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Where to Buy Equipment <br /> • Brick and mortar beekeeping stores allow you to see and handle what you are buying before you <br /> purchase it. <br /> • Online stores and mail-order catalogs may have better prices and/or selection, but you may need to <br /> add the shipping costs. <br /> • Used equipment can be purchased but be very careful to dispose of all the wax combs to prevent <br /> disease transmission and to eliminate any pesticide residue. We strongly recommend that beginning <br /> beekeepers start with new equipment if possible. <br /> A list of regional beekeeping suppliers is on our website, where updated information will be listed: <br /> Z.umn.edu/beelinks <br /> SELECTING AN APIARY SITE <br /> Around Your Hive <br /> • Accessibility at all times is crucial. It is best to be able to reach the apiary with a vehicle. Sometimes <br /> you will need to move heavy equipment in and out of the apiary. If keeping bees on a rooftop, consider <br /> accessibility, your ability and willingness to haul heavy equipment up and down, and personal safety. If <br /> keeping colonies on a rooftop, have a good stairs or elevator, and place hives well away from the roof <br /> edge so you do not fall off the roof. Strap your colonies down with ratchet straps and provide them with <br /> a windbreak. <br /> • Nectar and pollen must be available within flying distance (2 miles) of the apiary. Most areas in <br /> Minnesota have enough varied plants available to support one or two colonies, except in highly wooded • <br /> areas such as the Boundary Waters. <br /> • Water must be available within 1/4 mile of the apiary throughout the active bee season. If you are in an <br /> urban setting you should provide water on your own property so the bees don't go searching for water <br /> and potentially bother your neighbors. You can have a birdbath, provide a chicken waterer, or simply <br /> use a pan, but make sure the container always has water in it. You should also place stones, corks, <br /> or something similar in the water to give the bees a place to land. They cannot swim in or hover over <br /> water to drink. <br /> • Respect your neighbors. Keep your bees out of high-traffic areas. If they are behind a privacy fence or <br /> hedge (i.e., a flyway barrier) they will fly up over the barrier and not bother people. <br /> op, Water <br /> � Bees need water throughout the spring and , <br /> s� 4IP • fall. It is important that they have access to — <br /> a continuous source of water within a short y <br /> flying distance from the hive (no more than <br /> Biology 1/4 mile away). The bees need to stand on a <br /> surface <br /> Box (e.g., sandy or pebbly banks of ponds, _ �_ '�� •` <br /> lakes and rivers; Figure 26) to suck up water <br /> with their tongue (proboscis). They obtain some salts and minerals <br /> from natural sources of water, so prefer ponds over chlorinated .ems , <br /> • <br /> water, but they will use both. Bees do not forage for water during , • <br /> the winter months. s' z' <br /> • <br /> Figure 26. Bees drinking from a <br /> puddle(photo by Jessica Helgen). <br /> Beekeeping in Northern Climates 26 <br />