Supplies needed for starting your urban beehive

Before going out and spending lots of money on new equipment, it would be wise to search out your nearest beekeepers’ club. Club members are a great source of local advice on what to do and what not to do when starting. They will have a wealth of knowledge and experience which you can learn from to keep you from making too many rookie mistakes. They may know where to get the best equipment at a discount to help you get started and keep the cost down. But never buy second-hand equipment as you don’t know if it may carry a disease that could kill your colony.

• Hive Box – What kind of hive box you use depends on the type of bee hive is best for your environment. So as not to annoy the neighbors try and get the best quality you can afford so it looks professional.
• Hive Stand – This is to raise the hive above the ground to give it sufficient ventilation and to minimize the risk of moisture damaging the hive.
• Bottom Board – The bee hive stands on the bottom board and it can be either solid or mesh. A solid board keeps the hive warm in the winter and deters ants (predators of the bees). With the screen board, when bees clean themselves, any mites will fall through the mesh and not accumulate in the bottom of the hive.
• Deep Hive Body – This is the internal frame within the beehive to hold the honeycombs and house the bees. The body can usually hold 8-10 frames. Most hives have two of these bodies, one for the brood chamber in the lower part of the hive, and the other for the food chamber in the top.
• Frames – These are the wooden foundations bees use to build their honeycombs. Plastic frames are available, but they do not work as well as the traditional wood.
• Shallow Chamber – During the honey season, you need this chamber to collect surplus honey from the hive.
• Inner and Outer Cover – These provide air circulation for the hive, and come in long-lasting cedarwood or cypress, or even plastic. For an outer cover, plastic will not rot over time and will keep up appearances.
• Feeders – During winter hive feeders are a necessity as the bees can’t collect enough flower nectar to survive the cold weather. The feeder provides them with sugar water to sustain them through the lean months.
• Smoker – Probably the handiest beekeeping tool you will ever own. Smoking the hive calms the bees down, making it easier to get at the honey when you need to harvest.
• Frame Lifter – This little gadget helps you get the frames out of the hive if you need to inspect them, as they can be stuck together by the comb.
• Bee-Proof Suit – Only people who have been handling bees for a long time can go around without protection. The suit will consist of overalls, gloves, and a veil or mask to cover your face.
• A Swarm of Bees with a Queen – The final ingredient for a thriving hive is a swarm and their queen. If you are looking for bees that are calm and produce large amounts of honey in a short space of time, try the Italian bee variety. The Buckfast and Cordovan hybrid varieties are cross-bred and are supposedly more efficient and productive in honey production. The African hybrid is very territorial and has a reputation for swarming and sometimes even killing humans (so don’t get African bees!). Other varieties available are the Carniolan, Russian, and Caucasian bee.

Which type of beehive is best?

Unless you are a dab hand at DIY and have excellent carpentry skills to build your own beehive, chances are you are going to buy a hive off-the-shelf. There are lots of designs, each specific for location and climate. In Europe and North America, these are the most common types.

• Langstroth Hive – Named after its inventor the Reverend Lorenzo Langstroth, this is probably the most popular hive design in the world. The significant advantage is the frame design within the hive for bees to create their honeycombs. The spacing of the frames is ideal for the bees, giving them enough space to move around. The internal system makes it easy to inspect the hive for any problems and to harvest the honey. Buy on Amazon: Complete Langstroth Wax Coated Bee Hive
• Top Bar Hive – This simple backyard beehive is widespread in developing countries. The top bar is where the bees create their honeycomb, but it does not give a regular pattern for the comb, and it is more like the natural honeycombs found in the wild. Because of its limited space, it can only hold a small colony. Buy on Amazon: Balanced Beekeeping: Build a Top Bar Hive
• Warre Hive – Noted for its quick and easy assembly, the Warre Hive is derived from the Top Bar hive and also attempts to mimic how bees construct their honeycombs in the wild. Experts suggest that this hive is suitable for those who are looking to help sustain the bee population and are not looking for high honey production. Buy on Amazon: Complete 4 Box Warre Hive Kit Fully Assembled
• Flow Hive – This is a recently adopted concept from Australia, where the surplus honey is allowed to flow from the hive without the need to smoke the bees. The interior is engineered to collect surplus honey and allow it to flow out of the hive and be collected. Frames can be added to give added capacity. Buy on Amazon: Golden Palace Auto Flow Beehive 7pcs
• Five-Frame Nuc Hive – Based on the Langstroth design, this hive is suitable for raising a new queen and creating a swarm. Because it is small and portable, it is often used to transport swarms. With only five frames, there is no room for expansion, so its use can be limited. Buy on Amazon: Blythewood Bee Company 5-Frame Beehive Nuc Kit
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  How much honey and beeswax will my urban beehive produce?

  A single urban beehive can produce anywhere between 20-60 pounds of honey in each harvest. How much depends on the size of the colony, the type of hive, the location, and the weather. But it’s not just honey that you can harvest from a hive – beeswax can be used in all manner of ways. For centuries it’s been used to make candles and is an ingredient in soap and lip balm, and beauty products. And then there is the superfood bee pollen, which is sought for its antioxidant qualities and its supposed ability to boost the immune system.

  How to harvest your urban beehive

  If you are using outdoor hives, they need to be set up in the spring when the weather is starting to warm up and when plants are beginning to blossom. The bees will spend all summer gathering flower nectar to make honey, and it can be harvested in the fall once the frames are full. Then it’s a simple job to extract the frames, uncap the honeycomb with a knife and to place the frames in an extractor. The extractor spins the frame using centrifugal force to remove the liquid honey, which can then be collected, filtered and bottled.

  Urban Beekeeping Check List

  1. Buy your bees from an approved dealer so they are healthy and robust when they arrive. Your local beekeeping club will have recommendations for responsible suppliers.
  2. Never buy used beekeeping supplies; they may contain traces of disease that can be passed to your bee colony. Always buy new.
  3. Join the local beekeeping club, as they will have all the knowledge you need to get started and will be an excellent source for troubleshooting. No one knows the ups and downs of keeping bees in your locale better than another local beekeeper.
  4. Pay attention to your bees; they need to be taken care of like any other type of livestock. If you look after your colony, the bees will do their work and pay you back with honey, beeswax, and bee pollen. Remember, beekeeping is not just a science but an art.
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  Author’s Bio: Josh Andrews is a keen gardener and has spent a good amount of time growing his favorite veggies. When he isn’t working for Roller Garage Doors, he’s keen on growing his own produce he has dipped his toes into beekeeping, mushroom growing and more!