Not as simple as you think! There is a fairly steep learning curve for beekeeping. Much better to have a beekeeper put a hive near your trees and share (%) into the honey production.
My Dad had bees for many years, same as BrianF's.
I’ve actually heard they are pretty tame as long as you don’t mess with their hives. A co workers husband was drinking and mowing and ran right into a hive. I know it may come as a surprise, but it didn’t else well.
Yes. A swarm is a simple way to increase your hive count.
They were there for years and he never had any trouble with them until he did that stunt. I honestly never noticed them and the bees I did see were not very aggressive, i could even say they were a docile little creature, until the day all hell broke loose, then it was pandemonium in the place.
Correct. A swarm consists of an overwintered fertile queen and roughly 60% of the workers. Swarming occurs when nectar flows are strong. Re-hiving a swarm is essentially giving them a move in ready home. I have had swarms fill a medium super in three weeks. That’s 45-50lbs of honey.
The Varroa mite is present in all bee colonies in the US. It is manageable with various treatments. Left untreated a hive will most likely collapse by December. I had just one hive out of 5 make it through the past winter. I didn’t treat for varroa due to hernia surgery lifting restrictions. I plan to split the over wintered hive a least twice and capture swarms.
Many counties have a bee keeper's "club". They have meetings where a beginer can learn a lot.
Sometimes, the bees will get a little PO'd when you have to mow very near the hive. From what I remember, they don't like the sound of a lawn mower near the hive.
extension.entm.purdue.edu
