From Bricks to Beekeeping

[Infomaniac]

From Bricks to Beekeeping

(not Fbtb.com)

Hi, I'm infomaniac and I'm here to teach you the basics of beekeeping.

Here is a picture of the hive that we will be exploring today. It has a wooden base that levels out the ground, and also keeps the bees off of the cold ground in the winter. There are then 2 "Supers" that are placed on top of the base. These are the bulk of the hive structure, and are pictured here in the middle of the stack. As you will see in a little while, the supers each have "Frames" that you can pull out, to see your bees. Lastly, there is a top on the hive that protects it from the rain, and falling debris, like leaves.

Here is a picture of my actual hive. As you can see I have 2 supers at this time also.

Now let's discuss the gear needed for the job. You need a bee suit for starters. This suit does not have to be a space suit. You can purchase one over the internet if you are interested. The suit is very thick, and has elastic straps at your hands and feet. Some suits come with a veil and hat attached. The veil is just a net that goes in front of your face, and protects you from the bees. Gloves are another necessity. You need a screwdriver, or something that has a wedge on to open the hive. You also need a smoker. The smoker makes the bees docile and drunk. To be safe, all of these items are required.

Let's go into the hive

Our demonstrator starts off by smoking all around the hive with the smoker. This calms the bees down.

Next, he takes off the top

See all the frames inside the super, that is where all the bees live and make honey.

Now our demonstrator will carefully pull out one of the frames.

Now in nature the honey would be whiter then this is, but for the purpose of this explanation it will be yellow. The black dot represents hundreds of bees.

This is an actual picture

You need to find the queen every time you go into the hive, and for some reason she is in the bottom super today. The demonstrator now has to lift the incredibly heavy super off of the other one. One super alone can weigh over 60 pounds!

The queen is normally in the center of the frames, so our demonstrator checks there first.

See that green dot, that's her. She is not that massive, but is about the size of a 2x4. She's covered by drones, who fertilize her eggs, and guard bees, who guard her. Worker bees are the ones who do the pollen gathering and honey producing.

Now the demonstrator re-builds the hive and gives the bees a farewell hug (not really).

Tips about bee keeping:

1. Try to find someone who knows what they are doing to teach you. Hands on experience is different than reading about it.

2. Always respect the bees, they can sense your fear.

3. Don't ever freak out if a bee lands on you. If you don't provoke them, they have no reason to sting you.

I hope that this demonstration has interested some of you to look into beekeeping. Bees are amazing creatures that makes life as we know it possible.

Infomaniac

[Captain Green Hair]

Wow that is a good tutorial on bee keeping, and well build too!

I have heared that bee keepers get stung all the time anyway, is that true?

[BlueBard]

Wonderful tutorial + MOC You did a good job with the veil and the hive and I think Farm fans will find it very interesting

[MdrnMrvls]

That's awesome! I love the simplicity of the interior bee hives, too.

[mikey]

This is a great MOC, and post! The smoke is excellent, and the whole concept very original. Next you should do process the honey, and make a centrifuge!

excellent

[Eilif]

Truely brilliant! I love the fact that you managed to fit so much of what makes a real hive into such a small MOC. Even someone who doesn't know much about beekeeing would be able to recognize what you have done. The internals of the hive, are particularly effective. The only thing I thought was a bit strange was the torso you used, but it was a fair substitute for the older style white motorcycle jacket that I would have chosen, and doesn't distract from the MOC.

[Shadows]

Great job, I especially appreciate all of the little details and the step by step explanation. So much so that you've been blogged.