the "small hive" option is not really up to you. a hive is just a box and the size of the colony within it changes through the year. a strong colony will continue to peak to 60-80,000 bees by the end of spring, if given ample space to expand. at about that population OR when they run out of room is when they will swarm. they can also randomly swarm if they anticipate a high nector flow. this is where you will have aproblem on a small lot unless your neighbors are cool. as already explained, the current queen will leave with half the bees. this is an incredible thing to witness. when it happens at my house there is literally a tornado of 40 thousand bees circling the clearing above my barn. they will land somewhere nearby for anywhere from 2 hours to 2 days or more and send scout bees to find a suitable location for the new colony to establish. they are especially docile in this swarming start as they do not have a hive to defend. you can litteraly pick up a handfull of bees out of the swarm and not get stung. swarms are great to collect to start a new hive as the bees have gorged themselves on honey and are primed to build comb in the new hive. the original colony will make up to a dozen new queens and they will fight to the death and the winner is the new queen of that colony and life goes on. watch the movie a bees life with the kids sometime, its suprisingly accuarate. so, a 1/3 acre may be a little tight, but there is even rooftop beekeepers in citys so it can be done. beehives ussually are quite welcome on farms. perhaps you can ask if you can setup on the edge of a field. they do best with early sun exposure or where the snow melts first in your yard and a physical block of cold winter winds from the north. get in touch with new jersey beekeeping association and join a chapter. lots to learn. rutgers also runs beginers courses. it is advised to have 2 hives when starting so that you can compare the two and notice if one is becoming weak. dont expect to be able to harvest any honey the first year as it takes a lot of energy to draw out the comb in a new hive when they start, it takes something like 8 pounds of honey to make one pound of wax. each bee will make a mere 1/8 teaspoon of honey in its 6 week life, only 2 of which its job is a field bee. they will travel within a 2 mile radius of the hive for nectar, pollen, and water. what other questions yah got?
WOW! that about did it My Daughter goes to Rutgers and we have a sattalite area down here. After I asked the question, I looked up Rutgers and found class on bee keeping, . It starts April, I think I may give it a whirl! Thanks so much for the info C R
I highly recommend taking a beginning beekeepers class as well as hooking up with a local club so you can find a mentor to help you like charlie has. Also DO NOT rush into it take your time, take the class, learn as much as you can find a local beek to work with before you get your bees, but make sure you have everything you need for them. As far as space goes you dont need much I know a guy that has anywhere from 10-15 hives in his average small suburban back yard he has the occasional flare up with the neighbors but a couple bottles of free honey goes a long way. You could also put a fence or wall of sorts in front of the hive to help encourage the bees to fly straight up. If your neighbors have a pool they will likely notice a lot more bee activity in and around their pool. If you live near any kind of farmland you can more than likely find a farmer that will let you put your hives on his land. Bees are a lot of work but a lot of fun and the rewards are delicious.
Great advise Matt..... gonna take it to heart. I'm gonna do a class at Rutgers before I do anything more. Coal Reaper had some great info as well! I have very good neighbors and I don't think they would have a problem. My next thought would be homeowners insurance? what if a bee stings a kid or someone who is alergic and find out it came from your hive? Knowing this country and all lawyer commercials who will sue for stubbing your toe, and the sue happy people it almost want's you to not do it!
Prove it! How are they going to prove its one of your bees? Unless the kid is right next to the hive screwing around and you let them there I dont see how there is a lawsuit. I would talk to your homeowners about it see what they say if your concerned about it. Im not worried about it where I am but Im in the country and my hives are a good ways from people. Also it would be a good idea to get an epi pen to keep at the house just in case you or someone else happens to have an allergic reaction that wasnt known about.
Good thought about the epi-pen!... I just know how a liberal society is these days, just quick to point a finger at someone and blame them! I can here it now, "if he didn't have bee's my cousin wouldn't have died from a bee sting" Then it would be on CNN, MSNBC, you get the picture.....
Yeah I get exactly what your saying/thinking there people have gone nuts these days. You can call your insurance company and you might also check with local government powers about laws regarding beekeeping. I have heard of some cities and counties that have outlawed beekeeping in city limits. I would recommend doing all of this as discretely as possible. Also finding a local beek club would put you in contact with people that can help you with answers about local things like that.
I will do! it sounds fun and something I would like to do, it's a shame that society has to put fear into every dam thing you do.
That's awesome although, why do I think someone will try it! I guess I lived in this Dam state to long where anything goes
If you can afford it and obtain a warrant to retrieve DNA from my bees go for it Thats about the only way to do it unless the person is standing right next to the hives when it happens.
Well, as we all know, some people have far more money than common sense, so I'm sure someone could find a way to get a warrant, track a bee with some kind of sensors (optical or motion sensors) from the hive to the edge of your property, or even demonstrate that the bee hive is merely an illegal apartment complex on your property for which the rent is paid in honey and the bees "invited" the person to come over to collect evidence.. Yeah.. I'm reaching here.
Good reaching! You almost sound like a lawyer...... Whats funny is, I "almost" could believe it, and a lawyer would take the case I'm sure.
Matt, We have a local Bee keeper and I went over to chat with him, sad part is he wasn't there but I did buy $50.00 worth of honey, "some for Chrismas gifts" They had some darker honey that was out of this world. Very Nice people and I'll chat with him sometime this weekend. They own Cape May honey farm, It's on the web. I'm gonna pick his brain, the girl behind the register wasn't that well informed of the process
On of my forestry professors in college said that it used to be that you'd walk through the woods and be afraid of getting poison ivy. Now (in the 90's) you walk through the woods and worry about stumbling across an attorney. A comment about there being an ever growing number of them to support people who would sue for anything.. Not an attorney, but been around them enough to know that nothing is impossible. Back to your regularly scheduled programming..
Very Good!, nice association! My daughter is in Rutgers University as we speak, If she double majors, one will be law She and God knows I'm not fond of lawyers...... She is very good in math, but I can't get her to follow engineering like her old dad! Oh Well.... Ok back to bees!
Dave that looks like a great place to start. They will probably be wrapping up for the winter but Id bet they would love to talk with you and get you pointed in the right direction for things up there. Looks like they have a real nice setup there. Ive always been amazed at the different flavors of honey from around the world heck just the difference in the seasons. The spring honey and the fall honey around here have two very different tastes. My wife and I have been collecting honey from around the world so far we have honey from Germany, Mexico, Thailand, Greece, Iraq, and of course all over America we've got killer bee honey from Arizona and all over Virgina and North Carolina. They all have a distinct and different taste.
Thanks for all the input and encouragement! I'm gonna start real slow. I been reading people who have small areas and they can do just fine, so I'm excited to try.... If you send me a PM with your address, I'm sure I can get you out some local honey from Cape May, NJ. The migratory bird capital of the U.S. This area is also "HUGE" with grape's and sun flowers.
I work for a commercial bee keeper. I've been stung so much it doesn't bother me anymore. Oh there is nothing better than fresh comb honey. I eat it everyday. I've managed to work here and there bartering for 5-gallon pails of honey. Cases of quart jars also to give out to friends and family. I'd like to have some hives of my own as I am working to put in an orchard next year, well, at least get it started. Before I moved a couple years ago, I had dozens of fruit trees on my last property. I really miss that. I was sad to leave all that hard work behind. I learned a lot though and know what to avoid and what to do now. I was lucky there that the flower field across the road from me had bees also. Pollination is a huge factor in crop success.
