When I told my family I was getting bees, my sisters first response was “oh at least we know what to buy you for your birthday”, little did they know. I quickly realised that whilst I had a hive I was missing several key bits of equipment and spent hours searching various suppliers to make my ‘must-have’ list. A lot of this involved wondering what on earth the different frames, floors, covers and tools were. What size frames did I need?, did I need a super box?, what shaped hive tool was the best?, and Why on earth is there no equipment checklist for beginners!
I had realised beekeeping cannot be considered a cheap hobby and I’d been given the biggest part for free! I’d made my wish list and shared with my family who must have looked at this list and thought what on earth am I going to be buying. Several days later an enormous box arrived and my two dogs got extremely excited, normally boxes this big include their dog food, but they were going to be disappointed – this was a box for bees. Bees I didn’t even have yet……..
I completely lucked out with my family and as I opened the box I realised it contained my entire wish list. I think the item that caused the most giggles was the pig bristle brush, was I really going to brush bees?!?
With the contents of the box unpacked I just needed to wait for a clear sunny day to build all these flat packed bits. Being in the UK this could take a while!
I mentioned having a checklist of equipment so this is what I had before I got my bees:
- a national hive with a closed floor
- brood box with 10 frames
- glass cover board
- a metal topped roof
The bits that arrived in the box:
- open mesh floor to switch for the closed one
- queen excluder
- landing ramp
- super box
- pack of 10 brood frames
- pack of 10 super frames
- foundation for both
- a smoker
- hive tool
- small hammer for putting tiny nails into frames
- hanging stand to put frames on during the hive inspection
- and the pig bristle brush