The Care and Feeding of Bees

[Zauren]

I thought I'd ask some basic questions on apiculture, given I don't see a thread for that and I never trust wikis. I'm sure other newbies are just too shy to ask.

1) Can you harvest the bees that are made by a hive to make more hives of bees?

2) Is there a benefit to transplanting bees and releasing them near your own hives? I have noticed that a bee I accidentally let loose started using my hive, as did a third bee that wandered nearby (That bee is a turncoat)

3) Do flowers have to be nearby? If yes, how do you transplant flower? A shovel doesn't work.

4) How often do hives generate more bees, and what's the cap? Is there a way to tell how many bees are in it?

5) How many other people have accidentally smacked a bee with a shovel and had to flee a million killer bees?

[Wilson P. Higgsbury]

You have to plant butterflies into the ground for flowers.

[Spazmatic]

1)You can harvest the bees to reach the amount needed for another bee box,but you will still need a honeycomb from a "wild" beehive.

2)Did not know that tbh,but I'd say there isn't that much benefit,since your bee hives will generate bees over time.

3)What Wilson P. Higgsbury said(which you will be able to do with a bug net,and then when you're near your hives you can plant the butterflies on the ground,I made about 20 flowers for 3 bee boxes and they make honey quite well)

4)Sounds like a nice scientific challenge for someone to find out the actual time,I tbh have never caught that many bees of my own,since I don't use any bee mines or any traps.Bees do generate infinite.If you want to know how many bees are in your hive wait till it is evening and harvest it whenever you can,that way you'll get honey and see how many bees you have,since they will all come after you

5)Only did that on purpose so far

[Zauren]

Seems that my manmade hives cap at 4 generated bees, and create them pretty fast. I'm still finding lots of wild honeycomb, so I plan to make 8 or so hives. Then put a bee mine in the middle by a piece of meat. And then... the hounds.

[agrinningfish]

Seems that my manmade hives cap at 4 generated bees, and create them pretty fast. I'm still finding lots of wild honeycomb, so I plan to make 8 or so hives. Then put a bee mine in the middle by a piece of meat. And then... the hounds.

And then a fire hound trips it and burns down all your hives and flowers and probably your camp >.<

[Kraizee]

I had a fire hound ignite right next a beehive and not burn it down.

By the same token, I've lost 40 bushes to a fire hound. And once because I had that pyronamiac Willow. Little arsonist..

[Buster]

I found one naturally spawning beehive, which I have now replanted as a Bee Box, perhaps a bit too close to my camp for my taste. They seem to thrive, and I've added quite a collection of flowers around this one Bee Box. I am still waiting to collect the golden treasure that they so willingly produce for me, but I expect it to be of the best quality.