If you like this story, I'd unabashedly recommend that you try and keep bees. They are relatively low maintenance, interesting to observe and fun to debug (no pun intended). Success is amazing - both to eat and think about.
The other benefit is psychological - beekeeping requires an almost zen like approach when dealing with the hive. You cannot get angry or flustered, even when surrounded by thousands of bees desperately trying to sting you. You have to focus, be calm, and do the work.
There's a whole host of laws and ordinances governing beekeeping. You may even have to register your hive with the state. Don't start without knowing your local laws.
Many regulations are to protect bees. In Iowa for instance, its all about registering your apiary to keep pesticides from being sprayed during the day near your hives.
But you're not compelled to do anything - you can skip registering and take your chances!
Fun fact: In German civil law we have four sections on bees: beekeepers got special rights to enter others' properties in order to catch flown-out hives, regulating who owns a new hive that formed by merging two hives of different owners, and so on.
We have that in Italy as well: there is a section of the civil code that states your right to chase your domesticated animals, but an other one that singles out bees explicitly.
Curiously, the section about bees comes before the generic one.
I've been wanting to get some beehives for a while. I am a bit concerned because when I was younger I used to have a minor allergy to bee stings. From what I understand, if I'm careful, I shouldn't have any problem.
Anyway- do you have any websites or other sources you would recommend to someone just getting started?
You will eventually, no matter how careful you are, get a sting. Everyone does eventually when keeping bees. I'd get a checkup with a doctor to see how bad the reaction is. It'd be a good idea to keep an epipen around not just for yourself but also in case a visitor is allergic as well.
My first thought after reading this, being a couple of weeks away from owning my first home with land, and a roof terrace was… is it safe to keep bees on a 3rd floor balcony where there's occasionally going to be people? The terrace is 16 square meters, and right outside what will be our bedroom.. but I'd love to keep bees. Especially since the evidence suggests we need them, and they thrive in cities.
You could put them on a balcony, if you don't mind them coming and going. They will live almost anywhere really. I have friends with beehives on their garage roof.
I don't keep them myself, but I have friends who do. AFAIK, you need to be concerned about:
* food/water - The bees will fly up to 2 miles to forage. So as long as you have flowering vegetation within 2 miles, you're good!
* predators - You want the hives to be reasonably protected from things like mice and raccoons. This is one reason boxes are raised up off the ground. If you live where there are bears, good luck.
* sun/moisture - I think too much shade and moisture can invite bugs, mites, mold, etc. I believe this is another reason the boxes are raised up off the ground, so the bottom box isn't just sitting in a puddle.
* access - You will need to be able to get to the hives sometimes. They will weigh a lot during honey season. And moving them, and extracting honey is messy. I had friends who put a hive a half mile into their sometimes swampy woods, and while the bees didn't care, the owners later regretted it.
Moisture also is what kills bees overwinter. They need ventilation and breezes.
Also, they actually forage up to 4 miles away [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Forage_(honey_bee)]. Outside of that range, it is an energy negative (but some beekeepers will tell you that bees forage up to 7 miles away).
During high season, bees don't really hang around the hive; they leave and go forage. You can stand 2 meters in front of my hives and turn your back and have no idea there's a beehive anywhere near you.
Stinging insects in general are remarkably unaggressive when you are not directly threatening their hive. I've a hornet nest in my woodpile that I discovered after being stung after moving a piece of wood, and since then I've stayed 2-4 feet away and they haven't attacked again.
Likewise, you don't need to be garbed for most of your beekeeping activities. You can change out feeders or pop open the top for a quick peek without being bothered. Many beekeepers have found that they can pull frames or shuffle boxes if they are gentle and don't rile up the bees.
But what I really want to tell is:
> ...bees don't really hang around the hive; they leave and go forage.
When they change, and decide to hang around the hive, don't let anybody at the terrace, or near it in any way. That does not happen often, and does not last for long, but you better stay away for a while.
The other benefit is psychological - beekeeping requires an almost zen like approach when dealing with the hive. You cannot get angry or flustered, even when surrounded by thousands of bees desperately trying to sting you. You have to focus, be calm, and do the work.