Heather Bell Honey Bees, Beekeeping Cornwall

Interested in beekeeping? We can help you BEEKEEPING SUPPLIES
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Interested in beekeeping? We can help you START BEEKEEPING

Interested in beekeeping? We can help you BEEHIVES
 Interested in beekeeping? We can help you TOP BAR BEE HIVES

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This interesting visitor came to our bee hives in summer 2007 - see more
HOW TO START BEEKEEPING
I always advise anyone thinking of keeping bees to take the following steps first before getting them.

1. Get some experience of bees with a professional beekeeper.
The simplest way to find one is to buy some local honey at your farmers' market or health food shop, the beekeeper's address should be on the label. Alternatively join a local beekeeping association (every county has one) but make sure you get some time with a professional i.e. qualified advice. Do this in time so you can organise something with the beekeeper during the beekeeping season in spring and summer.

See our beekeeping experience lessons here.

2. Take a beekeeping course
The same beekeeper may offer a course or point you in the right direction. You can't keep bees for long without knowledge of the honeybee's life cycle and biology, disease recognition and pest management, swarm control and queen bee rearing. Read as many beekeeping books as you can.

See our beekeeping course here.

3. Order your beekeeping equipment and bees.

Answers to Frequently Asked Beekeeping Questions

Where can I keep bees?

You can keep bees anywhere. It is possible to keep bees in a back garden but do a beekeeping course so you know how. They are kept on rooftops in cities all around the world. There are many examples of houses incorporating hive cavities built into the walls, and some so bees could even be accessed from inside the house!

What equipment do I need to start?

A protective 'veil' or suit - here, a 'smoker' - here and a 'hive tool'- here, are necessities, everything else is optional. See our Beginners Kit here.
You will of course need a hive and bees!

What hive should I have?

There are many different hives designed for commercial beekeeping, the most popular in the U.K. is the British National. For each colony you will need one complete hive for your first year and a second spare hive in your second year (this is needed as part of swarm control). I suggest you research alternatives. Top Bar Hives are a low cost and sustainable option requiring no extra kit - see our bee hives.
Beware second-hand equipment though, as it can harbour disease and is more often umpteenth-hand and on its last legs.

What bees should I have?

Bees are normally sold as a 'nucleus'  - an established starter colony containing a laying queen, (a colony can't start with just a queen) - see our honey bee nucleus colonies for sale. These are normally available from early summer, you must order early.
Buy your bees with a queen that is bred in the U.K. Avoid bees with imported queens. The foreign strains and subspecies are genetically different to our own, they are often unsuited to the U.K. and particularly susceptible to viral disease.
Beware trying to start with a swarm unless you know its origin, they often fail to establish a colony and it could harbour disease.

Email if you have any questions, I'm happy to help.

© Heatherbell Honey 1999 - 2012, all rights reserved. None of the material in this publication may be used, reproduced or transmitted, in whole or in part, in any form or by any means, without permission in writing from the author.