Beginning Beekeeping!

We bought our nucs and equipment through
Better Bee Supplies in Cambridge

Last week my mom and I headed out to pick up beekeeping supplies for two hives we will be keeping this season. The bees will be staying at a friend's farm in Milton, a rural property with two donkeys and lots of space.

Barney and Daisy are stoked
on a back scratch from mom.

My mom and her friend are paying for the cost of the nucs, hives and supplies and I am contributing my beekeeping experience and help with taking care of the hives. Then we will split any honey for this season. Such a good deal!  

I researched several options for getting bees and we decided on starting with nucs. A nuc (short for nucleus) is usually a split off of a larger honey bee colony - you get a few frames (some of capped brood, some of honey) and also a mated queen. We have put a deposit down on two nucs for this season that should be ready in May. It totally all depends on the season though and how the bees did over the winter. There's a chance that the beekeeper may not be able to create the number of nucs they have estimated for - but we're hoping!

We decided on two nucs so that we will have two hives. Lil at the store recommended we start with two so that we can compare their development and will also have access to a second queen if anything happens to one. It will be interesting to have two hives to work with.

From Right to Left: 2 feeders, a bee brush, a capping scratcher,
 two hook end hive tools and a smoker (with cage).

In terms of supplies, we purchased a beginners kit that includes the hive box + bottom board, entrance reducer, telescoping cover, inner cover and 10 Langstroth frames. We also bought two super kits - each with two supers and ten frames. For the foundation, we went with wax for the frames in the hive box (since we heard that the bees will take to it faster and will hopefully help them get established sooner) and plastic for the supers (since it lasts longer). The super kits also come with a queen excluder. We also picked up two feeders, a smoker (with a cage) and two hive tools. 

I'm most nervous about starting the hives - I've only ever worked with established colonies. I think it will be an exciting challenge and a great way to learn. Also, the shift from a more temperate Vancouver climate to the relatively more extreme temperature fluctuations of southern Ontario will be interesting. In Vancouver, you want your hive to have a southern or eastern exposure so that the bees warm up faster in the start of the season and are more productive with some heat - but in talking to the bee keepers at the shop here, they recommended we put our bees under some shade, as over heating in our hot Ontario summers is a real concern. This climate shift is also going to be a factor in my crop planning for the school farm this year - we'll just have to try our best and keep lots of notes. 

Glad I get to visit this face when I check on the bees.