Beekeeping 101

1. A hive. But not just any hive. You'll need to make sure that the one you choose conforms to any rules and regulations that your area of residence has put into place. I know in the United States, you have to be able to check the comb and the brood for diseases, so you'll need a hive which allows you to do that. And also, you need to make sure that zoning laws do not prohibit you from keeping bees where you live.

2. The bees. You'll most likely want to acquire a queen honey bee and some of her constituents. Likewise, you'll need to check up on your local laws to make sure the species you have are legal in your area.

3. Protective clothing. Even though honey bees are not as aggressive as African bees, they still do have a stinger and you still want to be careful. If the sting isn't what bothers you, then you should think of your colony. You don't want to be killing off your own bees!

4. A smoker. No, not for you! For the bees to calm them down so that you can work around them without getting stung. Useful when you need to do you inspections or collections. You want to use as safe a smoke as possible. Stick to all natural things like hessian, twine, burlap, pine needles, corrugated cardboard. There's even liquid smoke that is even safer to use.

5. A field of flowers. This is optional, but it would be ideal if you had one nearby for the bees to collect from.

Obviously, if you know you have an extreme sensitivity to bee stings, then you probably shouldn't go into beekeeping.

Some beekeepers though will tell you that you should let yourself get stung a few times per season so that your body builds up immunity against it. This is completely up to you.