Start Keeping Bees > Acquiring a Colony
Once you are equipped to start keeping bees, the difference between having a colony or not compares to whether you have food in front of you or not in a restaurant! Once you have purchased your equipment, you should get it assembled and positioned as soon as you can in readiness for acquiring a colony.
The main sources of your first hive of bees are:
- A swarm
- A nucleus colony
- An existing colony acquired from another beekeeper - if you are very lucky!!
You should make it known to the Warwick & Leamington Beekeepers' Swarm Liaison Officer as soon as possible that you wish to acquire a swarm. His task (voluntary so don't be too demanding!) is to match reports of swarms with his list of those requiring one. The main swarming season is from mid-May to mid-June. Bees will swarm outside this period - much depends on the weather. If you can acquire a swarm early in the season, the colony will have more time to gain in strength before the Autumn and you may obtain some honey in your first year.
A swarm in May is worth a load of hay
A swarm in June is worth a silver spoon
A swarm in July ain't worth a fly
If you are informed of a swarm, it is probable that you will need expert help to collect it. There is no guarantee when or if you will acquire a swarm and there is every likelihood that the call will come at an inconvenient time!.
A significant disadvantage of starting a colony with a swarm is that you don't know the bees' characteristics. However it is the most common way of getting started as normally little or no cost is involved.
A nucleus colony is one that has been created by an "expert" beekeeper. It will cover from three to five frames of brood comb, will be complete with a laying queen, will have good characteristics and should be disease free. Nucleus colonies can cost of the order of £100, but if purchased from a supplier with a known good reputation, no better start to beekeeping can be made.