I like to start keeping bees in spring 2022…

[WannaBeHillBilly]

Bee Brush - Some beekeepers use a goose feather or a duck wing. It's not a tool you'll reach for much but its handy to have. Soft bristles are better and you dont want to brush the bees, you want to flick them out of the way with the brush. Slow brushing will give you angry bees.

That hint may has prevented me from making my future bees really angry! Thank you very much!

 

[R2elk]

Just read all of this again and stumbled over this from @R2elk :

What do you mean with buying the bees now? - I want to start in spring. Not now.
Looked around on some web-sites and companies like for example RuralKing or TSC don't sell live bees at the moment. But i got a CraigsList hit for 5-frame nucs, Saskatraz $225 Italian/VSH $200, https://charlestonwv.craigslist.org/grd/d/salters-frame-deep-nucs/7424056771.html
But i'd like to start with a bee-box instead of a NUC, assuming that it is easier to transfer the bees into their new home. (?)
What is actually better for beginners like me: Buying a NUC or packaged bees?

You order the bees now and receive them in the spring. Used to be that if you didn't have bees ordered by the end of December, you were out of luck. Now there are quite a few places that don't start taking orders until January.

I get package bees. Many prefer getting nucs. I believe that with the nucs that you simply transfer the frames to the hive. A nuc should give a better start than package bees since they will already have some drawn comb and some eggs laid.

https://www.keepingbackyardbees.com/packages-nucs-better-start/

A nuc will typically cost more than package bees.

Of course if you live in an area where bees abound, you can always try to capture a swarm.

 

[Field Bee]

What do you mean with buying the bees now? - I want to start in spring. Not now.
Looked around on some web-sites and companies like for example RuralKing or TSC don't sell live bees at the moment. But i got a CraigsList hit for 5-frame nucs, Saskatraz $225 Italian/VSH $200, https://charlestonwv.craigslist.org/grd/d/salters-frame-deep-nucs/7424056771.html
But i'd like to start with a bee-box instead of a NUC, assuming that it is easier to transfer the bees into their new home. (?)
What is actually better for beginners like me: Buing a NUC or packaged bees?

The reason for ordering now is because bees sell out so fast. You'll be given a pickup or delivery date for the nuc or package in the spring. If you wait until March to order, you'll end up with a late pickup date or no bees at all. For 7 bucks join the West Virginia Beekeepers Association, they can lead you to reliable sources for bees. Nucleus colonies or packages are both very good for beginners. Get one of each and compare, you will be that much more experienced at the end of your first year. Don't get to wrapped up in the type of bees as most queens in packages and spring nucs are mass produced budget queens. The exception would be overwintered nucs that have a proven queen but can be expensive and she's a year old already. I can give you the very basic pros and cons of each.

Nucleus colony pros/cons: Pros: Accepted laying queen with drawn comb eggs/brood, honey, and pollen. Can check brood pattern. They will build up faster and are more likely to produce honey the first year. Very easy to install. Cons: More expensive. Could come with pests and diseases.

Package pros/cons: Pros: Less likely to have pests and diseases. Very easy and cheap to treat them for mites before they have first round of capped brood. A little more involved install but still easy. Cheaper. Cons: Queen may not be mated well. Unlikely to produce honey the first year. Bees will need to draw comb and be fed longer.

 

[WannaBeHillBilly]

OK, i am in contact with a local beekeeper who is selling NUCs and seems to be a nice guy too.
He is selling Saskatraz and Italian bee nucs, five frames deep for $225 or 200.
I have read that Italian bees are pretty tame and produce plenty of honey but susceptible to cold winters and parasites. On the other hand Saskatraz bees are more resistant but also more aggressive…

Any thoughts? - Saskatraz bees are kind of a new(er) kid on the block, would they be worth an extra $25?

 

[Field Bee]

OK, i am in contact with a local beekeeper who is selling NUCs and seems to be a nice guy too.
He is selling Saskatraz and Italian bee nucs, five frames deep for $225 or 200.
I have read that Italian bees are pretty tame and produce plenty of honey but susceptible to cold winters and parasites. On the other hand Saskatraz bees are more resistant but also more aggressive…

Any thoughts? - Saskatraz bees are kind of a new(er) kid on the block, would they be worth an extra $25?

The Saskatraz progam was started in 2004 by Albert Robertson who crossed Canadian survivor stock with queens from the USDA Baton Rouge Russian Queen Breeding Program. They send breeder queens out to be grafted and open mated at apiaries like Olivarez Honey Bees in California, so you're getting a queen with some Saskatraz lineage. The reviews are mixed. Ive never had them, but I do like Russian queens. Italian bees are great, thats why most of the large apiaries keep them. They are very productive. All mass produced queens and bees are hit or miss on quality and defensiveness unless you raise queens yourself or get them from a local beekeeper who raises them. For a first time beekeeper I would say go with the Italians, you'll love them. You can always requeen later.

 

[R2elk]

OK, i am in contact with a local beekeeper who is selling NUCs and seems to be a nice guy too.
He is selling Saskatraz and Italian bee nucs, five frames deep for $225 or 200.
I have read that Italian bees are pretty tame and produce plenty of honey but susceptible to cold winters and parasites. On the other hand Saskatraz bees are more resistant but also more aggressive…

Any thoughts? - Saskatraz bees are kind of a new(er) kid on the block, would they be worth an extra $25?

The Saskatraz that I got these past two spring were not worth having. I will not be trying Saskatraz again. I have a hive of Italians that are still doing great. The Italian hive produced 90% of the 100 lbs.+ of honey that I produced this year.

 

[ullbergm]

Echoing what others have said, but the very best thing you can do is to find you a local bee club and get involved. Our bee club has a club apiary that we do work days in every weekend during the season, that is invaluable for beginners.

Find a map tool online that covers radius and drop a point for a 2-mile radius where you're going to put the hives and you will get a pretty good idea the area they will cover.

One neat tool I have used is https://nassgeodata.gmu.edu/CropScape/
You can find out what is being grown in your local area, and how frequently you have things like soybeans or cotton.

Using some other online mapping tools you can figure out what a 2, 3, 5-mile radius, etc. is from your location and then you can mark that on the crop data layers (see link above) and it will tell you what is being grown in your area over the years.

 

[WannaBeHillBilly]

The Saskatraz progam was started in 2004 by Albert Robertson who crossed Canadian survivor stock with queens from the USDA Baton Rouge Russian Queen Breeding Program. They send breeder queens out to be grafted and open mated at apiaries like Olivarez Honey Bees in California, so you're getting a queen with some Saskatraz lineage. The reviews are mixed. Ive never had them, but I do like Russian queens. Italian bees are great, thats why most of the large apiaries keep them. They are very productive. All mass produced queens and bees are hit or miss on quality and defensiveness unless you raise queens yourself or get them from a local beekeeper who raises them. For a first time beekeeper I would say go with the Italians, you'll love them. You can always requeen later.

Well the guy i talked with is a local bee-keeper who likes bee-keeping, has bees for over 30 years and is a retired coal-worker. He sells honey and creates nucs to add some additional money for pension, so definitely not a commercial operation. He also recommended the Italian bees to me - even though they are a bit cheaper…

 

[WannaBeHillBilly]

The Saskatraz that I got these past two spring were not worth having. I will not be trying Saskatraz again. I have a hive of Italians that are still doing great. The Italian hive produced 90% of the 100 lbs.+ of honey that I produced this year.

Thank you very much! Italian bees it will then! - Larry (the local beekeeper) also said i should go with the Italians, even though he makes a little less money with them.

 

[CLSranch]

Glad we could help. Even if I didn't.