Gardening 101: Backyard beekeeping

August 4, 10:28 PMPhiladelphia Home Gardening ExaminerMelissa Miles

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  My (English Garden style) hive

Keeping backyard bees can be a wonderful, relatively inexpensive, and rewarding hobby.  According to Penn State University, due to a number of factors, managed honey bee colonies in Pennsylvania dropped from over 80,000 in 1982, to below 30,000 in 2002. In recent years, however, there has been renewed interest in keeping bees as a hobby in urban and suburban settings. According to the National Academies, at least 90 food crops in North America depend on pollinators (like honeybees) to produce the fruits, nuts, and vegetables we find in our local grocery store. 

An apairy (a place where one or more hives is kept) requires little space (some hives are located on roof tops in major metropolitan areas), honeybees require little care (relative to other "live stock"), and once a new beekeeper has made the initial investment in the purchase of a hive, a package of bees (yes, they come in a package), and some basic equipment, all that is left for him to do is wait for his investment to pay off  -  in the form of the liquid gold that is honey.

Urban/suburban backyard beekeeping ordinances and regulations
In residential areas in Pennsylvania, apiaries are permitted, but beekeepers must adhere to the following criteria:

• hives located within 20 ft. of a property line must have a solid fence or vegetative obstruction (hedge, shrubs) of no less than 5 ft. in height between the hive and the property line -  this regulation ensures the flight path bees take (as they leave and return to the hive) won't be directly onto/from your neighbor's property - good fences do make good neighbors!
• Hives located within 30 ft. of a sidewalk or road must have a solid fence or vegetative obstruction that ensures their flight path is above pedestrians and traffic
• an adequate supply of water must be made available to the bees during warmer weather  (March 1 - October 31) - this can be as simple as providing a bird bath, or some other container with gently sloping sides (putting a wine bottle cork, or similar object, in the water will aid bees that may fall into the deeper water, as they cannot swim)
  
  no more than 4 hives can be kept on a property of 1/4 acre or less
  
  apiaries (regardless of size) need to be registered with the PA Department of Agriculture - the registration cost $10 and remains valid for a period of 2 years

Many books and DVDs are now available that can help you learn basic beekeeping, but local beekeeping associations (see links below) can be an invaluable resource to the new beekeeper.  Often, new beekeepers can attend workshops and classes sponored by beekeeping associations or cooperative extention offices.