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GETTING STARTEDI do as little as possible, conspire to be lazy, and am always very occupied. My beekeeping is minimal but grand in its application. By not wiring in wax foundation any more, weeks of my life are freed up! And the bees are freed up! The less we do, the more the bees are empowered, the less danger they are in. Back in the day of rest before labor, no action or material was wasted. There wasn’t a lot to waste. We can be more in touch with where we live, who lives there, and what everyone is foraging on. It becomes easy to let go, and challenging in taking the next step. What you will need for your top bar hive: To live in the northeast, where you can pick up your bees in the Hudson Valley, NY, in the spring. I don’t ship anything at the moment, but will deliver. I relish in beeing a small time operation vocal in alternative methods. Location for your hives – Hive stand – I use cinder blocks often, though they are heavy. Double stacked (4) blocks provide good height to keep the hive out of the snow. The hive can soon weigh hundreds of pounds, so you certainly don’t want it to tip over. You will need a brick or rock or two to keep the lid on. Smoker / smudge – the most effective tool we have in working with bees is smoke, for when the bee hive tips over due to a bear or clumsy beekeeper. (I’ve seen all you could imagine and then some.) The over use of smoke can be detrimental, curtail foraging, make the queen run around. It can also calm the hives at their crankiest moments and avoid harsh feelings for all parties. A bee will be trying to sting me, I will send a puff of smoke her way and she will forget what she is doing and return to her hive and start chowing down on nectar. Veil – It's good to have one while you learn how to move around the bees. Though I never wear a veil, I have a full suit if I find bear damaged hives or am called about some “angry bees.” Visitors to your apiary might want to wear veils. It’s all fun and games till someone gets stung in the face. Feeder – I make one out of a plastic gallon jug cut in half with wood chips floating in the syrup/honey mix to keep the bees from drowning. Once a hive is established, it is not in my program to ever feed them. You can decide if and what you want to feed your bees. It’s all explained in detail when you get your hive. Epipen, benedryl – have them if you plan on showing your hive to others with possible allergies (assuming you yourself are not allergic like every one in 10,000 of us). YOU WILL GET STUNG. Eventually. Maybe a lot. The first lesson learned is to not drop the frame or box when you get stung. You will need to overcome your apprehensions with it. The bees accept us as we accept them. You certainly can avoid the stings, though you are missing out on one of the exhilarating aspects of knowing bees. If you are never stung, the honey won’t taste as sweet. The medicinal benefits of bee venom are well documented, though generally shushed by a giant chemical medicine industry. They don’t want us to know we can heal ourselves without them. I recommend bee stings (accidental or premeditated) at least once a week.
You will need to pick up your hive here in the Hudson Valley. We don’t ship anything, as you can likely find it close to you! Bees can only be moved at night or if they are sealed in tightly before first light. Twilight is the best time to pick up your bees. Hives can be picked up by appointment in Germantown, Red Hook, or Milan, NY. A top bar hive is available already in its full size box (best moved with two people) or in a light weight travel box – you can transfer to the full size hive box sometime that week and return the travel box to me. Ask about delivery options. Available in May through the summer. I strongly recommend that you start with two hives for juxtaposition and to provide options if problems arise. Top bar hive comb is more fragile than framed comb. There are support sticks under the combs that you will remove when you make your first inspection. Make it as gentle and easy a ride as possible, though I’ve driven top bar hives from New York to Florida several times with minimal collapse. How will you know what to do with your bees? Look at the Anarchy Apiaries Almanac. Read all the stuff on the web and in the books and magazines. Then you have to make your own decisions, because there are as many (more) ways of keeping bees than there are beekeepers. You decide if you want to treat them or feed them or let them swarm. The bees' best friend is Bee Doctor Chris Harp, from honeybeelives.org. Chris makes house calls and saves a lot of little lives. You decide how much time the bees take up in your life. I forfeited a long time ago! PRICE LIST I AM TAKING A 25% DOWN PAYMENT for all top bar hives, Langstroth nucs, and queen orders larger than 6 queens. This reserves your bees for pick up within the first two weeks of May. Top Bar Hives I am charging what it takes for me to provide you bees. Nothing more, nothing less. Can’t do it for free at the moment, though equal trade is a fantastic option. After experimenting with various volumes, I decided on 20” bars (which create the top, which is protected with treated masonite), sides and bottoms of the box are made from rough cut 1” by 10”s. The sides slope at 120 degrees. This design accommodates a Langstroth frame, after removing the end bars and bottom bar and trimming down the comb. The hive can be given an extra square box (“super”) in the back by removing a bar for bee passage. In getting a top bar hive you are joining me in an endeavor towards insect, land, and human species stewardship. It is a network of health, cooperation, and peace. I do not guarantee that the hives will survive if not treated for varroa mites, tracheal mites, nosema cerana and nosema apis, Israeli acute paralysis, Kashmir virus, black queen cell virus, or American foul brood, sac brood, chalk brood, European foul brood TOP BAR HIVE with Bees - $200 – Everything you need for the hive. 3’ hive box, cover, 27 top bars (20” length) provided (5 bars started with brood, bees, and a northern adapted queen), four divider boards (2 extra for future splitting), Anarchy Apiaries Almanac/Top Bar Beekeeping Handbook. You supply a stand that will (hopefully) keep the hive out of the snow. Note that our hives are minimally constructed to make them affordable. No beveled edges or fancy windows. We are doing this to help new beekeepers get started as simply and affordably as possible, and you are encouraged to use our plans and build your own hives. I cannot nearly supply the demand for bees. In a good year, a hive started in May and well fed with nectar or syrup will provide surplus honey in the fall. 5 bars of bees, brood, and a northern queen transferred to your box – please note dimensions - $150 LANGSTROTH NUCS – 5 frame Small/Natural Cell Nuc, brood and queen, in a cardboard nuc or your box- $120 Contact me about purchasing more established hives. I have unassembled frames and clean second-hand boxes available. QUEEN BEES - $20 – See QUEEN BEES section about available genetics. Usually for pickup only. Keep posted for info if I start shipping queens. ANARCHY RAW HONEY – 1 lb. - $8 2.5 lb. - $16 Comb honey square - $10 HELPFUL LINKS What if something happens? In all aspects with the bees, think about slowing down. Things happen. Give me and other beekeepers a call. Winnie the Pooh said it best: “You never know with bees.” No one place or person can or should answer all the questions. Check in with my friends here: http://Beesource.com And check out other info: Recommended reading The One Straw Revolution by Masanobu Fukuoka
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ample forage throughout the warm season. Something in this order, the bees of the Hudson Valley see pollen and nectar from willow, oak, maple, dandelion, buttercup, vetch, trefoil, locust, basswood, clover, milkweed, sumac, knapweed, purple loosestrife, daisies, goldenrod, Japanese knotweed, asters… The bees will forage for maybe 6 miles in any direction to get it (though mostly within one to two miles), so your little front lawn isn’t going to hold their interest for long. Bees in the suburbs do well as everyone irrigates their clover. Beekeeping in the cities, though it is done, should be executed with caution to be sure the bees are finding enough nourishment. You will get to know your area and know the ups and down of the honey flow. There should be safe water available close by. Put your hive in full sun if possible, with at southeastern exposure. Shelter from the wind is very beneficial. The bees like their brood nest always at 92 degrees. 
