BEES!!! If you love them and want to give them a home, please check in.
BEES!
They seemed like a natural addition to our new life in Arkansas.
We arrived at our new home in the Ouiachita Mountains in Oct 2006.
Neither Starkraven nor myself had had any hands-on experience with bees.
During that first Winter, Starkraven researched bees (mostly online), and purchased a "Starter Kit" and two hive bodies online. She assembled the hives during the Winter, and in the Spring, the bees arrived via US Mail.
The postmaster of the small rural Post Office called us at 7AM,
and strongly encouraged us to get those Bees out of his Post Office ASAP.
My Wife introduce the Bees to their new home.
While she did everything according to the Book and wore a full Bee Suit,
it WAS very stressful. I took photos from a distance with a telephoto lens and shouted encouragement.
She must have done everything right, because the Bees decided to stay,
and we still keep bees from that original line.
As time and Seasons passed, we both became more and more fascinated with these insects, and took a course offered by the State, and later joined our local BeeKeepers Association.
While the bees are hearty and very good at taking care of themselves, they sometimes need some help.
We were lucky, and blundered through the first year on online research and love, but taking a course and joining the BeeKeepers Association has been invaluable, and we highly recommend it to anyone considering bees.
Our bees are very gentle (Italian/All Stars). We always wear protective hoods and gloves and use a smoker, but rarely put on the full suit. We do get stung on rare occasions (through the gloves or jeans), but it is no big deal anymore. I am considering trying BeeSting therapy for some arthritis in my hands .
We have gotten very comfortable with the bees, and inspect the hives every couple of weeks during the Spring/Summer. It takes about 10 minutes per hive. During the Winter, we rarely open the hives. ...only enough to make sure they have food (sugar water).
Our colonies are about 20 yards from the backdoor, visible from the house. There are plenty of bees around our house and gardens, but they have never caused a problem with us or our pets. Neither of us has been stung outside of messing with the hives.
There are many websites that offer full starter kits online.
I believe we ordered our original kits from Dadant,
but are setting up the jigs to build our own equipment,
which is relatively easy with basic carpentry skills and tools.
Here is some info based on our own experience we keep handy for anyone thinking about Bees.
We strongly recommend the following suggestions:
1) Check in with you County Extension.
They are very helpful. There are some regulations concerning transportation, registration, and inspection, and there may be some local ordinances. They are a great resource for latest research and new methods, pest & disease control. They can facilitate state hive inspections.
We generally avoid government agencies where ever possible, and have never voluntarily registered anything, but we make an exception for our bees. The benefits FAR outweigh any downside.
2)Join you local Beekeepers Association.
These are some of the most laid back people you will ever meet. Starkraven and myself are not joiners, but we look forward to our monthly meetings with the "bee people". This is another valuable resource for local information concerning pests, honey flows, equipment and disreputable operators. You can also pick up some hands-on experience working around hives.
Make no mistake...it is scary opening a hive the first time.
You will also be able to pick up some free localized bees from you local bee keepers. (Healthy colonies EXPAND, and many local bee keepers have all they want and are more than happy to give them away).
3)Always use new equipment
There are some very persistent pests and diseases that can be transmitted through the equipment. Used equipment abounds at some very attractive prices.
It is not worth the risk in my opinion. If you join the local association, some will offer you old equipment for FREE, but we always politely turn it down.
New Equipment is very reasonable, and there are many wholesalers and retailers online.
4)Do NOT to use flower scented deodorant or fabric softeners.
You would think this is Common Sense, but we found out the hard way.
5)Do NOT feed your bees Corn Syrup
There is no verifiable science to support this suggestion.
It is our personal preference. Corn is NOT a natural Bee Food.
Many BeeKeepers DO use Corn Syrup. It is cheap, the bees seem to like it, and the chemistry seems OK.
We refuse to use it, and will continue to do so until there is 100% proof that GM contamination absolutely can NOT
be transmitted to our Bees through Corn Syrup.
We use only 100% Cane Sugar to make our food solution,
and then only use it when necessary.
We strongly recommend the above suggestions.
Our fascination with our Bees continues to grow.
This is a wonderful site about BeeKeeping:
http://www.bushfarms.com/beesnewbees.htm
We don't always agree with him,
but love his attitude about Bees,
and his approach to natural BeeKeeping.
So far, we have adhered to more conventional methods,
but will try a Top Bar hive soon, maybe this season.
The End Product is beautiful,
and you will have the satisfaction and security of KNOWING
that your Honey is 100% Pure, Natural Honey,
and NOT Corn Syrup that has been reprocessed through a Bee.
I would also like to encourage any DUers who are interested in BeeKeeping to follow their dream.
The more we learn about these mysterious creatures, the more fascinated we become.
I post information on Small Scale, DIY, BeeKeeping in the Rural/Farm Group.
