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Beekeeping Equipment You'll Need To Keep Bees For Fun & Profit

Beekeeping Equipment - Bee Hive

A bee hive is the most essential equipment to start beekeeping. It consists of the following parts:

• Hive stand that elevates the bee hive, providing ventilation.
• Bottom board which forms the bottom of the hive.
• Entrance reducer that limits access to the bees and also provides ventilation and temperature control.
• Deep hive body is usually made of ten frames of honey comb. Lower deep is the brood chamber and upper deep is the food chamber for your bee colony.
• Queen excluder is an additional fitting that is used only during honey season to prevent the queen bee from using the honey super to lay eggs and pollute honey for your use.
• Honey super is the area where surplus honey will be collected. It is better to use a shallow honey super if you are getting started. Experienced beekeepers use medium honey supers which weigh around 80 pounds when full.
• Wooden frame with a foundation is where honey will be collected. There will be ten frames in each hive and you have to use the appropriate equipment to assemble the frame. The foundation can be either plastic or beeswax, and must be inserted into every frame.
• Inner cover covers the hive and has space for ventilation.
• Strong outer cover, usually made of a layer of galvanized steel, which protects your hive from outside elements.

To form your hive, you should assemble all the components in the right order. You may be inspecting a few components from time to time and hence, before starting to transfer bees onto the hive, practice assembling and removing the hive. You can buy a starter kit which comes with all the hardware, such as nails and foundation pins, needed for the assembly.

Beekeeping Equipment - Feeders

Feeders must be used to feed your bees with sugar syrup when nectar flow is minimal. This must be used in the first few weeks of beekeeping. A hive top feeder is placed on the upper deep brood chamber. An entrance feeder is placed at the entrance of the hive. A pail feeder is placed at the oval hole on the inner cover. A baggy feeder is placed on the top bars. A frame feeder is placed along with frames in the upper deep hive.

Beekeeping Equipment - Smoker

The bee smoker is a humble device that directs smoke from the fuel chamber into the hive. This will calm the bees and give you enough time to inspect the hive.

Beekeeping Equipment - Hive Tool

Hive tools are useful for scraping wax, loosen hive parts, and manipulate frames.

Beekeeping Equipment - Veil

A veil is an important part of protective bee-proof clothing, designed to protect your face and neck. These veils protect you from bee stings and they must be worn whenever you are inspecting your hive, particularly when starting out. Gloves can also be considered an important part of bee proof clothing.

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