The information available is overwhelming. There are books and magazines and videos and classes. I have read several books and I'm still somewhat confused. I must admit...bee colonies are fascinating!
What an amazing species....honey bees! Nature came up with something pretty darn special. The way they work together is intricate and beautiful. I guess I knew bits and pieces about how the colony works but was sorely uneducated about the whole system. Bees are important!
I'm sure you've all read or heard about Colony Collapse Disorder by now. I'm sure you know how important the honey bees are to our food supply. Of course you know how much better your garden will be if the bees are stopping by. If not, I urge you to do some research.
I started by making a trip to the library. I was pleasantly surprised at the resources available. I have read through all three of these books and was happy they provided so many pictures and diagrams. Do I think I will now be able to identify the queen bee? Not necessarily...
For the most part honey bees are quite docile. They are busy doing their very important job and don't want to be interrupted. They just want to go about their biz and don't mind hanging out near you if you don't get all crazy and start bugging them.
Sometimes the nice honey bee gets confused with the very mean and ornery wasp or hornet. Now those guys are just down right brutal. They really don't do much except fly around and act like bullies. They will sting you over and over just because they can! They need to get a job like the honey bees as they are always just up to no good! Those bad guys will even go after the hard working and productive honey bees! Sheesh...
I have a confession to make. Even knowing all this I'm still a little bit afraid of having our own bees. Of course I don't want our future bees to know that! I will need to find a way to hide my fear pheromones!
Fortunately Hubs is NOT afraid of bees. He is even a little over zealous in thinking he doesn't need a complete bee suit. He is pretty sure that he and the bees will become as "one". (Whatever that means...)
We still have lots of shopping to do before our adopted bees arrive this spring. We do need to get a smoker. It seems that using a little smoke on our honey bees will calm them down a bit and keep them mellow when we are checking on them. (I'm still a little unclear on exactly what we are checking for).
There are several beekeeping tools of the trade. A soft brush to gently move them away or off your pant leg or sleeve. A tool to help you lift out the screens and make sure everyone is doing their job.
We are also on the hunt for the perfect place in our yard. The bees need a fresh water source. They like to face east so they can wake up with the sun and get busy. They don't want it to be too sunny...or, too shady...or, too hot...or, too cold! They don't want it to get too windy, either! They need a good six foot launch pad above their hive and plenty of space in front of the hive to do their fancy dances and give and receive instructions to each other. We are still looking for that ideal spot.
We did purchase our hive! It was pretty exciting. It doesn't NEED to be aesthetically pleasing but I'm sure glad it is! I love this hive. For now it's sitting in the garage. If we are successful at caring for bees we may add more hives and colonies. Hubs thinks he might like to build our next hive.
There is still so much to learn and new beekeepers aren't always successful on their first try. If the bees don't like their new home they will just up and move! I'm hoping they will like my lawn full of dandelions and the delectable fruit trees and garden in my neighbors yard. We are planning to plant Russian sage and bee balm and lavender. We want them to "bee" happy here! ;)
I think we all need to take ownership of our planet and the ecosystem of bees and what they bring to our world. I know our dandelions take over our yard now that we don't use harmful chemicals on the grass. My neighbor has a tendency to glare at them when she backs out of her driveway. Bummer...I get great pleasure from seeing the bees happily buzzing from yellow blossom to yellow blossom and satisfaction knowing they are welcome in my yard.
Okay...you know what else? Besides all of the above reasons...they give us honey! Lovely, golden raw honey. Just as nature intended. We use a lot of honey around here. It is chock full of goodness and health benefits and has wonderful healing powers! Wow...its like the perfect food filled with good bacteria and nutrition.
So...this journey is just beginning. We still have much to learn and figure out. We need to order our bees and get their home all ready to go. We need to take a few more classes and watch a few more videos and read a few more books...
Stay tuned...
Kudos to you for making the journey into beekeeping. I think this is such an important topic; the declining bee population scares me more than most of the major headlines on the nightly news. Good luck, keep us posted!
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