up the hives and start this new hobby the following year....Spring 2012. When January 2012 arrived, I was excited to have found a bee club that sold honey bees and a supplier that was about an hour and a half drive from home. I drove there one day and bought everything that I would need to start 4 hives. Of course being new, you forget a few things, but nothing major to hold me back. When April 15th came, I went and picked up my packaged bees. My dad and the rest of my family were just as excited about this as I was. They were all there when I got back with the packages. It didn't take long to install them. As with all new beekeepers, I wanted to be in those hives all of the time. One thing that an old beekeeper told me was that I would learn patience. 

Beekeeping became therapeudic for me. I was able to relieve the stress of life. I learned a lot that summer. My hives flourished. I know that you are not supposed to take any honey that first year, but I took about 30 pounds. Just enough to bottle some 2 lb jars for gifts for the family. When we came out of winter in the Spring of 2013, all 4 hives had survived. I added 6 more hives last year.


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## Teal (Jan 30, 2014)

You are all awesome. Thanks for sharing with me. It makes me really look forward to getting my bees! And it's so cool how everyone has a different story. I love it.


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## Teal (Jan 30, 2014)

Grant said:


> Locally, I'm the "honey dude."


Oh, I want to be "the honey lady"! Better than the cat lady. Lol!


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## D Semple (Jun 18, 2010)

The bees won't die and beesource is holding me hostage  


somebody needs to come up with a 12 step program 


Don


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## Teal (Jan 30, 2014)

D Semple said:


> somebody needs to come up with a 12 step program
> 
> 
> Don


I'm afraid of this! I have an addictive personality, and the fact that I can get pain (stings) and pleasure(honey) all in one has me hooked before I have even started! Haha.


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## Michael Bush (Aug 2, 2002)

With the sudden upsurge in beekeeping, the CDC has recently classified beekeeping as a contagious mental illness. "Bee Fever" has been well documented for at least the last 150 years. When you look at how many people were chosen by the bees (A.I. Root comes to mind, but I've met many others over the years) it's obviously a plot by the bees. Bees can take over your mind and therefore your life. Your only real hope is to run away quickly if you find yourself getting caught up in it. Stay away from bees. If you have to be around bees, wear a foil hat so they can't take over your mind. Just when my Bee Fever was subsiding, Varroa showed up... and I become reobsessed...


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## Edymnion (May 30, 2013)

Because I'm single, and I'm homeshored at work, and I live out in the middle of nowhere. Its half an hour drive to get into town.

So same reason that I also run a small orchard, vineyard, and garden. I'm bored out of my skull.


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## Teal (Jan 30, 2014)

Michael Bush said:


> With the sudden upsurge in beekeeping, the CDC has recently classified beekeeping as a contagious mental illness. "Bee Fever" has been well documented for at least the last 150 years. When you look at how many people were chosen by the bees (A.I. Root comes to mind, but I've met many others over the years) it's obviously a plot by the bees. Bees can take over your mind and therefore your life. Your only real hope is to run away quickly if you find yourself getting caught up in it. Stay away from bees. If you have to be around bees, wear a foil hat so they can't take over your mind. Just when my Bee Fever was subsiding, Varroa showed up... and I become reobsessed...


Hilarious! I'll start sleeping with that foil hat on because I have been dreaming about bees every single night LOL.


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## Phoebee (Jan 29, 2014)

At age 5 I had been stung once, thought bees were evil, and would kill them on sight. But with age, I've decided they are fascinating. I don't feel this way about insects generally (I have a deep-rooted phobia of ****roaches that I've learned to control). To me, bees and especially honeybees are so different they hardly register as insects to my subconscious. Their complex behavior is part of it. Fuzzy probably helps. Face it, they are charismatic.

Funny thing is, I feel the same about spiders, which will send many people screaming. They fascinate me. I've also liked herptiles since my teens. When I tell people that last year I rescued four copperheads, they look at me in disbelief.

Since then I've gotten a degree in biology (which has never been much of a factor in my professional life, although the associated science courses have). But now that I am retired, my long-term interests in this field can now become an avocation.

