in a world brimming with complexity few creatures
embody harmony like the honeybee with tireless
precision she dances from bloom to bloom each
motion guided by millennia upon millennia of
instinct each act in service to the whole and
then There are the beekeepers, watchful stewards
of this ancient symbiosis. Part agriscientist,
part poet, they move along their hives with the
efficiency of mow, levy and curly, tending to
the bees' needs as best they can comprehend,
and with the infrequency of a waterfall in the
Sahara, sometimes running off flapping and flailing
like a penguin on a hot sidewalk. This is their
journey. Welcome, welcome to Be Love Beekeeping
presented by our great friends and partners in
beekeeping. Man Lake. Today we're continuing
our discussion with two of the most fun beekeepers
around, Kim and Steph. Last week we got started
with our top 10 list of decisions to make before
you take the leap into beekeeping. Today we pick
up where we left off discussing all the clothing
and equipment you need to get started, hive placement,
hive stands, varroa treatment, and a whole bunch
more. But first let's take a minute to go Inside
the Hive, this feature presented by Primal Bee.
Bees can give each other, oh shall we say, driving
directions, specific ones, and they do it by
dancing in the dark. When a forager finds a great
patch of flowers, she flies home and performs
what's called a waggle dance on the face of the
comb. She runs in a straight line while shaking
her body, then loops back around and does it
again. The angle of that straight run tells the
other bees which direction to fly relative to
the sun. The length of the run tells them how
far away it is. The more enthusiastic the dance,
the better the food source. Keep in mind she's
doing this on a vertical comb in total darkness,
translating a horizontal flight path into a gravity
-based code. The other bees crowd around and
read the message with their antenna, and it works.
Bees can navigate to food sources miles away
from a single dance. The scientist who figured
this out, Carl von Frisch, spent decades watching
bees dance before he cracked the code. He won
the Nobel Prize for it in 1973. Next time on
Inside the Hive, we'll talk about where wax actually
comes from, and here's a hint, it doesn't come
from flowers. And if I could just add a little
thing to Inside the Hive, the waggle dance is
amazing, but as you can imagine, it's not perfectly
accurate. There's a new piece of research just
out from the University of Freeburg titled, Honey
Bees Navigate More Precisely Than Previously
Thought. In fact, bees will fly the same flight
path within just a couple of centimeters to and
from resources and their hive. Quoting the study
here, it was previously known that the directional
information in the waggle dance is good, but
it's not entirely accurate. In other words, if
I were to use my finger to point a direction
for you to walk, it may be just a few degrees
inaccurate. And over a few hundred yards or say
a mile, you could end up many meters away from
where I thought I was pointing. The research
has shown that individual bees navigate much
more accurately to destinations that they are
already familiar with. Because of this individuality,
we may conclude that the inaccuracy of the waggle
dance is not due to the bees' limited navigational
abilities, but rather individual animals are
spatially much more accurately oriented than
their dance can possibly communicate. Honey bees,
they are amazing. Now, let's circle back with
Kim and Steph. So that was the next thing I wanted
to jump into is where do you buy bees? And I
know we just covered half of it, but fill in
the rest of the blanks for me. So we talked about
this and aside from getting them from a supplier
such as us, Man Lake, and like you just said,
we I think you should get them locally. If they're
acclimated to your area, chances are you probably
know the beekeeper. If you're getting bees from
him, you know where your bees came from, you
know the environment that they've lived in. So
I agree in getting your bees locally if you can.
Go to, check out your local bee association online.
A lot of times they'll post if somebody has nukes
for sale. And ask lots of questions. When I first
got started, I got packages from a local store,
beekeeping store. And because I didn't know what
to ask, well, they were actually bees from California.
They had just been in the almonds. They had never
spent time in the state that I'm in, let alone
the part of the state that I'm in. And so I might
as well have just gone to Los Angeles and bought
them or something because I didn't know to ask.
