Interactive lesson

Apiary, step by step

Interactive lesson: check for allergy, choose the site, protect the neighbours, judge the forage, get the equipment and healthy bees.

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This lesson is general guidance, not professional training. Local regulations and expert advice always take precedence. Read our disclaimer.

The whole lesson as text

1. Before the first hive

Beekeeping is easy to start and hard to do well without knowledge.

Check for allergy — Has anyone in the house ever had a strong reaction to a bee or wasp sting? If so, see a doctor first, bees second.
Do you have the time — In the season (April–August) there is an inspection every 7–9 days. In swarming season you can't miss two weeks in a row.
A season with a mentor — The best start is one season alongside an experienced beekeeper. A first year with a mentor saves colonies.
At least two hives — One colony can lose its queen or weaken. With two you have something to compare and somewhere to take a frame of young brood from.

Why: A sting can be life-threatening for someone with an allergy, and you can't shut bees in. So first check your family, your time and the people who will help you.

Join your local beekeeping association (the BBKA in the UK, FIBKA or the IBA in Ireland, a county or state association in North America): courses, shared equipment and help with a swarm in May.
Two hives with colonies and the basic kit cost roughly £900–1,300 ($1,100–1,600).

2. The apiary site

Bees want morning sun, shelter from wind, dry ground and water nearby.

Entrances to the south — Turn the entrances south or south-east: morning sun gets the bees out to forage early. In summer they need midday shade, e.g. a deciduous tree.
Shelter from wind — A hedge, wall or woodland to the north shelters them from cold and prevailing winds. A hilltop open to cold wind is no good.
Dry, not a valley — Choose dry, free-draining ground with a gentle slope. A valley bottom, a frost pocket or damp ground by a stream are bad.
Stands and spacing — A stand 40–50 cm (16–20 in) high keeps the floor away from damp and ants. Hives 0.5–1 m apart, different colours on the front, and at least 2 m behind them to work.

Why: Give them that and colonies are stronger, calmer and less often sick. The wrong site means weak colonies and more stings.

Don't put hives under power lines, next to a substation, under a gutter or in a hollow where water collects.
In bear country (much of the US and Canada) you need an electric fence or a locked bee house. In the UK and Ireland, guard against badgers and green woodpeckers with a solid stand and wire netting in winter.