Buying an Existing Hive
Many beekeepers often consider buying an existing hive? What should they be looking for?
It is very tempting to buy an existing hive of bees. Often bee hives can be found for sale. New beekeepers often fall victim to the desire to have a hive of bees and will pay dearly for them. A used hive should cost no more than a new hive with established bees. Many bee suppliers sell new equipment with a package of bees installed in the hive. The decision on the part of the buyer is to determine if one is getting a bargain or not! Remember "Buyer Beware." Consider the tips below if you are about to buy an established hive. Check the photos to the left: This is what a good used hive of bees should look like. However, looking at a hive without examination of frames will not answer the question: "Does this hive have a major disease?"
The major advantage is that you do not need to do much. The major disadvantage is you could be buying someone else's problems.
Things to consider:
-
The hive will have to be moved to your location. Who is going to move the hive? If it is your job, you will need some means to pick it up, to transport it, and a method to prevent the bees from getting out of the hive.
-
Check for disease. You should also make sure the bees and equipment are free of American Foulbrood. The easy way to do this is to have the hive inspected by a state or county bee inspector. All hives sold in Ohio must have an inspection certificate of sale.
-
Check for condition of queen and bees. If you wait until spring to purchase a hive of bees, you have the advantage of being able to examine the brood nest. Is the queen laying a good brood pattern? Is there a good population of bees? Do the bees have enough honey stores to carry them through a period of draught? If you can not answer these questions, find someone to take along who can answer them.
-
Condition of the hive. Usually the hive will not be made of new boxes or frames. Frames that contain comb which is very dark and black are old. Older frames will often have damage from mice at one time, and the bees fill in the area of the comb eaten away by the mice with drone cells. Frames like this will need to be replaced. Boxes, lids, and bottom boards may also need to be replaced before long. Wood that is not protected by a good coat of paint will rot in time. This happens to the bottom board first because it comes into contact with the ground or the blocks it rests on.
-
How do you decide what a hive is worth? First, price out the cost of a new hive. An established hive can usually be bought for less because:
-
The queen will be older and may need to be replaced
-
The equipment is of prime importance in establishing the value of the hive. Old comb, beat up boxes, bottom boards that are of little use, etc.
-
Disease - When you buy an established hive, the risk is greater than beginning with new equipment and bees. The major disease is American Foulbrood. In that case, your hive would be worth nothing.
