← Bees H29-01 · Module 1 of 7 · Pages: 24 · Worksheets: 7

The apiary: site, number of hives, equipment

Where to put the hives, how many your family needs, what to buy, how to get bees and how to stay safe from stings and on the right side of the rules

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The apiary: site, number of hives, equipment

In short

  • Before the first hive, check for allergy in yourself and everyone in the house, and learn the signs of anaphylaxis.
  • Start with at least 2 hives: you can compare them and one can help the other.
  • Turn the entrances away from paths and neighbours, towards the south or south-east, and leave clear space in front.
  • Plan on roughly 15 kg of honey per hive a year and 4 kg per AE (adult equivalent): work it out in .
  • Register your apiary where it is required or offered (BeeBase in the UK, the state or provincial apiary register in North America); check with the competent authority.
  • Buy bees only from a beekeeper who can show their colonies are healthy, never old frames of unknown origin.

What's inside

Chapters

  1. Before the first hive
  2. Who lives in the hive
  3. The apiary site
  4. Neighbours, paths and rules
  5. The forage around you
  6. How many hives
  7. Equipment and protection
  8. Stings, allergy and anaphylaxis
  9. How to get bees
  10. The first year step by step
  11. Common mistakes
  12. Printable checklist

Worksheets

  • Apiary site assessment
  • Honey and hive calculator
  • Equipment budget
  • First-year calendar
  • Apiary sketch
  • Hive record card
  • Contacts and emergencies

Fields and checkboxes can be filled in with Adobe Acrobat Reader (desktop and mobile), and the calculator adds up by itself. Filling in may not work in some browsers. A print version comes with the screen PDF.

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