I'll be able to sell the honey and make money
Well, you might, but don't expect to get rich. Few people make money out of their bee keeping,
and if their time was taken into account then the number would be even smaller. The size of
the honey harvest depends on many factors. Most people do not realise the amount of hard
physical work that goes in to getting honey out of the hive and into the jars, not to
mention the fact that your garage will get full of empty jars and equipment, the cupboard
under the stairs will be taken over as a place to store your honey, the room where you
extract, filter and bottle your honey will get incredibly sticky, and much of the work
needs to be done at the very time of year when you are busy with your bees.
While on the topic of money, do bear in mind that you will have some financial outlay at
the start of bee keeping, even if some items are purchased second-hand. You will need
more hardware (hives etc) than you might imagine, in order that you can carry out certain
manipulations. Since we have had two consecutive poor summers, fewer bee keepers have had
surplus colonies for sale and so the cost of bees has risen recently.
I've always fancied a hive at the bottom of the garden
So you might, but what about your neighbours? Some gardens are suitable for bees, but not
all are. You might start off with bees that have a gentle temperament but if they become
bad-tempered (perhaps when they get a new queen) then it is a different story. There is no
pleasure in working with an aggressive colony in any location, and certainly not in
proximity to other people, yet it is down to the bee keeper to sort out the problem.
What could be better than spending a sunny Saturday afternoon
inspecting my bees ?
If you have a job or other commitments then you may find that your inspections and
manipulations need to be done according to the dictates of the weather rather than when it
suits you best. While it is true that you can go away for a few days and leave your bees
to their own devices (unlike a cat or a dog), if you neglect your bees the colony health
and strength may suffer, you will lose swarms, and your honey harvest will be reduced.
The purpose of this short article is not to discourage anyone from considering bee keeping,
but to draw attention to the aspects of bee keeping that an aspiring bee keeper may not realise.
Our advice would be to join a course if one is available, read up-to date books on bee keeping,
spend time looking at bee keeping websites, talk to bee keepers and get as much exposure to
bees and their management as you can, BEFORE getting bees of your own. If you do get some
we strongly suggest you do not get more than 2 colonies in the first few years. Alternatively,
if you decide beekeeping is not for you, you haven't lost anything, you would be more
knowledgeable about the topic and, we hope, an enthusiastic advocate for bees.
Caroline Beardsmore
2009
