The number you can keep in an area is determined by conditions, not by marking some numbers on a calculator. I have seen a figure as low as seven colonies to be planted at most. On average, in the United States, amateur beekeepers usually have between 1 and 4 hives in one place. Hives need just over 2.5 square feet to have space to sit and a little space to work around them (5 to 6 feet is optimal)).
The thought of how many hives you can control alone may cross your mind. While it can be difficult to get a specific answer that suits each person, you may be able to find some answers. If beekeeping is your hobby, you may be able to manage up to 20 hives. If you dedicate yourself to this job as a full-time professional, you could manage between 400 and 500 hives.
There are a lot of elements involved, such as how much time you have, your experience, your goals, and more. It would be best to start with 2 or 3 hives before starting to add more. More experienced beekeepers may want to have even more than two hives to increase their chances of success. If there were an ideal number of hives for a backyard beekeeper, most beekeepers would estimate that 2 to 5 hives would be optimal.
Of course, you'll also need enough space. Each hive takes up approximately 22 inches by 16 inches of space and can be placed up to 6 inches apart, but more space is always better. A lot of space is also needed around the hives, both for maintenance and for safety. If hives are kept too close together, it can sometimes cause them to “drift” into a hive that is not their own.
Over time, this can affect bee populations, strengthening some hives and weakening others. The reason for adding boxes is quite simple, namely, to ensure that bees have the space they need for breeding and honey. But there is another important consideration, which is the threat of the swarm. When bees feel like they have too little space, they plan to swarm.
If you leave it too late, they'll pass the point of no return and you won't be able to stop the swarm from happening. A common question asked by new beekeepers is: “Why not start with all the boxes already installed? The reason that there is too much space can also be a problem for bees. They need to be kept warm and, depending on the location, even on a summer afternoon temperatures can drop significantly. For small-scale beekeepers, the recommended hive density is 2 to 3 hives per acre, when bees are used for pollination. So what's the perfect number of hives to have on your property? That number is different for each beekeeper.
Not only does having two hives ensure that there are additional resources available to share between hives (for example, hatchlings, nurses, workers, or even pollen and honey), but it is also a protective measure in case an entire colony is lost. Some beekeepers live in areas where they are only allowed to have a maximum number of hives in their backyard. Starting with several hives means that it's possible to share bees between colonies if some of them die unavoidably.
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