I've always wanted to try keeping bees, but that could only happen if my wife agreed. She was Not Interested until she signed up for Master Gardener training. The Teaching Garden where they train has several hives operated by the local beekeepers' association, and she started to appreciate them during her classes. She decided she might want to try. Our stock broker got wind of it and invited us to his home to see his backyard hive (he has a couple of outyards as well). She borrowed an inspector's jacket and they dove in to the hive, with me a short distance away, no protection, but not worried. I was watching as she fell in love with the little rascals. We missed the window to sign up for bee school last year, but joined the association and have been getting ready for a year. The hives are in the garage, and two nucs are on order.


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## Vance G (Jan 6, 2011)

When I was about 8 I dug up a bumblebee nest while building a fort. I transferred it into the wooden box two pounds of cheese came in. When it started getting too populous my mother made me move it away from the back door and it was my first outyard. I just have always loved bees.


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## Robdm1 (Jan 17, 2012)

Why I keep Bees.
Another one of my hobbies is photography, primarily Macro. I enjoy snapping insects, flowers…etc. To help drawn in insects to my property, I had planted some butterfly bushes, which worked great. I got great pictures of butterflies, honey bees…etc. Then the next year I noticed I had not seen one honey bee. I had no idea the serious nature and future of the honey bee. I ended up taking a class on Honey bees\beekeeping and had questioned the instructor on my observation. She said someone near me probably had a hive that no longer does, because you will not find feral bees in our area. That stuck a cord in me and I realize I may be able to help no matter how small. 
My first year I started with two hives (packages) that didn’t even make it to the fall. Last year I started with two again (nucs,) and had a great season. I stole 31 lbs of delicious honey. Both hives went into winter with the top deep full.. Last Sunday, (got to 40 degrees) I saw both hives out and about. I have two more nucs coming, so I’m hoping for 4 hives this year, fingers crossed. 
My neighbors actually leave patches of clover on their lawns for the bees and assure me they don’t swat at them and are careful with pesticides, if they are use it at all. I gave away most of my honey to my neighbors too. They certainly helped me. I was surprised my neighbors took such ownership in protecting and helping the honeybee. I’m sure that is rare
For me, it is a very rewarding hobby.


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## woodsy (Mar 3, 2013)

Needed more pollinators for apples and vegetables so took up bees and beekeeping last year.

Some years we got lucky with the timing of the apple blossoms and arrival of neighborhood bees and some years 
we didn't. The years when the trees blossomed earlier than normal were almost always a total loss from lack of pollinators.

An added bonus last year was a bumper crop of winter squash, cucumbers and 30 lbs of wildflower honey.


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## The Honey Householder (Nov 14, 2008)

My Dad made me do it.:digging: 
Second generation honey producer. Sold my first ton of honey when I was 8 years old. The stories is not how you got into the business, more like how did you stay in it for you whole life.:scratch: Been able to see the ind. change in so many ways, just like the changes in life.


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## Phoebee (Jan 29, 2014)

I must agree with the photography. Years ago I took pictures for art's sake. I didn't have much equipment and did not have macro capability, but I took pictures for fun. Then I started lab photography. I had better equipment including close-up rings, but took pictures only for work. I bought a better camera for home, but my wife took it over. And film photography always had a delay between the click and the reward.

Now I'm digital, with two Nikon DSLRs, a very good Canon HD video camera, close-up-filters, microscopes, telescopes, game cameras, dashcams, you name it, retired, and with time to enjoy photography again. But now the Pavlovian effect is more effective ... you hear the click, and look down at the screen, and your reward is optimally timed to encourage the behavior to be reinforced. Photo editing and video editing, with features the pros did not have when I started photography, are now cheap and easy to use.

Bees, including native bees and wasps, have been some of my favorite subjects over the last year.


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## Michael Bush (Aug 2, 2002)

I heard the Surgeon General is considering requiring warning labels on all beekeeping equipment:

"Warning, beekeeping is known to be addictive and it is known to cause Bee Fever, an incurable mental illness. People with OCD are particularly susceptible and should avoid exposure."


