This section is from the book "How To Keep Bees And Sell Honey", by Walter T. Kelley. Also available from Amazon: How To Keep Bees And Sell Honey.
The easiest way to start with bees is to buy one or two hives from a nearby beekeeper and have them moved to a desired location and to have him show you how to manipulate them. This, however, is seldom practical because few beekeepers desire or know how to move bees. Then, too, bees must be moved half a mile or more as many of the field workers will return to the old location and cause trouble and loss.
There is always the question of the value of used equipment because much equipment is assembled improperly and the combs are of little value unless they are straight worker comb. If the bees are cross bred they are liable to be mean and if the queen is old or crippled the colony may deteriorate in strength very rapidly.
Buying used bee equipment and colonies of bees is similar to horse trading. You have to know your business or you can get trimmed badly. It is the inside contents of the hives that count more than the outside appearance. Never buy a colony of bees without the State Bee Inspector's health certificate unless you are an expert beekeeper and can readily recognize disease and then do not buy any bees without a thorough examination of all the colonies plus inspecting those of any nearby neighbor's bees if possible due to the hazard of disease.
The beginner will find it advisable to buy a beginners outfit so as to acquaint himself with the various items used in beekeeping.
For the average individual wishing to start with bees the best thing to do is to buy a beginners outfit as listed in nearly all the bee supply catalogues. This outfit will contain all necessary equipment to start and to operate one hive, including the bees which will be shipped by parcel post when your hive has been nailed and painted. After you have assembled the one hive you will understand the terms and catalogue descriptions and will then be able to order your supers and other equipment with some knowledge of your needs.
It is no longer practical to list in the catalogue nailed and painted bee hives due to the high labor costs and the high transportation charges on assembled equipment and so all wooden equipment is listed KD (knocked down). Bee hives are made with precision equipment and all the parts fit together like a glove; no fitting of any kind is required with a saw or plane and the wood is so soft that there is no difficulty in nailing.
Complete drawings and instructions and the special sized nails required are supplied with each package. These instructions are so simple and complete that a school boy of 12 years can easily follow the instructions correctly.
In addition to the equipment supplied in the beginners outfit considerable additional equipment will eventually be required for this one hive; the amount and time that this equipment will be needed depending on the care and attention given the bees and the volume of the local honey flow.
When the bees have completed their work in the brood nest they may be ready for a super, provided that there is a honey flow on at the time. In this the beekeeper will have to use his judgment or that of a neighbor. To put a super on too early is poor as the bees must keep the inside of the hive warm (97 degrees is the incubation temperature). If the temperature drops much below this the bees will contract their cluster and the brood that is left outside the cluster will be chilled and will die. Then this dead brood must be carried out of the hive by the bees.
On the other hand if a super is not added in time considerable honey may be lost and if the crowding continues the bees may swarm.
The beginner will find new words, combinations, items and phrases in beekeeping that will be confusing so just a little explanation may be a big help.
COMPLETE HIVES are normally listed singly and in lots of five because the parts pack to advantage in this manner. All of the parts that make up complete hives are also sold separately so that the buyer can purchase any combination that he may need.
The HIVE BODY is normally 9-9/16" deep and when placed on the bottom board is known as the brood nest in which the young bees are reared.
Large beekeepers producing only extracted honey build their colonies up several stories high using only the 9-9/16" hive bodies. A few beekeepers use shallow supers exclusively for the brood nest and honey storage.
BROOD NEST is where the bees rear their brood. It may consist of one, two or more 9-9/16" depth hive bodies.
A SUPER is a section of a hive used for storing surplus honey; however, normally speaking, any additional box placed on top of the first brood nest is termed a super even though it may be another 9-9/16" hive body and even if used as part of the brood nest. Therefore, the term super applies to a shallow or a section super or a hive body when and if placed above the brood nest.
HOFFMAN FRAMES are 9 1/8" deep with the heavy (25/32" thick) top bars that have the wedge cut out for nailing in the foundation.
SHALLOW EXTRACTING or GROOVED TOP BAR FRAMES have the thin (3/8" thick) top bars with only a shallow groove into which the foundation must be held in place by pouring hot wax into the groove. This style frame is popular only with the larger beekeepers.
HOFFMAN TOP BAR SHALLOW EXTRACTING FRAMES are standard shallow frames but have the regular Hoffman style heavy top bar with the wedge for nailing in foundation.
QUEEN EXCLUDERS are wire screens through which the queen and drones cannot pass and are used above the brood nest to prevent the queen from laying in the edible honey stored above.
AMERICAN FOUL BROOD (A. F. B. ) is a disease that is controlled by feeding sulfa drug to the bees.
The rear leg of a bee with a ball of pollen. Two such loads are carried by each pollen collector.
 
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