I want one bee box this spring. But I'm a bit uneasy about the whole process. In an old issue of Countryside it said that you have to destroy the bees before it gets cold and I would do not like to do this. How hard is it to have bees and does anyone just have one bee box? I have gootne some information from the county extension office, but I would like some first-hand knowledge from someone who has lots and lots of experience as well as someone who just started out with the same thoughts as I am having. Thank-you in advance for answering. dz

-- Danette Rebai (drebai@yahoo.com), March 19, 2001

Answers

I don't know who said you have to destroy the bees before it gets cold, but they certainly knew nothing about bees. Bees store up honey in order to live thru the winter. This is why when you harvest honey in the fall you have to make sure you don't harvest too much. We have had bees before and it is not that difficult, in fact they are one of easiest things to raise.

-- David in NH (grayfoxfarm@mcttelecom.com), March 19, 2001.

where do you live,,, warmer climate is easier on the bees,, colder, northern is harder but still possible to have them,, Im in MICH,, and keep bees,, so do alot of others near me.

-- Stan (sopal@net-port.com), March 19, 2001.

If we detroyed our bees every fall, no one would make any money in beekeeping. Try to find a local bee keeper's club and find a mentor in your area. There are bee keepers everywhere. I don't have much time now, but I'd be happy to share more information on getting started. Look in the archives under beekeeping and you'll find an earlier post of mine where I listed the minimum required eguipment to get started with one hive. You can also find some useful links on my website at www.sundaycreek.com

-- Skip Walton (sundaycreek@gnrac.net), March 19, 2001.

More on that archive item: Unders "Bees" go to near the bottom and find a message titled something like: "Beekeeping, what do I need to get started?"

-- Skip Walton (sundaycreek@gnrac.net), March 19, 2001.

Maybe the article was referring to destroying the queen bee and replacing her (which you need to do at times if she becomes unproductive). Upon starting my beekeeping adventure, I took a 3-day beekeeping course at a local college which helped to calm my fears about getting stung and build confidence working with bees. Good luck.

-- Barb (rosemontfarm1@aol.com), March 20, 2001.