Bee Apiarist- Day One (1)...Where do we begin?

-Written 5/14/2021

​​So you have decided to take the plunge and try your hand at Bee Keeping. 

   Doing a little bit of research will return many types of Bee Hive styles and options as well as methods for keeping your bees.
 
  Fixed Comb Hive, Top Bar Hives, Moveable Frame Hives, Vertical and Horizontal Layouts.
  
  There are Also different Types of Frames that go in the Hives.

​ Langstroth, Layen or any number of other Frame Sizes and Types.

​              It can all be a little overwhelming.

But you can relax for I will share with you the following concepts and information that will help you determine your setup needs.

First I thought about the Environment my Bees would be in.

​Hardiness Zone Map
 In Ohio, Hardiness Zone is 6a and our winters for the bees can be extended by an Early spring Dearth.(shortage of the nextar-producing flowers)

Bees in Ohio must be able to Over winter for 6+ months.

   So, in order for me to Keep my Bees healthy and Happy. I must provide them with a Home that can protect the Colony through Winters. (Avg 40 Degs, as low as Record Low of -20 Degs)


   Over-wintering a Bee Colony is one of the Biggest Challenges Modern Bee-Keepers face.

   I Personally Believe this is do to choosing the Wrong Bee keeping Setups for your Local Environment and I'm going to Show and Explain Why.

    I decided to Go with an Insulated Horizontal Hive that uses Layen Frames.

To Understand why I chose a Layens Horizontal Hive Over the more common Vertical Langstroth, will require a comparison between the Two Setups.

      In America, it is common to see Langstroth Vertical Hives, Similar to this image.

    Langstroth Frames Look Like This.

    Now let us compare this to a Layens Horizontal Hive.

    And Here is a Layens Frame.

  The Significance between these Frames for a successful over-wintering of a colony may not seem apparent yet.

    Lets discuss for a moment how Bees Over-Winter.

   When a Bee Colony goes into a Winter Hibernation the Bees will enter there Comb in a Cluster pattern to Maintain Body Temperatures.

     This pattern naturally has Open Comb Cells on the Bottom for Bee Cluster and Honey Banded Across the Top for Winter Food Supply.

While the Bees are Clustered, they will travel slowly in the comb moving upward, eating the honey stored just above the cluster on the frame. The Bees will essentially live on this frame for the entire winter and only have access to resources that are on a single frame. (If  there is not enough Honey Stored on the Frame for the Amount of bees Clustered on it, the Bees may Starve to Death)

   This tells us that the depth of the Frame is vital to a Colony's ability to Over-Winter succesfully.

  If we use a Langstroth Frame that is Only 9 inches in Depth.

  You will find that the Bees do not have enough room to naturally cluster for winter. There is not enough room for the Honey and the Cluster together.

  They will either have the Comb Full of Honey and be unable to Cluster inside it for Heat.

Here is a Langstroth Frame that would not Allow Clustering for Winter. (Full of Honey, No Open Cells)

                                         OR
They will have bees clustered in the comb but not enough room left for honey stored above it, causing them to run out and starve through winter.

  Great! We now Know that a Layens Frame is what my climate requires for over-wintering.

---

  Ok, what about Vertical Vs Horizontal Setups?

    When we look at Vertical Vs Horizontal we compare a few factors.
    
    1.) Labor Required to Access Frames.
    2.) Weather Protection of Hive
    3.) Internal Heating Efficiency

     ------------------Let us Check Vertical Setup---------------

 1.) Heavy Labor Required to Access Lower Chambers.

   2.) Standard Langstroths Only have 3/4" thick Walls. (This is only acceptable for Warm Climates)

    3.) Heating in a Vertical Layout will Often Result in Heat Zones, Hot Air trapped at the Top and Cold at the Bottom, another negative for Winter Climates.

    --------Let Us Now Compare a Horizontal Layout-------
1.) Horizontal Hives give access to All Frames at once without any heavy lifting. 

2.) Standard Layens Horizontal Hive has 1-1/2" thick walls, ideal for successful overwintering and rapid spring growth even in very cold climates.
​
3.) Heating in a Horizontal Layout is more even across the Hive as the frames are all on the same level.

   Great! Now we are Set on the Layens Horizontal Hive for our Housing for the Bees.

   Now I need to actually get the Bees, but should I buy them? or Should I Catch them?

                    ------------BUYING BEEs--------
   If we Buy the Bees that are NOT Local, then the Bees will only be able to deal with similar climates to what they came from. 

   Buying Italian Southern Bees and bringing them to Ohio may yield a lot of honey in the first year but many bees die in winter, possibly all of them, and this will require another purchase of  bees possibly every year and that is not sustainable.

               ----Catching Swarms of Bees----
    (Free Instructions for Swarm Traps found at HorizontalHive.com)
    (Purchase 20 Frame Hive Boxes click this text)

    If we decide to have patience and Bait our Honey Bees, we will get access to the Local Bee Genetics. 

     Local Bees are going to have the Strongest Resistance to Pests and Climate Acclimation. These are the Genetics we want to have in our Apiary.

    We are going to Catch a Local Swarm of Bees....
    ------To Be Continued.------- 

-Author: Steven M.
"I have no affiliation with any producers of Honey or Bee Keeping Equipment, this is a personal Blog of my Experiences as a New Apiarist."