And if you don't have that, hey, buying them
and having them sent to you works great. So you
have options out there. Yes, it's important to
ask a lot of questions and no question is a dumb
question. Absolutely. You don't know how will
you learn without asking. So even when you pick
your bees up, what do I do from here? I know
that you had a story with your niece where she
went to pick up her bees. And she was thinking,
well, what do I do now? And the person she bought
the bees there from was there and was able to
explain to her exactly what to do. And we also
will do the same. We love to be able to explain
because it's confusing. I did, you know, you're
not really sure. And you can go to a place like
YouTube and you can see 10 different beekeepers
installing a package 12 different ways. Yeah,
absolutely. And that rule applies to anything
that you want to talk about in beekeeping. There's
so many different ways to do it and what one
beekeeper does in their area may or may not work
for you and may not fit your beekeeping philosophy.
Some people are very rough on their bees. There
are also gentler ways to install packages and
nooks. Agree. I wholeheartedly agree. All right,
let's jump into other equipment that we need.
We already talked about this is going to cost
you a few dollars, but it's important to be outfitted
right from the start. So let's talk about the
essentials. I mean, there's lots of extras people
can get, but really the necessities. What do
you need to start with? You need to be protected
from stings. And I'd like to say you need to
be protected to your comfort level. So not everybody's
comfort level is the same when it comes to wearing
protective gear. I like to be fully suited. My
partner, on the other hand, does not. He only
wears a jacket. It's important to go with your
comfort level, not what somebody else recommends,
but a jacket, gloves, at the very least, a jacket
and gloves. And by jacket, you're talking about
the veil over your face as well. Right. With
the veil, yeah. Let's talk about that protective
clothing a little more before we move on. One
of the things that I find is it is so important
to be calm with your bees. And for new beekeepers,
being fully protected from head to toe can really
help us be more calm. Now as you get more used
to the bees and you spend lots of time with them,
maybe years, and you want to wear a little bit
less protective clothing, That's great. I learned
for example the first thing that I got rid of
were the big bulky gloves Because I found I was
squishing bees I was dropping frames and doing
things like that that was not calm for the bees
and So I moved on from that, but that's not right
for everybody Exactly. We actually talk about
this a lot and that Wearing what you feel comfortable
helps you to, as you said, be calm and be able
to tend to your bees in a little more peaceful
and gentle way. If you're not worried about bees
around your face or your hands or your ankles.
you tend to be in a calmer space where you're
able to do those weekly inspections and focus
on gently handling the frames and looking at
each, you know, piece of foundation and whatnot.
So yeah, we found that we are real big believers
in the proper PPE. But obviously, everyone is
different with that. And there's nothing wrong
with. everyone having their individual and you're
even going to have a different style of glove
that you like as you said that you you learned
that the gloves you had were actually causing
harm. Sometimes you do have to go with the different
style too. I prefer the rubber gloves or our
new tech yeah the tactical gloves because they
fit my fingers better and therefore I'm able
to lift those frames up without being too clumsy
and I can still feel that my hands are protected.
And I'll say too, I've been beekeeping for the
better part of five years now, and I am most
comfortable when I'm completely suited up from
head to toe. And that's just the way I like to
get into the hive is 100 % protection. You also
don't know, you know, you could be going in your
hive. nine times out of ten and those bees are
just fine and you go in there on that tenth time
and they're just not having it. And if you're
not properly suited at that point, you will regret
it. You absolutely will. Yeah, this is not a
competition. If you want to be fully suited up
head to toe. Good for you. I have no problem
with that whatsoever. Everybody has seen a few
people on YouTube that have their hair done and
their makeup on and they look perfect and they're
handling bees with their bare fingers and everything
else. I wouldn't suggest that when you're brand
new and for most people never. Okay, do we need
anything else on PPE? No, I don't think so. But
just know this isn't a contest. It's not who's
the better beekeeper or who's more brave because
they're wearing less protective equipment. Doesn't
matter. I like that. Do what you're comfortable
with, please. What else do people need to buy
right off the bat and have on hand? I would say
frames. Have some extra frames available. Have
an extra hive body. Have an extra super available
and the frames to go with both of them. Have
an extra hive setup if you can because you never
know what's going to happen. You might catch
a swarm. Somebody might call you and say there's
a swarm at my house. Can you come get it? And
if you want more bees you want to be prepared.
Okay a little bit of extra equipment. What else?
