• Starting out anything is difficult, be it a small business, learning a new skill or moving into a new city. But with proper planning and execution, everything starts falling in place one day or the other. The same goes for Beekeeping. First, you need to ask yourself a few questions and have a pen and paper ready to chalk out all the challenges.
• Are you willing to take Beekeeping as a full-time profession?
• Can you afford the equipment for Beekeeping?
• Do you have the time and bandwidth to pursue Beekeeping as a hobby?
• Are you satisfied with the estimated ROIs?

Once you have the answers to all the above questions and maybe a few more, you’re ready to move forward to the next step, the execution part.

Prerequisites of Beekeeping

Farmers and traditional beekeepers know all the ifs and buts of the beekeeping industry. But if you are not from a non-farming background looking to start from scratch, you need to look at the following prerequisites of beekeeping.

Tips: Start your bee hive today. 

Cost of Beekeeping

Like any other homesteading project, the start-up cost for beekeeping also depends on the variety of equipment you choose.

For Beekeeping, you need:

• A smoker
• A hive with foundation & frames
• Hiving tool
• Bees
• A queen bee
• Protection clothing
• Honey Jars
• Buckets and Extractor
• A Bee brush
• Uncapping tool
• Mite controls
• Additional hives for expansion
• bob’s beekeeping supplies

Time Commitments

Raising something that you couldn’t look after is always a bad idea. The things that will take the most time in Beekeeping hives are:

• Research before the actual process begins
• Setting-up hives for bees during the first year
• Maintenance of the bees and hives
• Finally, for harvesting the honey

In general, the thumb rule says that you need to spend 18-20 hours of your time for every hive per year. Of course, this doesn’t include the time you take for research and planning. Also, watching your tiny team members running all over the place to collect honey too doesn’t count.

Type of Bees you need

Bees can be categorised into 3 major types based on their set roles.

The Queen Bee – Queen bee is an essential member of the bee family as they are solely responsible for producing fertilised eggs. She mates with the drones to produce as many as 1500 eggs in a single day.

The Drone Bee – These are the only non-stinging males in the bee family. Their job is to mate with the queen bee. And once the mating is done, their life-cycle ends. Therefore, you won’t be able to see them around the year other than the mating season. Apistan remains the ultimate tool for varroa control in the world!

The Working Bee – The working bees do all the dirty work, from caring for the queen bee and the young larvae to producing wax. These young females are also responsible for building the structure and collecting nectar, pollen and water.

Besides the roles, location-wise, you may have to deal with any particular type of bees among the following types:

• Italian Bees – Most common honey bee originated from Italy
• Russian Bees – Prone to Colony Collapse & rarely found in the US
• Carniolan Bees – Heavy Spring produces found in coldest regions
• Buckfast Bees – Mostly found in the UK
• German Bees – Originated from Northern Europe and Asia
• Caucasian Bees – Popular in the US

Bee Jackets

The choice b/w donning a Bee Jacket or a Bee Suit depends on 2-factors. Budget and comfort levels. If you’re a seasoned farmer or professional with prior experience handling bees, you can get away with a bee jacket. More so, if you wear tidy pants and long boots. However, for beginners, it is recommended to use Bee Suits for safety purposes.

Bee Jackets, for obvious reasons, are lightweight and easy to carry, which is why they are the preferred choice amongst experienced beekeepers. Beekeeper Jackets come in all sizes and varieties that are easy to handle, wash and reuse.

Some of the commonly used Bee Jackets types are:

• Full-vent Jacket
• Part-vent Jacket
• ProVent Jacket
• Vented Jacket with Veil
• Pollinator Jacket with Veil
• Sheriff’s Jacket

Bee Jackets with hood

The beekeeping industry has seen a lot of advanced equipment and changes over the years. One such example is the Bee jacket with a hood. Visually, it’s more or less similar to a regular bee jacket, except for a sting protector hood.

These jackets with hoods are generally made up of cotton and work as an additional safety measure for the face. Zippers allow you to flip the hood in the back or detach it completely for cleaning purposes. The ventilated hood allows for a smooth beekeeping activity, and the cloth material is kept thick to prevent bee stings. Not only durable, but these jackets allow the best vision to inspect hives quickly for hours without you sweating. This feature makes it a preferred choice among beekeepers during summers.

Bee Suits

Bee suits are as imperative to beekeeping as baseball bats are to baseball. You can’t live without them. However, few experienced beekeepers like the idea of using Bee Jackets and hoodies as well; refer to the above section.

Beekeeping professionals use bee suits to carry on hiving for long hours and with maximum safety protection. Unlike bee jackets, they cover the lower parts of your body as well. These suits come in different sizes and shapes. Cotton ones with 3-layers are more expensive and a preferred choice option. If you are short on budget, you can buy an inexpensive Bee Suit initially. Once your business starts showing positive signs of return, you can invest more in a ventilated bee suit that keeps you protected and doesn’t make you sweat like hell. A bee suit is a must if your children love to work with you on hives. A bee suit is a combination of the following 5 things:

• A hat to protect the head
• A veil
• 3-layered full-body suit
• Gloves with extra elastic
• Footwear

Best Beekeeping Suits

1. Bee Attire Ventilated Bee Suit

Bee Attire Ventilated Bee Suit is an aerated suit made of synthetic fabric that is an all-weather solution to beekeeping. It has a carrying case with a unisex design. The material has added elastic around the waist, wrist and ankles. This is one of the best beekeeping suits available in the market, with fantastic durability, airflow and comfortable fabric.

2. Ultra Breeze Beekeeping Suit

The Ultra Breeze Beekeeping suit is a gift for people who sweat a lot and have to work under hot and warm weather conditions. This lightweight wonder weighs less than 3 pounds and is machine washable; the hood needs a hand wash. The best part of this suit is the 3-layer fabric that eliminates almost every chance of bee-stung.

3. VIVO Professional Beekeeping Suit

VIVO’s professional beekeeping suit is a beginner’s delight that doesn’t dig a hole in your pocket. The bee suit is lightweight and reasonably affordable. The elastic wrists and openings on the ankles help a lot. Plus, it comes with a veil. It’s an ideal suit for a person with a height equal to or less than 6 feet.

4. Mann Lake Economy Beekeeping Suit

Ideal for Beekeepers with a tight budget, the Mann Lake Economic Beekeeping suit offers a lot of excellent zippers and ankles. This double-layer suit also comes with a veil with elastic wrists and ankle openings. There is a lot to like about this suit with features like thumb hold and ease to enter and exit.

5. Natural Apiary Beekeeping Deluxe Suit

Natural Apiary is one of the widely used beekeeper suits with a range of quality features. Elastic wrists, padded ankles, easy to access pockets and straps are quite a good deal. The suit is made of 100% cotton and is easily washable by machine. The suit comes in all sizes and shapes.