Tips to Get Started in Beekeeping
- Check your local library for beekeeping books.
- Get familiar with beekeeping terms and equipment; browsing through catalogs is a good way to see what equipment is and what it is called.
- Read discussion threads and plans to build your own equipment on BeeSource.com.
- Attend beekeeping meetings to get familiar with area beekeeping practices and calendar. Great place to meet beekeepers and find bee buddies, practicing beekeepers and mentors.
- Get a subscription to beekeeping journals and start reading about the various aspects of beekeeping. Bee Culture now has a quarterly magazine BEEkeeping focused on the first three years of beekeeping. Their other magazines Bee Culture and American Bee Journal are good sources of the latest beekeeping info for practicing beekeepers. If you are in Rolla area, the Rolla Public Library carries a subscription to Bee Culture. If you live outside Rolla, join the library for $20 years to check out their books and magazines.
- Visit a beekeeper's apiary to get ideas on how to best set up your own. Ask a nearby practicing beekeeper to help you.
- Take a basic beekeeping class to learn how to use beekeeping equipment and learn the basics about bees and bee biology.
- Ask questions, and don't be afraid to work with bees, that is the best way to learn!