You'll want a smoker. and that's to go along
with your PPE. You'll wanna have a smoker and
you'll wanna actually light your smoker before
you go down to your hive each time. Whether or
not you use it, that's another thing, but you
wanna be prepared and have it going ahead of
time just in case. So the smoker, smoker fuel,
a hive tool is important. A couple hive tools.
A couple of hive tools because you're probably
gonna lose one. But a hive tool. is probably
your best friend in the bee yard sometimes because
you're going to need it to open the hive, pry
your frames out, to do other things. You may
have to use it as a screwdriver once, but you
never know. And hive tools are inexpensive. Trust
me, if you think you don't need one, you need
one. Or ten. By the way, do you have a favorite
style of hive tool? I personally like a J hook.
I love that I can just do a flat end and then
a prying end. I love a J hook. I do too, but
explain what that is. Oh, sure. I don't have
one on me. So it looks just like a regular end
that you can pry, like a flat end. And then the
other end is shaped like a J. and but it's also
flat but that is so you can literally pry things
up. I'm surprised I don't have one on my desk
actually. Here's your normal hive tool. That's
actually my favorite. The j -hook I'm going to
show you is an extreme example. Most of them
are not quite this big but this one works awesome
and even has a thing here like a lot of them
do so you can hang them on a nail or screw or
something. I would say if you're a beginner,
buy any hive tool. These are under what? Under
10 bucks. These are maybe 15 or 20. I don't know.
You're going to end up buying more than one anyway.
So start with one, see what you like and experiment
with some others. But you're going to use a hive
tool every single time that you're out with the
bees. Absolutely. You absolutely are. There have
been times when I've been to the bee yard and
somehow didn't have a hive tool and couldn't
do anything at all. So I do have a quick story
with that too, because we would often go out
to our apiary unprepared without a hive tool,
thinking there would already be some out there.
I've already had to pry open my hive with a mouse
guard because I was not going to go all the way
back to get my hive tool, and I don't recommend
that. So from now on, we have multiple hive tools
everywhere, don't we? Everywhere. Everywhere.
any kind of style because whatever gets the job
done, whatever you feel comfortable with and
being able to pry open from the propolis and
everything. And they make tiny ones too, like
the same exact thing, but just in a tiny size.
So we sound like we like high tools a lot. Well
they're an inexpensive thing and we use them
all the time so I get it. And if you're a beginner
and you've never opened up a hive that the bees
have been in for a while, there's a thing called
propolis. And that's why you need a hive tool
because you're prying these things apart. Once
you get inside you've got frames to get out.
There is wax, there's propolis, there's all kinds
of sticky stuff going on. and you just need a
tool for some help. Did we leave anything out?
We talked about PPE. We talked about all the
boxes that you need. We talked about smokers,
hive tools, bees. Are we done? You did touch
on mentors a little bit. Even before you get
started having bees, the whole prospect seems
overwhelming. I know that we have thought the
same thing. if you're able to take any classes
locally. I know not everybody has that opportunity.
I've talked to quite a few people who live in
the middle of nowhere and are not able to attend
any type of B associations or meetings. So there
are online classes available and most often they're
for free. I know we always say do your research,
but you can definitely do Google searches to
find any type of classes. books, of course YouTube,
but it is hard when you go to watch YouTube videos.
There are going to be so many different ways
of doing things that can also seem overwhelming.
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That's so true. And just to add to what Kim said,
I found here recently being so new to TikTok,
I haven't really been able to get into a beekeeping
club. I know that sounds crazy, but Online, your
social media platforms are a huge resource. If
you don't have a bee club to go to, check out
TikTok. There's a huge community of beekeepers
out there giving out so much information that
you may not even hear in your local bee club.
So your social media platforms are really becoming,
I think, the next kind of level of beekeeping
associations. And it's a really fun community
to be a part of. As long as you brought it up,
let's talk about bee clubs for a minute. For
those of us that are more introverts, we're going,
why do I want to join some sort of a club? What's
the point? the knowledge alone, the knowledge
that you're gonna learn, even if you just sit
and listen, you don't have to talk, but to sit
and listen and hear everybody's stories, you're
gonna learn so much just from that itself. And
you may have the side benefit of meeting a little
beekeeping buddy, and that's always nice too,
but just to sit and listen, I think is hugely
beneficial. you'll hear what's going on locally.