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## TalonRedding (Jul 19, 2013)

Originally I loved eating honey, so I asked on old man who I went to church with and also kept bees if I could tag along with him in his bee yard. I was just a kid then and I just wanted some honey. My first time in a bee yard, and I caught bee fever. I've been hooked ever since, but have just been able to keep my own in the last year.
I wholeheartedly agree with Michael Bush in post 12! It is extremely addictive! So much so, that I was seriously contemplating on quitting my day job, which is just absurd! Seriously, I was. It will certainly take over your life if you let it. My neighbor, who is also a beekeeper, says I have the Bee in my blood. Also, my wife has become afflicted this this horrid disease. She has built her own top bar hive. My conclusion is that this disease is inoperable, and can only be doctored by steady doses of exposure to beekeeping with self-induced self control.


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## Teal (Jan 30, 2014)

TalonRedding said:


> . My conclusion is that this disease is inoperable, and can only be doctored by steady doses of exposure to beekeeping with self-induced self control.


I may be in trouble. Cause I don't really have much of that. BTW, my brother's name is Talon. I don't know if that's your real name or SN...but just thought I'd tell ya!


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## Fusion_power (Jan 14, 2005)

I've always had an endless fascination with nature. My favorite occupation is still a long walk in the woods just taking things in. When I was 4 years old, I remember my father and grandfather talking about Grandpa Noah Jones who kept bees back in the 1930's. He planted trees and grew all the fruits and veggies he wanted. The bees were a typical small farm sideline that made a bit of honey. When I was 10, my father was given two colonies of bees and brought them home. They were totally fascinating to a 10 year old boy. Of course, I did ridiculous things like throwing rocks at them to see them come piling out of the entrance. I made a small lid into a feeder and had hours of fun putting sugar water in it and watching them lap it up. They died over winter, but I had the "bug" by then.

A swarm moved into the front wall of our house a couple of years later. I made a "bee suit" for myself and another for my younger brother. If you can picture a red fedora with screen wire sewn to it and an old t-shirt made into the bottom, you have an idea just how inventive I was. It was what I had and I used it. I pulled the clapboard siding off the house wall and managed to remove the bees and put them into a homemade box. Within 3 years, I had 10 colonies.

I've seen the ups and downs of beekeeping. In 1988, I lost all my colonies to tracheal mites. I bought 10 colonies and Buckfast queens from Weaver's. In 1992, I bought out a local beekeeper who was retiring (Clay Atwell, Oneonta, AL) for $1000. That was my first time to own my own bee blower, 4 frame motorized extractor, and 100 gallon settling tank with all the hardware to seriously manage bees plus got 35 colonies of bees in the bargain. Varroa mites arrived and I lost everything again in the winter of 1993/1994. I had one single colony left alive that was from a feral swarm caught the year before. I split it 3 for 1 in late march 1994 and within a few years had built back up to a dozen colonies.

I treated for mites for a few years while searching for tolerant genetics. Finally, in 2004, I caught one single swarm that showed decent mite tolerance. In 2005, I purchased 10 queens from Purvis and used them to produce drones to mate with queens raised from my only mite tolerant colony. That turned out to be a fortuitous combination, my bees have now been untreated 8 full years and they are thriving. In the last 5 years, I sold or gave colonies to 3 people who wanted to get started with bees. Two of them are still going, one has 4 colonies, the other has 5. Both plan to double their colonies this spring.

That's my story, and I'm sticking to it.



p.s. reading the above, I'm reminded of a bumper snicker I saw years ago that said "give up sex, I'll help you taper off!"


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## TalonRedding (Jul 19, 2013)

Teal said:


> I may be in trouble. Cause I don't really have much of that. BTW, my brother's name is Talon. I don't know if that's your real name or SN...but just thought I'd tell ya!


Yep, that's my real name. I have never come across another Talon. My dad got it from the Louis Lamour novel, "Milo Talon".


