So you want to be a beekeeper, what next?
Your first step should be to go along to a local beekeeping club and attend an introductory course if possible. Beekeeping has an initial steep learning curve but once the basics are understood anyone with a small garden or even a flat roof can potentially keep bees successfully.
Initial Costs - Depending on whether you choose to go for expensive hive parts and equipment or prefer to fabricate some parts yourself and can spot second hand bargains, beginners should expect to pay around £100-£200 with the bees themselves averaging at £80-£100 unless you are lucky enough to catch a swarm!
be expanded into a full hive.
The Hive
Whilst honeybees can be successfully kept in virtually any well protected cavity of sufficient size; the modern beehive makes it possible for the beekeeper to easily access surplus honey arising from the hive without causing damage or distress to the bees. Although there are various types of hives in operation the most commonly encountered hive in the U.K. is the British National (shown below). Like most hives the basic components consist of a floor, a deep brood box where the queen lays eggs, a queen excluder which allows worker bees but not the queen to pass through, a 'super' box which the bees fill with honey, followed by a crown board and roof.
In addition to the hive itself the beekeeper will also require a protective bee suit, a smoker to calm the bees, a hive tool (simple metal tool) to dislodge boxes and frames that have been propolised, frames (along with wax foundation) and gloves. These are considered the minimum equipment required to begin beekeeping.
Harvesting Honey
Large numbers of frames require centrifugal extractors (available from the club) for efficient harvesting. Honey should then be left to settle before fine filtering to obtain clear runny honey.
You don't need specialised equipment to harvest small amounts of honey for your own use. A frame of honey can be converted into a few jar of delicious honey in very little time as shown below with a single frame.
The honeycomb is scraped back to the mid rib and placed into a jam jar.
Mash the mixture up to free all the honey.
Strain the wax mixture through a fine sieve or muslin filter. Keep the top jar at a slight tilt to prevent a vacuum forming.
