Whether you want it to be a hobby or a part-time business venture, maintaining honey bee hives requires a certain amount of basic beekeeping equipment to get off the ground.

When you first begin, you will want to think about the number of colonies to start out with. Let’s take a look at what bee equipment you do need to begin your hobby or business with the least amount of monetary output.

Obviously, the first pieces of equipment you will need are the actual honey bee hives. Your beehives should have five hive bodies or hive supers. Hive supers are a very important part of the hive because this is where the bees will be storing the honey.

These five supers should be located between the bottom of the hive and the hive cover and are important because they are not only where the bees will store the honey, but that is also where they will raise their offspring.

Purchasing from a bee supply, you will have an active hive, each super will contain nine or ten frames. Whether you choose hives with shallow supers or deep supers is up to you. The advantage of deep supers is that beekeepers only have to buy one size of foundation.

Alternatively, the disadvantage is that when full, a deep super can weigh in excess of one hundred pounds. Once you have your hives for keeping bees, make sure you place them on a flat surface so that the hives won’t tip over in a powerful wind.

Another thing to consider about placement is to be sure you put them where humans or animals aren’t likely to cause a disturbance.

The next piece of essential honey bee hives equipment is a smoker. A smoker is what is used to encourage the bees to leave the hives when you are getting ready to perform maintenance or when you are ready to harvest the honey.

A smoker is surprisingly simple in its design and consists of a funnel, a combustion chamber and bellows. Many beekeepers claim that old, clean burlap is the best material to use for the smoker because burlap is easy to ignite and actually smolders and smokes.

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

Another tool to add to your beekeeping equipment arsenal is called a metal hive tool. The metal hive tool is used to pry open the hives, separate the hive supers and to scrape the frames clean. It’s probably best if you buy your beekeeping equipment from your local apiary store.

If a bee happens to get under your clothing, then try to squeeze it into the fabric or walk away from the hives and open your clothing to let the bee escape. Do not use any sweet smelling cologne, hair spray or any other products before handling bees.

The odor can irritate or attract bees; neither of which you want. When considering other beekeeping equipment, remember that gloves should be used only during bad weather or when moving the colony, since they can hinder how you manipulate the colony.

You may find that the bees respond better to a lighter touch, without the interference of gloves.