You'll have beekeepers of all different experience
levels, but primarily what are the bees foraging
on in your area and what the weather is like
and how did the bees acclimate to that environment
if someone is having a mite issue. and then multiple
people in that area are also experiencing that.
It's nice to be able to listen to other people
in your area. As Steph said, even if you don't
want to talk, if you just want to sit in the
back and just listen, it does help you to feel
not alone, that you're not the only one experiencing
that, that other people could be going through
the same thing in your area. All right. Let's
talk about where to put your bees. I know we
have people listening that have a 20 acre farm
and other people that have a quarter acre Place
in the suburbs and even people that are living
in an apartment in an urban area Okay, where
are you gonna put your bees? So you're gonna
want to make sure that your bees are facing the
morning Sun. That's gonna be important But before
you do, wherever you're at, you wanna make sure
that your regulations allow for it. And then
if you're good, even if you are in an urban area
like I am, I just make sure my bees are facing,
if I was to have one out here, I'd face the morning
sun. So if you have like, if they're gonna be
in your yard, you wanna keep them at least 100
feet away from any other things that might be
out there. You want to put them on some level
land. So where I live, I do live in the woods,
but I live on a mountain. So while I have a lot
of area, that's not always really. going to be
the best place to put a hive and expect it to
stay level. I try to keep it away from our pool
because the bees will go to your pool area. They
really are attracted to that water. I don't know
if it's the chlorine or what, but you will have
bees around the pool. So keeping it away from
a pool water source, but also having another
water source for them to drink from is great.
So you just want to make sure you have some level
land and even having it in an area where you
won't have to do a lot of weeding or lawn care
because while the bees don't tend to really mind
a lawnmower, they don't seem to really like a
weed whacker. If you're able to keep away the
weeds and everything that tends to get near the
hives, if you have a spot that you can put them.
where they won't get a lot of overgrown. Yeah,
my biggest high beetles as well. So let's say
I live in a suburban area on a quarter acre or
less or something. With my house, how do I know
if it's legal to put bees there? And what are
my neighbors going to think? So you want to reach
out to, I guess it would be your city count.
I'm not sure exactly. You can use the internet.
That's what I did. But make sure I reached out
to, I just looked online and to see what the
regulations are. It's an easy search. And then
you can always call too. Call your local municipal
building or whoever runs that for you. They'll
know for sure. Ask the people in your B club.
They'll know. They'll know they're sure to it
is good to attend a meeting and you can reach
out to your county and As for the neighbors if
you do plan on keeping these if you have permission
to keep the bees on your property It's great
to go around to your neighbors and just say hey
This is what I want to have here and offer them
some honey if you're able they they usually don't
have too much of a problem getting some honey.
It's good to let the neighbors know too in case
there's somebody who might be allergic. So keep
your neighbors in mind when it comes to things
like that. One of the things that we left out
that I guess can go under this topic and the
one that we just left of all the different things
that we need to get set up. We didn't talk about
any kind of a hive stand. Tell us about hive
stands, why they're important. You do want to
have some form of hive sand and Man Lake does
some really great hive stands whether it be a
plastic variety or a metal. You want to have
the stand at least 18 inches off the ground.
That's going to help with any type of pests or
predators. Typically the 18 inches is more for
skunks. Skunks are real interested in beehives
and they're going to want to put their noses
right up to there. You don't want to have a hive
directly on the ground because then you're just
encouraging pests like ants and hive beetles
and other types of insects to get in there and
wreak havoc. 18 inches is really just the standard,
but you could go a little bit. taller than that
if you wanted to. And we use all types of hide
stands. We've used pallets. We've used cinder
blocks. My husband made a hide stand out of scrap
wood. It's just my favorite. You don't necessarily
have to buy a stand, but you just want to be
able to provide a level surface, keeping the
hive off the ground. Yeah, a lot of people just
use pallets. That's not 18 inches high. That's
what four inches or something Whatever works
for you. I like having them a little higher also
because I'm not bending over quite so far that
way Exactly, they're 18 inches or so off the
ground. It's easier on my back If you were to
put a hive right on the ground, you've got moisture
issues as well as all the pest issues All right
the next thing on my list is sort of a self -evaluation
and that is figuring out what kind of beekeeper
you are going to be because there are people
that are more like commercial beekeepers where
it's hey I want the honey I don't want to spend
much time with the bees. I'm going to put in
whatever chemicals I need to control varroa etc.
