SoCal Beekeeping
Beginning Beekeeping
Getting Your First Hive
P. Michael Henderson
October 24, 2020
There are two ways to get your first hive - either capture a wild swarm, or buy a box of bees (including a queen) from a commercial seller. The process of obtaining the bees and hiving them is very different for the two approaches. I just can't address both approaches here so I'm going to concentrate on obtaining a hive by capturing a wild swarm - or doing a cutout of an existing feral hive.
The most reliable approach is to do a cutout of an existing feral hive. The term "cutout" means that there's an existing, settled hive of bees in some cavity and you remove the bees and the comb that they've built in that cavity. Bees will settle in almost any cavity. I've picked up bees that settled in one of those cable TV boxes you see in the ground. I've picked up bees that were in the wall of a shed in someone's back yard - and one that was under the floor of a shed.
It's called a "cutout" because you often have to cut an opening to gain access to the hive. There are lots of bees in the wild so when someone asks you to remove a hive from the wall of a house, turn them down. Let the pros do that one. Not because of the bees but because of the problem of opening up the wall of a house and then repairing it afterwards. It's too much work and liability for just a hive.
The easiest are the ones in the cable TV boxes in the ground. It's easy to remove the top of the box and there's no dangerous voltage in the box.
So why is a cutout the most reliable way of obtaining a hive? Because they've already set up housekeeping and all you have to do is move them to your hive. With a swarm, the bees have not decided yet where they want to live so you have to convince them to set up housekeeping in your hive. Also, when you move a hive (do a cutout) you're going to take their comb and put it in your hive. The bees will have brood and honey in that comb so they have a running start. A swarm is starting from nothing and has to make comb before they can begin to raise brood and store honey. The hive from a cutout gets going faster.
Get Prepared
Before you can pick up a wild hive you need to have all your equipment and your hive ready. The minimum is (1) a stand with a way to keep ants out of the hive, (2) a bottom board, (3) a brood box with 10 frames, and (4) a top. Plus a bee suit, a smoker and at least one hive tool.
If you're going to do a cutout it's good to have a few empty frames to put the hives comb in - I'll discuss that later. The other frames should have foundation in them. If you're picking up a swarm, you can use 10 frames with foundation.
And where are you going to put your hive? While the bees can be docile that doesn't mean you want them close to where you walk every day. If you have a fairly high "solid" fence around your property you might want to put the hive close to the fence, with the entrance facing the fence, and away from where people and animals will go. The fence forces the bees to fly upward to get over the fence and that keeps you and your neighbors out of their flight path. Even better is if you have some high shrubs between the hive and the rest of your property. When leaving the hive, the bees will fly upward no matter which way they're going.
Bees don't react well to gasoline lawn mowers (maybe it's the smell, maybe the sound) so I'd put the hive in a plant bed so you don't have to cut grass close around the hive. You'll have to trim any weeds around the hive, and any shrubs, so that nothing touches the hive. Ants will use those paths to get into the hive.
Adjust the footing so that the hive tilts just a small amount forward so that rain does not run into the hive through the entrance. Put oil in the container(s) on the leg(s) to keep ants out. DO NOT have a landscape light near the hive. A large number of bees will congregate near the light and die overnight - every night.
Here's how I position the hives on my property. I have the hives more-or-less at the back corner of my property. Right now, I have four hives and that's all I want. The picture is a bit wide angle.
Around the hives I have some hedge type shrubs that force the bees to fly upward when they leave the hive. When they return to the hive they come in high and come down to the hive. As long as the hives are "docile" I do not have bees bothering us in the back yard.
When To Get Your Hive
The best time to get a hive is in the spring when the flowers are blooming and there's lots of forage for the bees.
However, if you plan to pick up a swarm, you have to wait until there's a swarm to pick up. The existing hives will start building up their population in the spring and when there are more nurse bees (new hatchings) than are required to cover the brood, and there's a decent amount of honey in the hive, the hive will swarm. It may take a bit of time to fulfill those requirements so the hive may not swarm until later in the spring.
Here in southern California, the bees seem to swarm from spring to late summer. I'd recommend against capturing a swarm after late August for a couple of reasons. (1) Someone may have had a hive of European bees and didn't treat for varroa mites. When the bees become overwhelmed by the varroa mites the hive will abscond as a swarm. If you pick up that swarm and nurse them through the winter, they will become infected with varroa again and, if you don't treat for the varroa, they will abscond again. (2) After late August there's less forage for the bees so if you pick up a late swarm, you'll have to feed them to get them through the winter. Otherwise, they may not make it through the winter, especially if we have some really cold weather. The bees use a lot of honey/nectar to keep the hive warm and they may not have time to lay in a store of food before cold weather hits. In colder climates a late swarm is hopeless.
Picking up a Swarm or Doing a Cutout
More to come