It may look like a million bees when you open the hive! A puff of smoke will send them all down, out of your way!
The Liberty 4-H beekeepers did very well at the Sonoma County Fair in 2005.
Keep track of each colony. Make notes on where you got it and how strong it was at first. Numbering each hive makes keeping records on the colonies easier. When you check them, write the date, how much brood you saw, how much honey you took if there was a honey harvest, any problems should be noted and taken care of right away. Possible problems could be mites, lack of honey stores, lack of brood indicating a weak queen or colony getting ready to swarm. If it is the latter, you will see queen cells formed along the lower edge of the brood frames. Get ready to catch that swarm!
Keep track of all your expenses. Sort the expenses by two categories. The first is what we call capital outlay. That means things you buy that will last for years. This would include all your hive boxes,frames, tools, bee suit, queens and bees. The other expenses are consumable items such as jars, labels and entry fees for fairs.
Also keep track of your time in working on this project.
Keep track of your income. This would include all the honey or other hive products such as wax you sell, any money paid you for catching swarms or selling queens or colonies. You can also include prize money you win for your delicious honey, extracting frames or beautiful wax.
At the 2005 Sonoma-Marin Fair four of the members entered honey and three won first and one won a second prize. At the 2006 Harvest Fair Jessie won a blue ribbon for her bees wax.
