Well, I am very new to bee keeping. It started in December when bees came to my hummingbird feeders. So I put out more sugar water and within a week, we had what seemed like thousands coming to eat. They would be on the front porch before we could get out with our morning coffee. After about a week, I called to a neighbor to tell him that his bees were at our house...he went to check and then told us that they were not his bees...Yeah, right. I am a big gardener and the thought of having bees in the garden really interested me. DH loves honey...so the two just went together. Found a bee supplier fairly close to us, (we are in the country) and got a book, "First lessons in BeeKeeping" We are still reading everything that we can get our hands on, plus are big internet researchers. This is how I found you. We are not in the position to know hardly anything, so really do not have much to give to you. We can only research what is going on right now. We started buying supplies and painting...setting up the site for future bees. Found that you can have natural bees...still researching. But now we have been thrown into the mix, when I thought that we were not really ready with the knowledge that was needed. We got a phone call that there was a swarm and did we want it. I sorta freaked and said yes, so off we went. It is a small swarm of Italians, and we re-queened Sunday. Tomorrow morning early, we will go into the hive, (10 frame with two having drawn comb, is that correct wording for it?) and check on the queen...please wish us luck, lots of pollen going in...Teresa
You might start here for reading...
http://www.bushfarms.com/beesoptions.htm (http://www.bushfarms.com/beesoptions.htm)
http://www.bushfarms.com/beesnewbees.htm (http://www.bushfarms.com/beesnewbees.htm)
http://www.bushfarms.com/beesbasics.htm (http://www.bushfarms.com/beesbasics.htm)
and then the rest of it...
http://www.bushfarms.com/bees.htm (http://www.bushfarms.com/bees.htm)
Congratulations Teresa, it sounds like you are officially a bee keeper now!
Don't worry about not knowing everything up front. It's usually our mistakes that we learn from the most anyways. Luckily bees are fairly forgiving if you keep an eye on them and adjust your habits accordingly. There are lots of people on here that will help if you post questions.
Welcome from Central Florida, 1/2 way between Orlando and Daytona Beach.
Welcome Teresa from Tallahassee!
...DOUG
KD4MOJ