Building my first Beehive!

[DonMcJr]

Here's a Slideshow of my 1st Beehive. I have to finish it tomorrow and paint it.

The Bees arrive April 15th...The Honey in the Fall :wink:

[red maples]

Screened bottom board very good!!! do you have any drone frames??? Every thing looks good. The boxes go together pretty quick just alot of nails!!! the frams get a bit boring after the first 4 or 5 but you need to makeit all the way to 40 or 80 how ever many hives your doing!!!

My wife was away at a conference so I did mine in the living room in front of the TV The kids helped me pound in nails!!! I wired my frames when the kids went to bed(I use wax comb foundation)

[heus]

Where did you get this kit and how much does it cost compared to an assembled and shipped hive? Are the rabbit joints also glued?

[DonMcJr]

If the Drone Frames are yellow placticell then yes I have a whole bunch of them! So that answered my question...if my reading has been right the Blacks are for the Deep Hive Bottom! Where the Queen lays her eggs right? Then the yellow are for the workers where they make honey?

I got the kit from a local guy and he is so busy now he is swamped. Kit around $100 + $40 for Plasticell and I glue everything I can...

[buschbees]

Are you buying a nuc or a package?

[DonMcJr]

Not sure what you are asking if you mean bees I am getting a 3 lb Package of Itallians with a Queen...

[red maples]

they sell complete kits with hives all put together they usually come with the smoker veil tools and a book on bee keeping some thing like that. I think assembling hives yourself will save you a pretty good chunk of change. for me 2 hives cost $200 something and kits for 1 hive are close to $200 something.

The Drone comb frame is for male bees. I would recommend you go to bee school if you never kept bees before its very informative and I learned a ton of info.

Varroa mites...they will decimate your hives if you don't control them. I don't use pesticides for them although alot of people do. just in case you don't know they are like having a tick slightly bigger than a red brick stuck on your chest or back chewing at you.
3 things you can do to keep the mite population down. It impossible to eliminate it.
1 screened bottom boards...which you have basically if the mite fall off it will fall through the screen and is gone.
2 Drone Frames. usually these are a full plastic frame the drone cells are bigger and the mites like them better becasue there is more room to party!!! so the plastic foundation is bigger the bees will draw out only drone comb on them. I usually just hook them on the fence and let the chicken take care of them but you can put them in the freezer for 48 hrs and then thaw them and use a cap remover to remove the drone larve famers will even pay for them as they are good protein for the layer chickens. you will see the mites right on the larve pretty nasty. you only need 1 frame per hive.
and 3 dusting with powered sugar. your screened botttom board should have come with a white piece of sheet metal and that is put in place when you dust for mights you can search it on you-tube. but he bees will clean them selves off and the mites will come off with cleaning and the don't like the powdered sugar. they will then fall thought the screened bottom board and you can see them and get a good idea of how infested you are. and how often you need to dust.

I don't like to put anything in with the bees that I don't have too. after I take off the last of the honey at the end of the season I will medicate for nosema(sp?) which is like disentary(sp?) to humans but those bees will be dead and and honey stores will most likely be used they eat most of that feeding anyway.

Good luck any questions feel free to ask!!! I am only a second year bee keeper but you learn a ton from bee school and experience!!!

[DonMcJr]

Wow thanks that's some info I haven't read about yet...now I know where to go when I have some questions...thanks!

[red maples]

did you get your bees yet???

Just did my first Hive division!!! had one hive die over the winter the cluster was too small. We'll see how it goes!!!

[ClarkFarmMapleSyrup]

Where did you get this kit and how much does it cost compared to an assembled and shipped hive? Are the rabbit joints also glued?

Heus, when I had bees we got alot of stuff locally, but check out Betterbee.com
they have alot of stuff, and also a few maple items i think.