We check the hives once a week. There are some people who check on them far less , more like a few times a year. We move frames and decide if and when we want to split or combine a hive. Which has more to do with the bees swarming or preparing for winter. We started beekeeping because my husband likes bees ( all insects really). I would say I am more of an environmentalist. We like the idea of having honey and wax for personal use, but we are not running towards that goal with any great effort . If your goal is honey , You would need things like honey supers . Which is just an extra storage box. Check on them two or three times a month , pay attention to what kind of frames you have and how they are building on them . If you want a larger production you need more: More equipment , More hives and more time. If you are bee keeping with honey in mind it takes about a year and a half to harvest it. "they" suggest you don't harvest the first year or season. I will say I have learned that there are a multitude of methods and types of hives, frames and Bee keeping. You can get them up and running in a fairly short period of time. With very limited funds. You can also spend a lot of money if you want to. We started, with a hand built swarm trap, hive and frames, a hive tool, a smoker and a jacket for about $100.00. The jacket was 30$, the smoker was 15$, The hive tool was 5$ and the wood cost 50$. In about a month we had a functional hive, now we have two. I would suggest you go for it . You don't know till you try. If you go to our Youtube channel you can see us from the beginning. We will be putting out a video soon on how to build the hives and frames.
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