A Home a Bee Would Love

Last Sunday was my last beekeeping class.  Four weeks sure went by quickly.  Class has been really interesting and I learned a lot about taking care of bees.  The next step for us is to put all this knowledge into actual beekeeping!

They saved the best for last.  Norm showed us how to put together / build the Langstroth hive boxes. Here he is showing us how to glue together the sides of the "deep" hive box.  The boards have a dove-tail edge which are glued together.

Once glued, you have to make sure all the angles are squared, and then each side gets nailed.

36 nails go into the entire box.

After the box is built, Norm showed us how to put together the frames.  10 frames go into one deep box.

When the edges of the frame is put together, a wax foundation is inserted into the frame.  I just noticed that in this photo, most of us students were taking photos with our cellphones.  Ahhh technology! hahaha  :) We were all so mesmerized by the building process.

This is a closeup of one of the frames.

After Norm showed us how to make one, he let us students make some too. 

This was a great introductory class, I think all of the students would agree that we learned a lot about the life of the honeybee. After the class was over, I ended up speaking to two of my fellow students and we decided to share a beehive together.  Since we are all newbies, it would be a great team learning experience.  And we can share in the responsibilities of hive checks and honey harvesting.  If you are in NYC, you should contact the New York Beekeeper's Association if you are interested in signing up for future classes.