re: Bee hive spin-off question

Buy the book Beekeeping for Dummies. The wood purchase for your boxes is the most expensive part. I buy from Mann Lake due to lower shipping costs. Put 2 coats of primer and 2 coats of paint on all outside surfaces and the top and bottom lip.

For bees, I went with two Nucs of Italians from Bee Gold Honey in Hattiesburg. They offer classes as well to help you get started. I made splits with those hives a few months after transferring to my house, and now have 4 colonies. I would just catch swarms to save a few hundred dollars though if I were you.

Get a ventilated jacket and not a full suit. You'll have a heat stroke in a full suit. I normally just wear a veil when working my bees though.

I check my hives once a week during spring and summer, and maybe once a month in winter just to make sure I don't need to supplement their feed due to low honey stores.

The key is to not rob them of so much honey that they starve in the winter.