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Beekeeping for Beginners |
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Equipment |
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Find a local business dedicated to supplying beekeeping equipment
and bees. Many carry a start-up kit for new beekeepers. Here's
a list of what you will need:
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A beehive, which consists of a bottom board, a hive
body, inner and outer covers, 20 frames with foundations
and an entrance reducer.
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A honey super (the section of a beehive used to collect
honey) containing frames, a foundation and a queen excluder—a
thin metal or plastic grate that allows passage of worker
bees, but not the queen, to ensure no eggs are laid in
the honey super. |
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Other required tools include a smoker (used to pacify
the bees when you are working near them), a hive tool
for separating the frames, a bee brush for brushing the
bees from unwanted places (e.g. your clothing), protective
gear (jacket or suit and hat, all veiled) and bee gloves
(whether you choose to use them or not, they're good to
have, just in case). |
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A smoker helps to pacify the bees while the beekeeper
works around them. |
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A feeder—discuss different feeding methods with
your bee supplier; however, if you have only a few hives,
it's best to use hive-top feeders. You may also want
to purchase an extra hive body to use when the first
one fills. Beekeepers can either run a single brood
chamber hive (the brood chamber is the section of a
beehive contained in the hive body where eggs and larvae
are found), composed of one hive body, or a double-brood
chamber hive, composed of two hive bodies. It's easier
to start with double-brood chamber hives.
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Other Articles from this Issue |
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