Beekeeping for Beginners

Beekeeping for Beginners – Getting Started with Bees

Beekeeping for Beginners is an amazing journey and it is not always easy. Keeping honey bees is hard work. Oh, its exciting for sure – but easy is not the best term to describe the process. Try to avoid feeling over-whelmed with new terms and tools, you will get it. You have a lot to learn.

You don’t know what you don’t know. That sure does apply to beekeeping. This is not a one and done endeavor. It takes time to become a confident beekeeper.

If you are a new beekeeper, I share your excitement. But don’t get in too much of a hurry.

Take your time – learn and grow. Things will not work out perfectly every time. Forgive yourself for mistakes. And don’t worry about asking dumb beekeeping questions. We all began at the beginning.

Don’t expect to learn everything you need to know about raising bees in one season. In fact, beekeeping is a continual learning experience.

During the first phases of becoming a new beekeeper, you have a chance to prepare. Those dreams of having bees can become a reality. – New Beekeepers Dreaming about Bees

Don’t let a few failures derail your beekeeping experience. Even seasoned beekeepers have problems with our bees.

In the planning stages, the potential beekeeper has many things to consider. Chances of success increase greatly when you have a firm idea of what you hope to accomplish with bees. – Starting Beekeeping – First Steps

Beekeeping Basics

The best place to start any adventure is at the beginning. When you decide to move into a beekeeping adventure, it’s time to think about what you really want to accomplish.

Keeping bees is a favorite activity of many homesteader and preppers. Honey bees have a lot of offer. – Enjoy the Benefits of Beekeeping in Your Backyard

What do you know about beehives? Perhaps you harbor some misconceptions about what a honey bee home truly is. Education about bees is good for beekeepers and non-beekeepers alike. – FAQ About Beehives

Many bee enthusiasts only want to have a couple of hives in the backyard. You can enjoy the benefits of bee pollination for your garden and perhaps a few jars of honey. Check out this post – How to Start Beekeeping in Your Backyard

Will beekeeping be a hobby or a business for you? It can be a pleasant hobby or a profitable business. But, you need a good business plan. Starting a Beekeeping Business

Before the bees arrive, or you spend hundreds of dollars on equipment, let’s consider a few things. What exactly will you be expected to do while caring for your bees? What Does a Beekeeper Do?

If you need a quick overview of what you may be getting yourself into- consider these quick beekeeping tips – 9 Best Beekeeping Tips for Beginners

Learning How to Keep Bees

One of the most overlooked aspects of beginner beekeeping is education. Yes, you need actual experience in the hive – but you need to know what you are looking for too!

The best place to start is the beginning. Many new beekeepers start with a good book. There are many to choose from. – Best Beekeeping Books for Beginners

You can not be “over-prepared” with bee information. Learning begins before bees arrive and continues onward. Continue to grow as a beekeeper. Read and learn from a variety of sources. Top Beekeeping Books!

Most local beekeeping associations give beginner beekeeping classes in late Winter. Check those out. Some are really great and others not so much but they are a great way to meet local beekeepers. –Getting Started with Bees – Beekeeping Classes

When you become a beekeeper you are joining a group of some pretty famous people. Beekeeping is a hobby that has stood the test of time and continues today. – Famous Beekeepers

For an online alternative, I taught live local classes with beekeeper associations for years. My online beekeeping class is developed from those actual live classes.

Easy Beekeeping Setup – Getting Ready

How many hives should a beginner beekeeper start with? 2 or 3 hive is the most popular answer to that question. That does not mean you can’t have more or less.

But, having more bee hives than you can handle is a recipe for disaster. Still there are some good reason to begin with more than 1 hive. How Many Hives the New Beekeeper Should Have.

Beehive placement is an often overlooked aspect of beekeeping. Yes, some hive locations are better than others. Don’t put your hive in a location that will only bring you problems a few month down the road. Where to Put Your Beehive.

Finding a location for 1 or 2 beehives is not very difficult. However, if you want to develop a larger apiary with many hives, bee yard design becomes a bigger issue. How to Set Up a Bee Yard.

Choosing the Best Beekeeping Supplies and Equipment

Once you have a plan and know what you hope to achieve, it’s time to consider beekeeping equipment and supplies. It is a good idea to start with a few extra boxes, etc – Choosing Beekeeping Supplies & Equipment

Challenges of Buying Bees

Most new beekeepers will buy bees for their first hives. There are several ways to purchase honey bees. Ordering online, picking them up from a local bee supplier and more. Yes, you can even have them delivered to your home! How to Buy Honey Bees.

How do you know which type of bee to buy? Yes, there are different kinds of honey bee available for purchase. Comparing and contrasting – Choosing the Best Types of Honey Bees.

Ordering bees for your new hive can be confusing, you have several different methods to consider. – FAQ about Package Bees

Buying a nuc colony is another option. These do vary greatly in quality – so buyer beware. A Nucleus colony is different from a package bees in several ways. – What is a Bee Nuc?

Installing Bees into the Beehive

Most new beekeepers will be working with a package of honey bees. Once you arrive home with your bees, it is time to put them in the hive. Install your bees as soon as possible.- How to Install a Package of Bees

Do you buy a honey bee nucleus colony? Nuc installation is a bit different than package bees. This guide will help you get those bees safely in their new home. – Install a Nuc Colony.

Feeding Bees & New Hive Inspections

Beginner beekeepers often underestimate the amount of food required by a new colony. In most regions, feeding your new colonies will help them be successful. How to Feed Package Bees

Managing beehives involves periodic inspections. You can not really know what is happening without looking inside. But before you open the hive, what sound you be looking for? – New Hive Inspection Tips.

Thankfully, this doesn’t happen often but at times bees will leave their hive. This is especially upsetting for the new beekeeper who has just purchased a package of bees. There are several reasons for this behavior and some thing you can avoid. – Why New Bees Leave the Hive?

Final Tips for Beginner Beekeepers

Beginner beekeeping involves a lot more than just getting a hive and plopping it down in the yard.

From understanding what you will need to do, to buying bees and equipment and managing those hives, there is a lot of learn and do.

You will make mistakes. Every beekeeper makes mistakes so don’t be too hard on yourself. I still mess up after years of beekeeping.

However, you can learn from the mistakes of others. Here are some common beekeeping mistakes that you can watch out for. – 10 Beginner Beekeeping Mistakes

Conclusion:

Your success as a beekeeper, depends a lot of understanding that the world is constantly changing. You can learn some great tips from beekeepers who have had bees for 30 years.

But, a word of caution, beekeepers sometimes fail to update their knowledge on new issues facing honey bees.

Environmental pressures, pests from other regions of the world – all these have an effect on our honey bee colonies.

Beekeeper Charlotte