Ongoing research

Be prepared. Poor safety habits can lead to painful or costly consequences. Understand and follow the beekeeping ordinances for your hive/s location. Safety for all is the primary reason they were established. Be sure to register your hives with the County Agricultural Commissioners office.

There are three common hive types and choosing the right one for your conditions is important. Consider your beekeeping objectives, both short and long term, the conditions of your hive placement, any physical accessibility issues and budget to select the best hive type.

The right equipment is needed for raising honey bees, and producing honey and wax for sale or hobby. Visit the Equipment & Maintenance section for a listing and description of basic beekeeping equipment.

There are three common European honey bee varieties to choose from and you need to select a reputable honey bee supplier.

Healthy honey bee hives require constant monitoring, cleaning, and an easily accessible food source. Setting and following a consistent hive inspection schedule is important to recognizing changes or threats to your honey bee colonies, so that you can take action to keep your colonies thriving.

Have you learned the ins and outs of beekeeping? Have you joined a beekeeping club? UC ANR E.L.

Alaux C., F. Ducloz, D. Crauser, Y. Le Conte. 2010. Diet effects on honeybee immuno-competence. Biology Letters 6 (4): 562565. Arien, Y., A. Dag, S. Zarchin, T. Masci, and S. Shafir. 2015. Omega-3 deficiency impairs honey bee learning. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

In adherence to California State regulation (FAC 29040-29056), if you are keeping honey bees in any part of San Diego County, it is required that you register the location of all apiaries as well as the number of hives with the San Diego Department of Agriculture, Weights and Measures.

Ideally, beehives should be located on firm dry land with good drainage nearby a fresh water source. Level the hive so that the front of the hive is slightly lower than the back, so that any rainwater drains out of the hive.

...