There are other people on the far end of the
spectrum that just love their bees so much and
want to spend time with them. They want to keep
chemicals out as much as possible and there's
everything in between. I'm going to say take
a long look at yourself. One of the things that
seems to work for people is if you do any gardening,
what kind of a gardener are you? Are you fine
spraying a lot of chemicals in your garden? If
you're not fine doing that, you're probably going
to be the same way with how you take care of
your bees. Ladies, give me some thoughts on this
topic. I would say, uh... I am that type of person
that will be on my hands and knees picking dandelions
off the ground so I can use it to infuse an oil
or make mead with. So I am the type of, I do
take a little bit more of a natural approach,
but understanding boromites and the importance
of treating. And one of the reasons I have a
top bar hive is because I like to make a lot
of products. I like beeswax. Primarily, I use
that in a lot of things that I make. And with
a top bar hive, you'll get a lot of wax. I would
say I'm the type where I know it's important
to inspect your bees, especially in the spring
and summer. But I also like to step back a little
bit. I don't like to bother them too much. I
like to watch them fly around. I like to sit
out front and just watch them go in and out and
bringing back the pollen. We like to watch the
colors. It sounds like Ag, you could be talking
for me too, because I'm the kind of beekeeper
that I am going to be nosy if I need to be. I
want to see what's going on in the hive. Are
you guys doing okay? If not, what can I do to
help you along with that? I also like just sitting
there and watching my bees. So I'm definitely
a hands on. How can I? you and then I'm gonna
research it and see what do I need to do? Do
I need to do anything at all? Am I being a little
wild about this? But I'm kind of a very hands
-on beekeeper. I wasn't to begin with though.
I will say that I definitely was not. I was a
set it and forget it kind of beekeeper and I
regret that. I could have learned so much more
had I not done that my first year. And it's okay
to change as you go. You might start with one
philosophy and then change, hey, I like to spend
more time with my bees or less time with my bees,
or I tried being treatment -free, it didn't really
work for me, or vice versa. And I don't want
to go down the rabbit hole of treatment -free
or chemical -free beekeeping today because that
could be another couple of sessions. But can
you give people just a little background on what
the differences are and the differences in philosophy?
Sure. So I used to not want to treat my bees.
I didn't want to because I thought I was harming
my bees. In reality, I thought I would be harming
them by treating them with chemicals. In reality,
I harmed them by not treating them because I
lost a whole colony due to the varroa mite. So
I think where I was a non chemical person. And
there's other types. There's people using like
mushroom, different types of mushroom organic
things that you can put right on the beehive.
Now I just want to make sure the mites are going
to, you know, be at their very least. So I will
medicate them. I'm choosing oxalic acid because
that seems like a better way for me to treat.
I'm not ever going to be a non -treater again.
I've learned my lesson. And some treatments are
much more natural than others. right? The acids
and some of those things compared to some of
the other chemicals. Some people really believe
in some of the other chemicals because they work.
For me, it's also like with the gear that you're
going to wear, your medications, it's just your
comfort level. What are you comfortable giving
your bees? That's just a comfort level thing
I believe as well. Thanks again for joining us
on Be Love Beekeeping presented by our great
friends over at Man Lake. Hey, and don't forget
to order your bees. And a shout out to V2B Health
for their support. Vita's Varroa Control Ranger
products includes Epistan, Epigard, and now Varroxan.
Extended release, Oxalic Acid Strips. Thank you
so much guys. If you haven't yet, please subscribe
and follow the show, tell your friends about
it, and click on over to BeLoveBekeeping .com
to sign up for our free newsletter. If you have
a guest suggestion or topic that you'd like discussed
on the show, shoot me an email, eric at BeLoveBekeeping
.com. And remember if you're not just in it for
the honey or the money, you're in it for the
love. See you next week.