RICK CHRISTENSEN,
Country Fresh Bee Farms,
Gumboro, Delaware;
countryfreshbeefarms.com
KeepHoneybees
“The queen bee
does nothing but
lay eggs all day,”
Christensen says,
a necessity given
the short life (four
to six weeks) of the
worker bees. They
build combs to store
eggs and extra food
(honey); when plants
blossom, the bees
collect nectar to
feed the queen and
her brood. When
peak flowering hits,
the bees convert
the surplus nectar
into honey and store
it in the combs,
creating a sweet
treat for you.
RM
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“What you need
for a good colony is
space and room,”
says Christensen.
Start with a simple
structure (placed in
a sunny spot) of two
deep hives to act as
the brood chamber
where the queen lives
and lays her eggs. On
top of that you’ll need
one honey collecting
box (called a super) to
start, plus more to add
throughout the year.
For collecting and
processing the honey
you’ll need a bee suit,
a smoker, a heat knife,
a couple of stainless
steel vats and screens,
and a honey extractor
(most items available
at countryfreshbee
farms.com).
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Christensen
recommends one
queen bee and three
pounds of worker
bees (roughly 8,000-
10,000 bees). Place the
queen into the lower
hive, then release the
bees into the upper.
They’ll seek out the
queen and tend to her.
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You’ll want to order
your bees in late
winter to early spring
to give them enough
time to make their
wax and start drawing
cones. (They’ll be
OK outside—the
bees regulate the
temperature within
the hive.) The first
month, feed them
with a sugar-water
solution. A;er
everything starts to
bloom, the bees will
collect pollen and,
eventually, begin
storing honey in the
combs they’ve built in
the top super. Keep an
eye on the box, taking
it off when it’s half
full, adding another
empty super above
the brood chambers,
and then topping it
all with the half-filled
one. “The bees will see
there’s more to fill and
increase the colony.”