If you are already a BeeKeeper,
or interested in Keeping Bees, please check in this thread,
or visit the Rural/Farm Group.
http://www.democraticunderground.com/1182412
= new reply since forum marked as read
One Love. One Heart.
but just this spring, there is a post in the gardening forum, I discovered a ton of them at the edge of the pond. I am just going to let them alone to do their thing for now, too much else to do to do it right I am afraid. They are certainly covering the wildflowers and the gardens. 
Never had I ever seen this kind of activity before. They did not like me walking through but I was gentle and they never left. I like bees, been stung before by a bumble bee about 6 times on my stomach and it hurt like crazy but was gone pretty quickly. I was thrilled to see them.
I love this post. Very informative and I will bookmark it because if I ever catch up with everything I would love to do this. Your honey is lovely.
Utah is the Beehive State. 
We did a cutout on a wild hive that settled into a stored van stove/refrigerator to a Langstrom hive I built. This is now week two in the new hive and the girls seem to be adjusting to their new home quite well.
Video of our hive I took a few minutes ago.
A still picture I took as well.
[IMG]
[/IMG]
Love the Hive Art,
and excellent job on the body construction!
I agree that if the Bees are bringing in pollen,
they have a viable Queen, and intend to stay.
Unfortunately, we are behind the Africanized Line,
and can not afford to capture wild colonies.
The recommended State Policy is to destroy them.
If we listen to The Bees, they will tell us when NOT to mess with their hive.
We aren't certain what causes this, perhaps an earlier alert that put the defensive pheromones in the air. When they sound angry, and the guard bees start buzzing us when we approach the hives,
we postpone any hive work for a day, and leave them alone.
We have discovered that if WE stay calm, the Bees usually stay calm.
In the early days, when it was a scary experience opening the hives,
they seemed to be able to sense OUR fear, and reacted accordingly.
As time passed, and servicing the hives and experiencing the occasional sting became routine,
we stayed calmer, and so have the Bees.
I can't recall a single occasion over the last 5 years when either of us has been stung outside of messing with the hives. We even mow and use weed eaters and chain saws near the hives, and have not had a problem so far.
We usually put on a bonnet and gloves when we do so.
I don't mind getting stung a few times,
but don't want to get stung 500 times.
You may be interested in this.
It is a low cost DIY Honey Extractor (centrifuge) made from food grade plastic buckets that we put together a couple of weeks ago.
We used it last week, and it worked great.
It worked better than our expectations.
This will spin out two super frames at a time,
and is perfect for the small scale BeeKeeper.
We can't take credit for the concept,
but we did make significant improvements to the ones on the Internet.
I will be posting the plans and a pictorial guide in the Rural/Farm Group,
and the DIY Group.
I went all out and bought a stainless maunal centrifuge when I got my first hive. I wish I had known about this! I just split a hive and am watching it to see if it will take or not! And yes it is so true, you get to know your bees and you observe and listen and that is half the secret to successfully keeping them.
We lived in St Paul (1999 - 2006), and never passed up a chance to head north to Duluth, The Arrowhead, Eli, The Iron Range, and the Boundary Waters Area. We made the trip several times in the dead of Winter, and it was purely breathtaking!
We still listen to Prairie Home religiously, every Sat Evening.
If you are ever in our area, drop in for Fresh Green Beans and Cornbread!
They like it back there and they are very happy.
Thanks for the thread, bvar.
Someone helped her get all the equipment and came and set it up, now she says it's easy!
I'd love to do it. I'm in a very close cul-de-sac with toddlers all over the place so I don't have a place for it. But I've got a good garden so I get lots of bee action anyway.
I thank the bees for every bite of food I take 
And obviously...the good with the bad and all that...YET...despite all those things, you persevere through and bring forth a pioneer spirit of survival and bountiful harvests.
I am in awe. Thanks for sharing it all with us. 
and for your efforts to keep bees healthy and thriving.
If I lived in the counrty, I'd surely follow your lead.
Thanks again 
I started my first hive this spring. All is going well.
http://suburbandweller.blogspot.com/2012/04/buzzzzzzzzzzzzpart-1.html
Congratulations.
I will be posting Bee related stuff in the Rural/Farm Group:
http://www.democraticunderground.com/?com=forum&id=1182
Please check in there,
and let us know how it is going for you.
If you are going to do it small scale like us,
you will be interested in this, hopefully next year.
This is a very low cost, easy DIY Honey Extractor (Centrifuge) we put together a couple of weeks ago, and used it last week.
http://www.democraticunderground.com/1182412
It worked better than we expected,
and made a tedious, messy task much, MUCH easier.
I will post plans and photo guide in Rural Farm in a few days.
Good Luck!
I can't take credit for the concept.
There are several DIYs using these Food Storage buckets at:
http://www.instructables.com/
(Great Site)
....but I made several improvements.
I will post a Step by Step with photos in the Rural/Farm Group and the DIY Group.