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## Teal (Jan 30, 2014)

Fusion_power said:


> I've always had an endless fascination with nature. My favorite occupation is still a long walk in the woods just taking things in. When I was 4 years old, I remember my father and grandfather talking about Grandpa Noah Jones who kept bees back in the 1930's. He planted trees and grew all the fruits and veggies he wanted. The bees were a typical small farm sideline that made a bit of honey. When I was 10, my father was given two colonies of bees and brought them home. They were totally fascinating to a 10 year old boy. Of course, I did ridiculous things like throwing rocks at them to see them come piling out of the entrance. I made a small lid into a feeder and had hours of fun putting sugar water in it and watching them lap it up. They died over winter, but I had the "bug" by then.
> 
> A swarm moved into the front wall of our house a couple of years later. I made a "bee suit" for myself and another for my younger brother. If you can picture a red fedora with screen wire sewn to it and an old t-shirt made into the bottom, you have an idea just how inventive I was. It was what I had and I used it. I pulled the clapboard siding off the house wall and managed to remove the bees and put them into a homemade box. Within 3 years, I had 10 colonies.
> 
> ...


So awesome. I can picture that homemade beesuit rather well! I hope my kids will like the bees like you did, rather than be scared of them.

Funny on the bumper sticker too!! I probably can't elaborate much on that without breaking forum rules (maybe even just typing that did!) but I did get a laugh out of it.


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## Teal (Jan 30, 2014)

TalonRedding said:


> Yep, that's my real name. I have never come across another Talon. My dad got it from the Louis Lamour novel, "Milo Talon".


OMG, hahaha. That is exactly why my dad named my brother Talon. He used to read us Louis Lamour novels all the time. SO FUNNY!


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## TalonRedding (Jul 19, 2013)

Teal said:


> OMG, hahaha. That is exactly why my dad named my brother Talon. He used to read us Louis Lamour novels all the time. SO FUNNY!


Whoa! That's kinda crazy! Perhaps we will meet one day. 
I'd like to get to Utah again anyway. I worked around Teasdale one summer chasing radio-collared Sage Grouse. Good folks out your way.


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## Blaster (Mar 30, 2012)

A fool and his money are soon parted? Actually, I started because I got an old complete hive out of the rafters in my grandfather's garage when he passed. I like self-sufficiency and producing things myself gardening, hunting, bullet casting, tanning, brewing, soap making etc and it meshed. I don't have the acreage for cows and don't need it for bees. The study-plan-calculate-enact process year to year has become fun by itself.


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## D Semple (Jun 18, 2010)

TalonRedding said:


> Yep, that's my real name. I have never come across another Talon. My dad got it from the Louis Lamour novel, "Milo Talon".


Our youngest goes by Reilly from Louis Lamour's novel Reilly's Luck. Still my favorite author, I'm sure I've read each of his 90 or so books at least 5 times. 

Don


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## toekneepea (Jul 7, 2010)

Ostensibly because I like honey, enjoy learning about new things and working with my hands.

I originally started as a project to interest my daughters in science... but if you were to look at this year's survival rates of my hives and nucs, you would say that it's because I like to kill bees, and spend money.

Tony P.


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## Teal (Jan 30, 2014)

toekneepea said:


> Ostensibly because I like honey, enjoy learning about new things and working with my hands.
> 
> I originally started as a project to interest my daughters in science... but if you were to look at this year's survival rates of my hives and nucs, you would say that it's because I like to kill bees, and spend money.
> 
> Tony P.


Oh no! I'm scared that will happen to me too. I guess it happens to everyone at some point though, from what I gather. Still not fun. I hope this coming year is way better for you!


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## Michael Bush (Aug 2, 2002)

>I've read each of his 90 or so books at least 5 times. 

According to wikipedia...
"L'Amour eventually wrote 100 novels, over 250 short stories, and (as of 2010) sold more than 320 million copies of his work. By the 1970s his writings were translated into over 10 languages. Every one of his works is still in print."


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## Acebird (Mar 17, 2011)

Fusion_power said:


> I'll help you taper off!"


Does that mean the person was going to make you old?


