None. Zip. Zero. You may find many a beekeeper who tells you loudly that he or she has taken many jars of beautiful honey from first-year bees. Good for that beekeeper, but…. A true statement of success isn’t merely how much honey the beekeeper has gathered. Every beekeeper – experienced or new – can take honey from a first-year beehive. That’s the easy and, dare we say, selfish part.

No, the REAL measure of success is whether your bees come through the winter with the honey reserves you have left them. A beekeeper who takes honey from a hive and then fails to see bees in the spring really isn’t achieving anything significant. Just some honey, which your local supermarket sells…without all the work!

On a more serious note, we do suggest that from day one you just accept that the first year is ALL about your bees establishing themselves. Is honey really THAT important to you? Just let your bees use it to themselves. After all, they are working far, far harder for it than you ever will! As to the second year of a mature, established hive…. prepare for some of the best honey you have ever tasted!