Hi John - I had three at the time. Lost one queen and combined that hive with the two others. Lost one of those, not sure why. So I just have the one.
Will probably buy two more nucs (nucleus hives) in the spring. A nuc hive has a queen and frames of honey and larvae in every stage of development, and bees in every stage of development, too, from the baby fuzzheads that stay inside and take care of the other bees, all the way to foragers. Foraging is the last stage in a bees life.
Nucs cost a little more than packages but produce more.
Beekeeping isn't a hobby for poor people. I am out of pocket well over $1000 so far, on frames, hive bodies, hats, veils, suits, smoker, tools, honey extractor and jars.
I was able to give honey away to almost (not quite) everybody on my list, as well as beeswax soap and beeswax skin cream.
Ideally I would like to sell the honey and recoup the expenses and maybe make a tiny profit. A hive can produce at least 70 pounds of honey a year when it gets going, at $3 a pound (organic) it will pay a little bit to cover expenses and we will have the benefit of the bees pollinating our fruit trees and a little honey for ourselves. |
