Starting Beekeeping Equipment

One new hive with bees and basic equipment costs about $150. Hive parts are cut to standard dimensions that mimic the space bees naturally leave between their combs. Always reproduce these dimensions exactly if you make your own bee hives. You will need the following equipment.

	A.Hive outer cover - provides weather protection.
	B. Inner cover - prevents bees from attaching comb to outer cover and provides insulating dead air space.
	C. Shallow honey supers - shallow supers with frames of comb in which bees store surplus honey. This surplus is the honey that is harvested.
	D. Queen excluder - placed between the brood nest and the honey supers. This device keeps the queen in the brood nest, so brood will not occur in honey supers. An excluder is usually not necessary if two hive bodies are used.
	E. Hive body or brood chamber - large wooden box (called a "super") that holds 10 frames of comb. This space (the brood nest) is reserved for the bees to rear brood and store honey for their own use. Either one or two hive bodies can be used for a brood nest. Two hive bodies are common in cold winter regions. Beekeepers in areas with mild winters successfully use only one hive body.
	F. Bottom board - wooden stand on which the hive rests. Set bottom board on bricks or concrete blocks to keep it off the ground.
	G. Hive Stand - Supports the hive off the ground to keep hive bottom dry and insulates hive.

Frames and foundation - wooden frames [such as you see inside the boxes in the abpve hive illustration] that hold sheets of beeswax foundation that is imprinted with the shapes of hexagonal cells. Bees use the foundation to build straight combs (not shown).

Smoker - the most valuable tool for working bees. A smoker calms bees and reduces stinging. Pine straw, grass and burlap make good smoker fuel.

Hive tool - ideally shaped for prying apart supers and frames.

Veil and gloves - protect head and arms from stings. After they gain experience, many beekeepers prefer to work without gloves.

Feeders - hold sugar syrup that is fed to bees in early spring and in fall (not shown).

A Top Bar Hive

Also check our page on Top Bar Beehives for an alternative and less expensive method of beekeeping

Beekeeping for Dummies by Howland Blackiston
Buy new: $13.59 / Used from: $10.00
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Consult our Beekeeping Links Page for a list of Bee Equipment and Package Bees suppliers. Exterior wooden parts should at least be coated with good oil or latex paint. To maximize the life of exterior parts, first dip them in copper naphthenate wood preservative, then paint them. Assemble interior frames with wood glue and nails.