Should I buy a hive and some bees?

[FidoDido]

There’s someone local selling a hive with some bees.

Says it hasn’t been opened for ages but the colony seems to be very busy.

What sort of questions do I need to ask? Is it an ok thing to do?

 

[Erichalfbee]

You need to take somebody who knows about bees with you and inspect them thoroughly. Otherwise forget it.

 

[jenkinsbrynmair]

As Dani - I wouldn't touch it with a bargepole until it was properly inspected and you are satisfied it's viable and disease free.

 

[pargyle]

It's OK if you know what you are looking for ... you really need someone with you who can inspect them properly check for disease, the strength and nature of the colony - the last thing you want as a beginner is a colony of bees that are difficult to handlen or riddled with disease...

Looks like Dani and JBM beat me to it ... it's a pig in a poke if you don't know what to look for.

 

[FidoDido]

I thought as much. Thanks all. I’ll leave it.

 

[Sutty]

Flip side of the above: if you have someone who can assess them for/with you it might be a goer.
You don't have bees at the moment so there is an inevitable risk of introducing disease when you get some, whether bought or swarm.
The hive may be difficult to inspect though if not opened for ages.

 

[ericbeaumont]

What sort of questions do I need to ask?

Ask yourself whether you can find a suitable apiary site, commit to attend a training course but are willing to continue to learn in perpetuity, spend rather more than you would like on new kit (and this and that), give up summer holidays, bore those around you with bee-talk and struggle to understand why such a seemingly harmless hobby goes wrong so easily, so often.