WTNUT, I would suggest that you contact your local bee keeping club. Find out when they will hold a bee keeping class. It is usually around the first of the year. The reason that I am suggesting this is because a bee hive with the bees, brood boxes, supers, and other supplies is going to cost you $200.00+ per hive +. You need the information from that class in order to keep you bees alive. Your biggest problem keeping them alive is Varrora mites. You will have to treat your hives on a regular basis. Organic acids or brood breaks work for most. A copy of " The Hive and the Honey Bee" by Dadant would be a good investment. I would suggest that you take the class, join the bee club and start with two or three hives, never just one. After the first year of keeping them alive, you can split the hives or catch swarms to more that double your number of colonies. I started with two three years ago. I now have 25. If I can be of any further help on this, just let me know.