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## Yvesrow1 (Jan 27, 2013)

On a sunny Afternoon of June 2010 a swarm of HoneyBees invaded a section inside the exterior wall of my detached garage. My reaction was typical having never heard or witnessed this particular behavior of bees; panic, do not approach the dangerous bees & call an exterminator. To my surprise i soon found out that Pest Control Services had no interest in the removal of HoneyBees & refered me to local bee keepers. As i assisted Doug Thompsett in performing the “cut-out”, ripping a section of wall open followed by removing tens of thousands of calm, gentle bees, i became intrigued of the honey bee & the swarm phenomenon. The incident was the start of my interest which over the course of the following few years was further developed by YouTube videos & literature. 

May 2013, I aquired my first (4) Nuc Colonies & Built my first bee yard complete with an equipment cabin & extra large bear fence for future expansions. 

*I'm a victim of the Michael Bush described "BEE FEVER", apparently the bees did chose me *


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## beepro (Dec 31, 2012)

dup


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## beepro (Dec 31, 2012)

Interesting thread. Please ignore my poor grammars and try to get a feel of my stories. Back then, I thought I can sell honey to supplement in addition to my day job. But it turns out to be more of a learning experience for me in beekeeping. It all started when I contacted an almond grower at another city farm when he advertised on CL for his left over bee hives. I emailed him to buy his bees and all the extra hive equipments he had for free. So at 3 in the morning I drove to his farm and got lost in the walnut and almond orchards following this silly looking GPS that sent me to a locked gate at the end of the dirt road. And I thought GPS was supposed to be reliable when we needed it the most. Found out the hard way that on an orchard farm all the street signs (if there are any) registered on the GPS got taken off. No road signs on the dirt roads for any direction. With miles and miles of walnut and almond trees, ugh oh I got lost!!! Then I called him up around 3:30am when he was still sleeping. No wonder he could not sell his bee hives cuz they all got lost whomever attempted this operation before me. It took me awhile to finally found his farm at a V shaped sharp turn road. Interesting that the entire street was named after this orchard farmer. To my surprise the bee hives were a bit neglected. Actually the 2 hives left both were severely neglected for many years with 3-4 entrances/exits on the hive bottom. Man I thought to myself, I was in serious trouble now. Didn't know what I got myself into this time??? It was approaching dawn in the middle of the summer around 5am. I knew if the bees awaken at day light we will have our hands full. Or should I say the hives full of flying aggressive bees with so many exits. That was my first experience with a real bee sting. Or was it just one sting? No way, I got 6 times all at once from the multiple hive openings--2 on my right hand and 4 on my left hand. Apparently it was too dark that I did not completely sealed all the opening with the poly tape. Right away I knew why only 2 hives were left for me. Because nobody want those aggressive honey bees. Learned this lesson the hard way later on after they settled down at the local farm here. Got their vids to prove too when they stated chasing me all the way to my truck. All summer long I had to dealt with aggressive honey bees up to the point that I had to put up warning signs on them. I ran and ran when they chased me but got them on cam. The price was rather high too for both a small hive and a larger hive full of aggressive bees. I was desperate to have bees at that time so I asked him do they produce honey? Yes, he said. That was all the answer I needed. Then I said o.k. I will buy them. I took out my poly tape and ran a few times around the hive entrances all the way to cover as many entrances as I could find with my dimly lid home made converted red LED miner's light. After that he started loading all the old hive equipments and bee hives into my truck. Then I paid him and put on a car dust cover all over the bee hives and equipments. Threw 2 ropes over and tied everything together and headed home. I went to a local farm here to unload my hives. But apparently the bees found their way out from the extra exit somewhere that I did not tape over. It was too dark to see anything that was why I got stung 6 times. The useless home made LED light did not provide much light either. Hour by the hour, more and more bees flew out of their hives as I stood there just helplessly watching. Why? Well, the dawn hives are too heavy for me to unload off my truck. It was around 8 in the summer morning already. I didn't want to break the hives apart to carry them. Or breaking my back too. I was so scared and had no experience with handling bees or hives before. What to do, what to do? First time was always a tough one! Lesson learned here was to do your research first before jumping into beekeeping on desperation and inexperience. Luckily the local farmers arrived at the scene to help me