Oh, the world of Apis Mellifera!
Yes, I used to keep bees. Also took it as a college class...best class ever!
There's definitely some investment up front, but it's one of those hobbies I really miss. (one day, I will get back into it) The spinning is actually very simple, once you've put in the initial cost for a manual spinner, and mason jars, etc. for collecting the honey. After that, it's pure elbow grease in a hot kitchen
. I do recall they have hobbyist sized electric motor spinners now, but I've never looked into them.
Bees are an interesting hobby. Always a struggle with mites, foulbrood, and parasites. Gets easier once the colony is strong.
If you're putting them in a tree orchard environment, try to keep them out of direct shade. (makes them cranky) Always orient the hives east as much as possible (they're up at sunrise, and ready to work!)
Winterizing up here in the north takes a bit of work, and losing a hive or two during the winter, based on cold severity, is not uncommon. My father and I used to use layers of tar-paper.
The one benefit of beekeeping, is that colonies often come to you...people leaving the hobby for whatever reason often will donate them to you, and people with wild honeybee colonies in their trees will sometimes call, once you've become fairly handy with the hobby. I can remember going to relocate/adopt hives on a few occasions.
Africanized bees really aren't a concern (yet), since they just can't handle our extended and very cold winters.
One word of caution...world-wide bee populations have been unexpectedly and unexplainably dropping over the past few years. Farmers have been reporting hives absconding or dying off with no known cause. Some claim it's climate related.
The very best contacts I made (and once in a while bump into and talk to) are those I met at local county or town fairs.
I'll look around and see if I still have some of my beekeeping books. I seem to think I have at least one of them hanging around, but will have to dig a bit. If I find them, they're yours.