Hives For The Bees-giving Bees The Right Shelter

By Author: Deborah Smith
Total Articles: 1449
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Many interested beekeepers would wonder which place they should go to for quality bee hives. Some will recommend that companies with beekeeping specialists are a great place to buy hives. Usually, packages are offered which may include a single or couple of hives that may or may not house bees.

It is easier to buy, this is for sure. Usually the package would come with the ten thousand bees and the one honeybee queen. But should you already own a hive at home and the bee population is increasing, and the hive is also making a new queen, then maybe it’s time for a new hive to be built or bought. Sometimes the buying can be slowed down and this may cause some issues within the population.

It won’t matter whether you buy the hive or have it built as long as the structure is ideal for the colony. This ensures a good honey production. Usually, bee colonies which are large and healthy are those that can provide a steady production of honey.

Never allow the bees to swarm, this won't make for a good honey crop. Swarming takes place when the colony is too crowded and new queens are being created. In this phenomenon, ...
... the queen bee leaves the colony with majority of the workers. They will be searching for another hive for settlement so avoid this by clipping the wings of the queen and ensure she won’t ever leave. If they do swarm, they may build a new hive up on trees or even your neighbor’s garden and if that happens, people might have those bees exterminated.

Requeening is usually required every six weeks, usually in the months of July and August. This is particularly important if the queen has already performed more than enough to their capacity. A strong colony will accumulate honey set for winter.

During the harvest, only get a little of honey and leave not lower than 15 lbs. for the bees. Doing so would only lead to malnourishment and probable death of the hive. Honey is also needed by bees for food especially during winter. If they don’t feel any security from scarcity of honey, the entire colony may die since the queen could just stop performing her job.

Steve is a UK bee keeper and writes about the UK honeybee population, it's recent decline and the challenges involved in keeping healthy bees. Also his expereince with the different types of hive which are available and swarm collection.