I would like to suggest keeping them outdoors

That's exciting!!! Hit me up if you have more questions :)

Okay that makes sense, thank you, im slowly getting ready for my first hive, hopefully il have one after winter :)

Awesome news on the water! For honey harvesting, I usually do it right as goldenrod starts blooming around labor day-ish. Goldenrod is one of the last big wildflower blooms, so I want my bees to pack that in their winter areas as much as possible instead of the smaller honey harvesting frames. Plus, it makes the hive smell like old gym socks lol.

Timing is going to vary by area and the weather, so I would rely on that more than calendar dates.

I never beekept so it would be my first, so no more than two hives. not too sure about my neighbour, but they said they are only doing it for the honey, so probably also two or so. There are water sources around, there is a medium-ish body of water, as well as manny runoff water ditches.

And as for the questions, how does one know when to and how much to harvest? It feels stupid asking this hah. Thank you!

Thank you!

Hard pass, I can google just as good as the next person and would rather build out a local network.

If you're a first responder/veteran, there are some online programs also like mission beelieve.

Beekeeper here! 300m should be ok, definitely far enough that you don't have to worry about foragers "drifting" into other hives. How many hives are you both planning on keeping? There's only so much forage to go around, especially if you both are planning on keeping 40+ hives for example.

A nearby-ish water source is a good idea to have (natural is fine, they need the minerals), and if the different hives mingle there it's totally fine. Let me know if you have more questions!

It should not bee a problem.

Are you or your neighbor one of these two guys?

no, they will be fine generally.

to put it into perspective a 300m radius circle has an area of ~28 ha, if both hives fly that distance 56 ha less the overlap, say 1/3 the area rounded up to 20ha, that still leaves in excesses 36ha for the bees.

In New Zealand it's considered fair summer coverage for upto 1 hive per ha

Hero status, thank you! NY State compiling resources like a boss!

I'm assuming that you're not actually in NYC, so the best way is to ask a local beekeeping club near you.

This list is a good start: https://agriculture.ny.gov/system/files/documents/2026/02/beekeeper_club_directory.pdf

Some clubs may be defunct, or their websites or Facebook groups may not have the latest information, so just start contacting a bunch of them and get a live human to ask about the state of organizations in your area.

Go to a meeting to find out what classes and mentoring they offer.

Interesting, thank you! I have arranged for a pro to come and get them in a few weeks, they’ll be ok. It is summer here, they seem to be happily making honey.

This is pretty cool!

Unsure where you are but if it’s winter there’s a good chance these girls aren’t going to make it.

If it’s summer, then they’ll probably have a good nest. This is going to be filled with comb, honey, and larva before they’re done with it. (It can happen really fast). Since it doesn’t look like a large spot, I’d expect them to throw off another swarm before the season is out.

The downside is that bees have a tough time without treatment for mites… which means this colony might make it through this year but will likely start having some issues after that.

They will have to stay for now, I’ll look for somebody to come get them in the new year.

You've got a free bee family. Claim it or give it to nearby beekeeper. There is a chance they lost it.

Congratulations.

Thanks for the reply, I guess…?

I was hoping the clever bee people might have some advice.

The bees glue the pollen together with a little nectar, and build the pollen pellets around long hairs on their hind legs.

The pollen pellets are very secure, and need to be to stay attached on the bees' flight home.

Honeybees bringing in pollen are a sign of an active hive, because the proteins and fats in pollen are needed to feed larvae.

It certainly is. They have special fur on hind legs for pollen collection and know to scrape it off in the nest. Also it's multicolored. In my opinion, pollen storage is tastier than honey, and is in surplus - they only use it in Summer and have plenty in early Spring, so taking it out frees space for honey. Other beekeepers just discard it, so I just can eat it until I'm sick.

Looks like pollen.

All the bees I saw on this bush had them.