I would love to start to keep bees here in Spain.

Can anyone advise me where I might buy a hive and equipment. I will be starting from scratch as I am a complete beginner.

I know that bees are kept up in the mountains a few miles away near Guadalest but I live on the Costa Blanca coast about an hours drive north of Alicante.

Any advice would be gladly received.

Pauline

Hi Polly

If you can read a bit of Spanish, this site gives info not only on getting started but on the paperwork you'd need to be legal

http://www.abejas.org/iniciarse/inic...apicultura.htm

Hi Pauline, I used to keep bees when I was back in UK. I had about 50 hives and made tons of honey each year (literally). I have looked into it here - it's SO different. I've also been out with a bee-keeper who has seen almost all of his hives wiped out due to varoa and foul brood - seems very common now in Spain.

I think your best bet would be to find a bee-keeper and go with them a few times to see how different it really is. They seem to make their own equipment as I have yet to find an outlet to buy spares.

Do you know Callosa? This is in a major bee-keeping area. In the town there is a honey outlet where he has barrels of honey in his 'shop'. You can taste any that he has and buy what you like. They range from jet-black honey to almost pure white. It's a family business run for many generations and, if you speak Spanish, they are extremely helpful.

I only had three, (er, hives, that is, not bees) but (a) Colmenar is called what it is for a reason! and (b) we have a new, state of the art Museo de la Miel in the village and (c) my nearest neighbour is a beekeeper!
Certainly the hives are VERY different, and from what I can glean the bureaucracy/hygiene/health is pretty strict - hives tend to be numbered, for example.
Best best is as suggested, find a beekeeper and befriend!