out. Without a veil or bee suit they all helped me to carry these hives all attached together into its pallet location under a small acorn tree. That was where they sat thru the first winter. The sad thing was without me knowing we put these hives on an ant hill. WOW! The ants invaded the small hive that first week. By the time I discovered this issue it was too late. This hive was already doomed. Sadly, then I figured that was o.k. I still have the larger hive but they are more aggressive even to the point of chasing me to my truck on an attempt to inspect their hives. Then within the next month or so the ants also invaded this larger hive. I was thinking the bees had such a large number that these ants cannot kill them. Man, was I wrong with this mind set. I came to beesource crying for help in desperation. So in my first year I had lost both hives. All my investment went down the drain over night. No honey, nothing. 
Determined to not give up on beekeeping, I wanted to try again. After all I bought too many useless bee equipments already. Do you know that there are many equipments not needed for beekeeping but is recommended for you to buy? Even the canvas bee suit cannot help to protect my butt. On accident on a hive inspection I sat on one of the bees and got stung all the way thru my suit right on you know where. I had to inspect the hives at night cuz during the day time they would chased me all the way to my truck. Next time I know not to sit on one. Imagine how's the feeling on a very sensitive spot down there. And how you would react when suddenly sat on a pin on your couch? I mean would you jump right away.
So I tried again by calling a local beekeeper nearby. He was an older chubby Russian man in his early 60s with years of beekeeping experience. I asked him to buy an expensive Italian queen bee in the middle of winter. It was very hard to find bees or queen during the middle of winter time. For such a hefty price he sold her to me. A laying queen still inside the hive when I got there. Then I contacted another local keeper to buy almost one frame of Italian worker bees from him. This was a younger Russian kid who later on became my best local beekeeper friend. So for a desperate hive that wanted a queen and this new queen not having any worker, I put them all together. It was an instant match--Italian to Italians. All documented on vids on my you tube channel. No more Italian workers killing off Carni queen. And no more Carni workers killing off Italian queen that I also bought from this kid over the summer. I was desperately reading and searching for solutions to my problems on beesource with many help from here. Thanks to many who offered their expertise during my most stressful time in beekeeping. At the end of early Spring I had aggressively split this hive into 7 more. Grafted a bunch of queens for my split too. And gave them back to the Russian kid since he was more qualify, so I thought. So no honey my first and second year. 
Two days ago on 2/5, I got my bees back from this kid. He was too busy with school life to keep up with the bees. My bees got neglected again and only 3 hive survived this winter that I combined them all into a bee barrel. Now I have another queen bees problem just like before learning and still learning about beekeeping over this winter. Over the years I had learned a lot both from my own experiences and beesource members. And strawberrys need honey bees to set their fruits. This is a good chance for me to grow some small fruits this year. And at the same time have some honey for me this season, hopefully.  Honey, Honey, Honey! Hungry for more.
That was the worst part into beekeeping!
The best part was I got to enjoy the quiet time spending with my bees. I would feed them much like taking care of babies. Lots of stinging babies! If you are friendly to them they will recognize who you are. If you are mean to them like hitting their hives every now and then they will chase you even when you are mile away. You will recognize that they too have many personalities just like us. Some will bug you until you go away. I remembered one cordovan worker bee landing on the water source to take a sip. I was there watching the hive. Sometimes I would put my head right next to their hive and they would ignored me. Doing their pollen and nectar gathering pretending that I was invisible. Then while she was drinking I use my right index finger and petted her from head to back all the way thru. She turned around looking at me like....what was your problem? what was wrong with you? That kind of feeling was like humm, you should leave me alone or else...I will give it to you. Then she took off. After that I know not to bother a bee anymore when she is taking a sip. But it was fun though. 
I became friends with this hive all winter long til the next Spring. I gave them honey water and pollen patties and put warm electric heat pad on to keep them warm and cozy all winter long. Covered the hive with big pink sponges for insulation and poly plastic to keep the rains out. If you feed them honey outside their hive they will recognize who you are. I spent more on honey on them than collecting honey from them. That was my second year. This year is a bit different cuz it will be a good one for me.


