Bees

Bees are beneficial to every garden and orchard for fertilizing flowers, and they provide endless fascination. Hives take up very little space in field, garden, orchard or balcony. Bees do not require reg-ular daily attention throughout the year and during the summer only weekly examinations are necessary for most of the time, but the tim-ing of feeding, taking swarms and some manipulations is quite import-ant.

Established beekeepers expect to average about 30 lbs of honey per hive, as good years offset bad. At about 90p per lb of English honey (1978/79 prices), the initial investment of £50-100 for setting up one hive and equipment should be worthwhile.

The first step is to join the local beekeepers' association who can help with the following:
Information about courses
Meetings at apiaries and discussions
Sources of second-hand equipment
Loan or rent of extractors
Insurance against loss through disease or rustling
Spray warning schemes (i.e. farmers spraying insecticides)


Bees collect nectar for feeding a growing colony, and for winter stores. The latter is essential to ensure their survival until the following season, so when the beekeeper pillages their store he must leave some for the bees for winter feed, and supplement what he has left with sugar syrup. This is the main running expense of the hive. Good management should avoid the worst effects of disease and early detection of some infections is very important. MAFF* employ foul--brood officers to inspect hives and prevent the spread of brood dis-eases. Careful siting of hives and avoiding very temperamental strains of bee will avoid trouble with neighbours. Every beekeeper will get stung but few are allergic and except in extreme cases antihistamine is sufficient treatment.

To start from scratch with one new hive and basic equipment will cost about £100 and should last about 20 years. However, a new hive is unlikely to produce honey in the first year. Second hand equipment is less than half this cost and will provide a honey crop in the first autumn (unlike a nucleus or late swarm in your new hive). But this could be a false economy, bringing disease, old queens or weak stocks/ colonies. The choice between these two options depends upon what is available locally, and it is probably best to heed the advice of the local beekeepers association.

Books: 'Honey Bees and their Management' - Whitehead (Faber),

Organisation: National Association of Beekeepers, Owen Mayer (Secretary), 55 Chipstead Lane, Riverhead, Sevenoaks, Kent.