Just like any other hobby beekeeping requires the beekeeper to have some equipment needed to manage honey bees. Some of the equipment you will need is less important then others. In this article we are going to give you the major things you will need to for this hobby.
– Getting Bees
The first thing when starting out is to get your own bees. You can either get the bees by buying them from someone else or you can go out in the wild to capture a bee swarm. Buying the bees is a good option when you are not used to bees because capturing a swarm can be dangerous and can be fatal if done wrong.
There are different types of bees around with some that produce better quality honey than others. A bee breed that produces good honey is the Italian Honey Bee. Other types of bee breeds to choose from are Apis Mellifera Carniola, Apis Mellifera and the Apis Mellifera Ligustica breeds.
– Bee Home
Bees need a place to call home and do their day to day business. The best type of a bee home is a beehive which can come in two types. The first type is the Top Bar Hives which is the most commonly used by beekeepers. Then you have the Langstroth which is quiet different from the Top Bar Hive. Both of these have their own advantages and disadvantages. If you don’t know of which one to pick you should ask other beekeepers in your area.
– Protection
A bee sting is very painful and other people can be allergic to bee stings. So if you are dealing with bees you have protect yourself incase the bees attack you. For protection beekeepers wear a beekeeping suit that covers the whole body including the face. When wearing the suit make sure that everything is tight so that the bees don’t go in between the clothes.
– Hive Tools
When working with your bees you will need some tools to help you manage the bees. One tool to have is the hive tool that is used to separate the frames when opening the hives to see the progress of the honey production. Another handy tool is the smoker which helps in calming down the honey bees as you work. Smokers can come in different materials which some made from copper and others made from strain less steel. They also differ in prices but both do the job.
– A Feeder
The last thing you should get is a feeder for your colony. In winter time flowers can be scarce for bees so you will find yourself in a position where you will have to feed the bees with sugar syrup. And in order to give your bees some syrup you will need a feeder.
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