The Guide to Beekeeping Equipment Names and Pictures

Like all hobbies, beekeeping requires some basic equipment before someone can establish a successful hive.

This equipment should be bought before you get a call from the post office asking you to come pick up bees.

The Most Important Beekeeping Equipment

1# Bee Hive

The most obvious piece of equipment you will need is the actual bee hive.

Your beehive should be have five supers. The supers are a very important part of the beehive because they are where the bees will be storing their honey. These five supers should be between the bottom of the hive and the hive cover.

These supers are very important because they are where the bees will be storing their honey and raising their offspring. Once you have an active hive each of these supers will contain nine to ten frames. You can choose if you want a hive with shallow supers or deep supers.

Advantages & Disadvantages of Deep Supers

The advantage of deep supers is that they enable beekeepers to buy only one size foundation.

The disadvantage is that, when full, a deep super can weigh one hundred pounds.

Once you have a hive for your bees make sure you place is somewhere that has a flat surface so that the hive wont tip over in a strong wind. Also make sure that you place it somewhere that humans and pets aren’t likely to disturb it.

2 # The Bee Queen Excluder

These queen excluders are the perfect addition to your beehive, especially if you want to make honey. Available in packs of 1, 6, and 12, in both 8-frame and 10-frame sizes.

Read more on Queen Excluder on?Ultime Quide to Queen Excluder: Use, Pros&Cons, How to Use and Top 5.

3# Beekeeping Spacer

A spacer is a piece of equipment beekeepers use to keep an equal amount of space between the frames while they are in the super.

4# Bee Smoker

Smoke Beekeeping - Remove the Bees from hiveThe next piece of equipment you will need is a smoker. The smoker is what you will use to encourage the bees to leave the hive when you are getting ready to harvest the honey.

The smoker is surprisingly simple in its design. The smoker consists of a funnel, a combustion chamber, and bellows.

Many beekeepers claim that old, clean burlap is the best material to use in the smoker because burlap is easy to ignite and smolders and smokes.

Other beekeepers prefer to use dried corn cobs. Once the fire has been lit in the combustion chamber the bellows will keep it going. The funnel directs the smoke into the hive, encouraging the bees to leave.

5# Metal Hive Tool for Beekeeping

Another tool you will need is a metal hive tool. The metal hive tool is used to pry open the hive, separate the hive bodies, and to scrape the frames clean. Think of it as the all purpose tool of beekeeping.

6# The Bee Brush

No beekeeper is ready to receive their shipment of bees until they have a bee brush.

A bee brush is used to gently brush bees out of the way so that the beekeeper can examine the frames.

7# Fumer Board

When it is time to harvest your honey, you will need a fumer board. A fumer board is a board that is covered in bee removing chemicals and is then used to encourage the bees to leave a super and let you take their honeycombs.

8#?Protection Jacket with Hat Veil

Bees tend to attack the face of mammalian intruders, thus, a jacket with a veil is an essential tool for beekeepers. Bees have CO2 receptors on their antennae, which allow them to detect our exhalations, and respond aggressively.

This ability developed to protect the hive against the threat of bears. Common folklore states that bees sense fear, but really they are sensing fear behavior. If one is nervous around bees, they may breathe more heavily, which can lead to stings. Many experienced beekeepers do not wear any gear, and have become so comfortable around their bees, they can behave calmly and not get stung.? ( source:?beebuilt )

9# Gloves for Hand Protection

Another fear-sensing behavior bees pick up on is shaky or fumbling hands. Confident, experienced beekeepers often do not wear them to maximize their maneuverabilit.

Beekeeping gloves are made of soft leather or other tough but flexible materials to protect against stings without jeopardizing comfort.?( source:?beebuilt )

If you don’t mind getting using used equipment you can find some great prices on beekeeping equipment online. There are several catalogs and websites that offer beekeeping equipment, and many of those offer beginners packages.