7 Beekeeping Myths

Harvesting your own honey might be safer and easier than you think

Beekeeping is a fascinating and rewarding spare-time activity , which do good both the apiculturist and the local environment . Honeybees help pollinate garden plant as well as plants that provide food for thought for wildlife . Also , a well - managed beehive can create ( in a unspoilt class ) more than 100 dog pound of excess honey .

At one meter , honeybee colonies could be found on almost every farm and in the backyard of many homes . As the beekeeper population aged , however , and modest farms disappear , interest group in beekeeping declined and fewer people retain bees as a spare-time activity or as a sideline .

But with the discovery of colony collapse disorder and the far-flung loss of Apis mellifera colonies throughout the United States and Europe , this trend has go to deepen . the great unwashed have become interested about the plight of the honeybee and need to do something to help offset the losses of these significant pollinators .

Many people , though , lack the knowledge or hold a number of misconceptions about beekeeping , which prevent them from starting their first hive . Let ’s try out some of these myths to dispel vulgar concerns about beekeeping and , perhaps , provide some boost for getting started in the hobby .

Myth 1: Bees need to be in a rural setting to produce honey.

TRUTH: Bees can find nectar in even the most unlikely places.

There is often a misconception that honeybees need to be keep in rural areas so that they can find sufficient nectar sources for dear output . Nothing could be further from the truth because many urban and suburban area have an abundance of inflorescence plant life that produce ambrosia . Flowering trees , shrubs , and other plants can be found in parks , along streets , and even in abandoned lots . Honeybees are amazingly skillful at finding salutary sources of ambrosia . They normally forage at distances of up to 4 miles from their beehive , giving them a huge arena in which to place ambrosia . Bees foraging at a aloofness of 2 miles have a likely foraging area of more than 12½ square miles in which to search , an region about half the size of Manhattan . If you increase the scrounge length to 3 miles , bees have a potential foraging area of more than 28 substantial international mile . Once near nectar source are located , foragers can levy other hive member to the site to improve nectar accumulation . Honeybees have a extremely evolved dancing oral communication that admit them to communicate both instruction and aloofness to food beginning , a behavior that improves their scrounge efficiency and ability to employ even aloof nectar and pollen sources .

Myth 2: The bees will swarm—and that’s scary.

TRUTH: Swarms are rarely dangerous.

A swarm yield lots of turmoil for those not familiar with one , especially if a cloud of bees settles near a home . A swarm is normally blue-blooded and unbelievable to make job . Before a swarm leaves the hive , the bee engorge on beloved to provide DOE for the move to a new nest site , and bee that are full tend to be unaggressive .

Swarming is a natural process of dependency reproduction , and honeybee colony will swarm if not make out properly . In an unattended apiary , anywhere from 10 to 40 percent of the colony can be expect to swarm in a give yr .

The specific movement of stream are not known , but we do bang that crowding and the age of the queen bee act an important role in the process . Colonies prepare to pullulate typically put up 15 to 20 world-beater cells , and the colony swarms shortly after the first prison cell are capped ( cells are cap just before the larval queen pupates and develops into an grownup ) . When the swarm departs , 30 to 50 percent of the bee will bequeath with the sure-enough queen and settle at a temporary position from which lookout man will search for a young home . When a suitable nesting cavity is place , the swarm will move to the site and start a new colony . When one of the new queen mole rat emerges in the parent dependency , she typically kills the other break queens , then mates and takes over as the hive poof .

Swarms are a valuable source of bee for apiculturist , and most beekeepers are willing to hoard cloud at no rush . Many local police stations keep list of apiarist willing to gather swarms .

Myth 3: Bees are aggressive.

TRUTH: Gentle strains of bees seldom sting.

Honeybees are not particularly belligerent , and hives can be worked with minimum peril of being stung if proper techniques are used and protective habiliment is worn . colony differ in temperament , however , and some honeybee are more protective and strong-growing than others . The most far-famed examples are the Africanized bees that have become established in the Southwest and Gulf Coast states . Many bee breeder promote docile bee for sale , and I recommend that hobby beekeepers use gentle var. from bee breeders in non - Africanized bee areas .

hold a hive or two in the backyard does , of course , increase the chances of a sting , but even this can be minimise by place urticaria in a low - dealings area and taking care when mop or working nearby . Most sting cause no more than localise pain , redness , and swell up , but some individuals may experience more severe allergic reactions . Life - threatening reaction , though , are rarified and estimated to pass in less than 0.2 percent of the universe . The average individual in the United States is five times more likely to break from a lightning strike than from a bee sting .

Myth 4: Beekeeping is labor intensive.

TRUTH: Bees need only a few hours of your time per year.

manage a beehive postulate much less time and effort than one might expect , especially when compared to the management needs of other animals . A vulgar job that many Modern apiculturist have is that they want to constantly check on their newfangled beehive . While this is understandable , a settlement will broadly speaking do better if you leave it alone .