I haven't finished the text yet, but here are the basics:
The core is 3 Food Grade Storage Buckets with Tops,
and a 3 foot threaded 3/8" steel rod available from most Hardware Stores,
6- nuts & washers to fit the rod,
and a couple of small nuts and bolts to hold the small end pieces on the top spreader bar.
The basket is 2" X 4" welded fence wire bent into a cylinder.
Aluminum Bar Stock (available at most Hardware Stores) was used to as spreaders in the basket,
and as bottom support for the honey frames.
2- 3/8" brass grommets were used as bearings to support and centralize the rod.
It will comfortably spin out 2 super frames at a time.
The bucket on the left has the optional Screw On top, and is used as is to catch the honey.
The Optional Screw on Top has a support ring that snaps tightly on the top of this bucket that also happens to prevent the next bucket from sliding down inside more than 2 inches when stacked.
Perfect for supporting the next bucket in the stack. You may choose to simply screw on the lid after you spin out your honey for storage.
A spigot could be added to the bottom of this bucket, but we simply poured out the honey through a screen into jars.
The only modifications to the middle bucket was 4- 2-1/2" holes drilled (Hole Saw attachment for a hand drill) in the bottom to let the honey run into the bottom bucket,
and a 3/8" hole drilled in the center of the bottom with a 3/8" Brass Grommet inserted through this hole.This brass grommet will support the basket assembly, and help center the rod & basket while spinning.
Use the grommet kit with the Steel Dies, and NOT that cheesy pliers thing that comes with some kits. (That thing is worthless.) You will need a long drift to hammer in this grommet as securely as possible. (I used two 3/8" extensions from a socket set).
Even with the 4 holes, the plastic bottom of this Storage Bucket was tough enough to do the job.
The bucket on the right is the top bucket.
I used a table saw with a finishing blade to cut the bottom 4" off,
but any saw will do the job.
The red ring is the top of a regular bucket, and serves only as a spacer. It doesn't need to be Food Grade since the honey never touches it. It is simply a spacer sleeve that keeps the buckets from stacking into each other.
The top of this bucket is a standard Snap On top, not the optional a Screw OnTop.
It also has a 3/8" Brass Grommet hammered in the center,
and two crescent holes cut for inserting and removing the frames without taking the top off.
The basket is fairly simple.
I used 2" X 4" welded wire fencing, since I have plenty of that around,
but I suppose Chicken Wire or Hardware Wire, or just about anything would work.
The spreaders are made from aluminum bar stock which is available at almost any Hardware Store,
and is easy to cut and shape with a hand grinder.
Some care should be take here to make things as smooth, balanced and centered as possible.
Nylon Wire Ties hold everything together.
Note the extension at the end of the rod.
The tip of the rod will pass through the brass grommet at the bottom of the bucket,
but the nuts and washer won't, providing a rudimentary but effective bearing support and centralizer for the bottom of the assembly.
There is also a gap between the bottom of the basket and the bottom of the bucket so that there is space for the honey to run out through the 4 holes without being disturbed by the spinning basket.
You can make fine tuning adjustments by winding the nuts up or down the rod until you are satisfied with the spacing. Then lock all the nuts tightly against each other to hold everything in place.
The basket itself needs to be only slightly longer than 1/2 the length of the honey frame.
It is best to keep thing as light as possible.
I added the two shorter pieces of aluminum at the end of the spreader bar to keep the frames centered in the basket, and ground off the ends to match the curvature of the bucket.
Aluminum is easy to shape with a hand grinder.
(Wear Eye Protection!)
Before final assembly, the basket assembly can be balanced by supporting both ends of the rod on blocks.
The heavy side will roll to the bottom,
and weight can be added (Nuts, pieces of wire, wire ties ect.) to the top until the basket assembly shows no major bias.
The crescent cut outs on the top lid allow frames to be changed or turned without removing the lid.
After the final assembly and spacing adjustments are finalized,
extra rod at the top can be cut off for easier use.
We powered our spinner with a common hand drill.
We remove the caps from the sealed honeycomb by raking them with a fork
taking care to damage the HoneyComb as little as possible.
We found no need for an expensive and messy De-Capper.
We return the spun Out frames to the hives for refills ASAP.
Frames full of capped honey are surprisingly heavy.
Start slow.
The full frames WILL be out of balance.
Turn the frames around a couple of times to empty the backsides.
As they get lighter higher speeds are possible.
We were very satisfied with the job this did.
We half believed that it would shake itself apart, but it didn't.
It was surprisingly smooth, easy to operate without a lot of mess and bother,
and showed no detectable wear after its first use.
I have this CD, mostly because I love Layne's drumming music. You can get a taste at the link, due to sampled cuts. Also read about why there's a connection between the ancient Greeks, bees, and drumming
Not on purpose, they moved in to a pepper tree on the edge of our yard. They have been there three years now. Never bothered us or the dogs. I only wish I could get the honey.
I'm thinking of getting a top bar hive myself.