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## Teal (Jan 30, 2014)

Beepro, WOW! Sounds like quite the fiasco, but you persevered! That's so great! I know I'll remember your story if I ever have a hard time. The part where you sat on the bee was funny! I can't even remember what it feels like to be stung. Is it weird that I'm kind of looking forward to it? Lol. What is your YouTube channel? I'd like to see your videos. Thanks so much for your story, it was fun to read.


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## NewJoe (Jul 1, 2012)

because I wanted to make a million dollars......Now I am working on my second million, BECAUSE I HAVE ALREADY GIVEN UP ON THE FIRST ONE!

Seriously though I love nature, and this just seemed like a great hobby. Plan was to have 1 or 2 hives....now have 7 and plan to increase to maybe 20 this year!


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## Phoebee (Jan 29, 2014)

NewJoe said:


> because I wanted to make a million dollars......Now I am working on my second million, BECAUSE I HAVE ALREADY GIVEN UP ON THE FIRST ONE!
> 
> Seriously though I love nature, and this just seemed like a great hobby. Plan was to have 1 or 2 hives....now have 7 and plan to increase to maybe 20 this year!


I'm sorry, you must have misunderstood. We never said you could make a million dollars. You can make a_* small fortune*._ You do this by starting with a _*large fortune.*_


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## NewJoe (Jul 1, 2012)

Phoebee said:


> I'm sorry, you must have misunderstood. We never said you could make a million dollars. You can make a_* small fortune*._ You do this by starting with a _*large fortune.*_


yeah I have heard it said that you could make a million keeping bees....the catch is it takes two million to do it...


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## Teal (Jan 30, 2014)

Phoebee said:


> I'm sorry, you must have misunderstood. We never said you could make a million dollars. You can make a_* small fortune*._ You do this by starting with a _*large fortune.*_


Dang. I'm out then! Unless being wealthy with knowledge counts! I've learned so much these past few weeks. My neck is sore from having to hold up my bigger brain. 

In all honesty, it's going to be a pricier hobby than I had anticipated. But I'm still going to do it.


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## Cedar Ridge Bees (May 29, 2011)

My dad and I had wanted to keep bees for years but never did much about it until my mom developed lung cancer. She told me to find something that would keep my dad busy and out of her hair. Sounded like a good enough reason to build a bee hive. Dad only wanted 4 hives but the end of the first summer we had 11. 10 survived the first winter and we have gone foreward ever since. My mom lost her battle but launched us on a wonderful journey. My wife was concerned about having a drum of honey on the porch but we have managed to sell everything we produce. My 6 year old helps with the weekly chores as well as cutouts and rescues. I bought 20 nucs last month and hope to have 20 of 25 survive the winter. Dad has a top bar that he produces comb honey out of and sell to his "coffe buddies" at McDonalds. I, like Grant have developed numerous trade relationships and friendships thru bees. I am also mentoring 2 newbees and learn something from them at every visit.

Kent

"I would rather be ashes than dust" Jack London


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## Haraga (Sep 12, 2011)

To answer the question. 
It is simply the best tax write off that a farmer could ask for.


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## Kidbeeyoz (May 8, 2013)

Because I heard that the honey in my area was a natural aphrodisiac!!!!!


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## Fusion_power (Jan 14, 2005)

Kidbeeyoz said:


> Because I heard that the honey in my area was a natural aphrodisiac!!!!!



Best response yet.

I should send you some info about preparing boiled snowpeas. They naturally increase nitrate concentration in the bloodstream. I can see it now, an old man's dream. Peas & Honey. lol


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## Teal (Jan 30, 2014)

Kidbeeyoz said:


> Because I heard that the honey in my area was a natural aphrodisiac!!!!!


:lpf: So, was it!?


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## REDWOOD (Feb 5, 2014)

Escape to the country side


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## Acebird (Mar 17, 2011)

Kidbeeyoz said:


> Because I heard that the honey in my area was a natural aphrodisiac!!!!!


My honey is a natural aphrodisiac but I don't share.


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## philip.devos (Aug 10, 2013)

Teal said:


> Hilarious! I'll start sleeping with that foil hat on because I have been dreaming about bees every single night LOL.


It's too late....OBVIOUSLY!


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