A dependency needs to be examined only eight to 10 time a year , with the most intensive sweat occurring in late winter and spring when four or five inspections may be needed to control survival , evaluate colony wellness , and prevent swarming . Once the major ambrosia flows start in late bounce to early summertime , small management is required other than an episodic check to see if additional hive body are needed on the hive for honey storage . When the nectar flows end in mid- to late summer , surplus honey can be removed and extracted . Colonies should then be inspected again for health and overall precondition . As the weather cool in crepuscle and scrounge action decline , the major fear becomes insure equal colony preparation for wintertime . Because Apis mellifera are active all winter , colony involve to be checked for dear stores and given supplementary feedings if necessary . All told , the time involve in the management of a Apis mellifera settlement is probably less than 15 hour a twelvemonth .

Myth 5: You must keep honeybees to have bountiful crops.

TRUTH: Other bees and insects pollinate, too.

Honeybees are splendid pollinators and help pollinate a wide diverseness of crop . Honeybees , however , are not the only bee specie that play an crucial role in pollenation . There are an estimated 3,500 bee species in North America , many of which bring a significant role in pollenation . For many crops , non - honeybee species may , in fact , form a larger percentage of the flower visitant than honeybee . A late study conduct by Nancy Lee Adamson at Virginia Tech set up that more than 70 percentage of the bee visit Malus pumila , blueberries , caneberries , and cucurbit in southwestern United States Virginia were non - honeybee coinage . The average number of different bee metal money on these crops deviate from 12 to 19 . cogitation in other region of the country have reported similar findings . The importance of non - honeybee species — such as bumblebees , carpenter bees , effort bees , and andrenids — are often underestimated , but these species offer important pollination services .

Myth 6: Beekeeping is expensive.

TRUTH: After an initial investment, the costs are low.

The major expenses involve in beekeeping are at the start because a Modern apiarist needs to buy hive equipment , bees , peter , and protective gear ; the entire monetary value of these items are about $ 350 . Once the initial investment has been made , year - to - twelvemonth disbursal are minimal and typically ask detail to better colony health , such as treatments for parasitic mites , pollen supplements to improve spring buildup , and gelt to better winter reserve . Yearly maintenance cost are typically less than $ 30 .

one-year colony losses across the country , however , currently average 30 percent . If your dependency break down , you may reuse the equipment but you ’ll involve to supplant the lose bee . This is one ground why I usually recommend that new beekeepers go with two hives ; if one give way , the other can be used as a reservoir of permutation bee .

Myth 7: Your neighbors won’t let you keep bees.

TRUTH: It’s easy to change their mind.

you’re able to avoid dissent from your neighbour by film some precautions . post hives so that the flight path of foraging bees does not cross with eminent - use area in neighbors ’ yards . set a fencing or shrub in front of your hives to encourage bees to take flight above head level . Limit your hive to no more than two or three in your backyard , and put up a H2O source so that the bees do not inspect the neighbors ’ swimming pool . Finally , plan on share the harvest ; a couple of jolt of beloved can cursorily turn concern into acceptance .

Ready to get started?

• Bee Culture : The Magazine of American Beekeeping ( beeculture.com )

Richard Fell is prof emeritus of bugology in the Department of Entomology at Virginia Tech in Blacksburg , Virginia .

ok Gardening Recommended product

Attracting Beneficial Bugs to Your Garden , Revised and Updated Second Edition : A Natural Approach to Pest Control

okay Gardening obtain a commission for items purchased through links on this site , including Amazon Associates and other affiliate advertising programs .

CobraHead ® Long Handle Weeder & Cultivator Garden Tool

Monarch Butterfly Rescue Wildflower Seeds 4 oz .

Get our late tips , how - to article , and instructional picture sent to your inbox .

ratify you up …

Shelving Common Canning Myths

10 Fascinating Facts About Honey Bees

9 Garden Myths Demystified

Grow More Flowers to Harvest More Food

Join okay Gardening for a detached take live webinar featuring Dr. Janna Beckerman , a famous flora pathologist as well as prof emerita at Purdue University and the ornamental expert manager …

When I spotted a particular sand dollar cactus ( Astrophytum asterias ) at the Philadelphia Flower Show a few month ago , I knew I was in trouble . With a delightful color approach pattern …

When we only prioritize industrial plant we desire over plants our landscape painting motive , each season is filled with a never - stop listing of chores : pruning , pinching , watering , treating , meliorate , and fertilizing , with …

Video

Touring an Eco-friendly, Shady Backyard Retreat

You must be deliberate when you enter the backyard of garden house decorator Jeff Epping — not because you ’re likely to trip on something , but because you might be dive - bombed by a pair …