Keeping bees is an exciting and rewarding hobby that helps support the environment, improves mental wellbeing, and rewards you with fresh honey. It’s also an affordable and accessible pastime for those with limited space or resources.
Learn about bees, equipment and hive management with this 5-class virtual course. You’ll get all the information you need to set up your first hive and take care of it over the season.
Basics
Keeping bees is a great hobby, but if you’re new to beekeeping, it’s important to understand the basics before you get started. This will help you understand the process and ensure you’re not wasting time or money on things that don’t work.
There are many beekeeping courses available that will help you learn the basics of beekeeping. These courses often include live videos, readings, and quizzes.
Equipment
Investing in some quality beekeeping equipment is a good investment. This may not pay off in the short term, but it will set you up for success if you decide to sell honey or other bee products at a later stage.
In most cases, you’ll want a veil covering your face and heavy-duty gloves to keep your hands protected from stings. If you have the budget, a full beekeeping suit can help to protect you from stings as well.
It’s also a good idea to join local beekeeping clubs. These are typically open meetings where beginners can ask questions and get advice from beekeepers with experience.
Hive Management
Whether you are an aspiring beekeeper or an experienced one, the management of a colony of bees is an essential skill. With the growing threats to honeybees around the world, it is more important than ever to learn about bee biology and hive health.
Hive is an online beekeeping course that provides a comprehensive overview of the basics of beekeeping. It includes video lectures from experts and live zoom meetings to answer your questions.
One of the best features of Hive is that it is a hub for centralized communication. Its native chat and email integrations make it easy for teams to use Hive from anywhere.
Hive Inspections
Inspecting a hive is an essential part of beekeeping. It allows you to assess the health of your hives, diagnose pest or disease problems and correct them before they cause further harm.
Bee inspections should be conducted at least twice a month. But if you have trouble finding the queen or are looking for signs of a problem, you may need to inspect more often than that.
Start each inspection with a plan in mind. This way you are focused on your goal and minimize the time spent rummaging through the bees’ home.
Swarming
Swarming is when a colony of honey bees leaves their home to form a new colony elsewhere. It is the bees’ natural way of spreading their genetics, but it can also occur as a result of pests and diseases in the area.
Swarms can be a good thing, but they do require management. Beekeepers often implement hive barrier systems and put swarms in quarantine before merging with their main apiary.
Swarming is a great way to bring a team together to accomplish more than each member could do alone. However, it isn’t appropriate for every task. It’s important to make sure all members are on the same page about what needs to be done first and what can wait a little longer.
Harvesting
Beekeeping is an interesting hobby, but it also comes with a lot of responsibility. You have to plan ahead for harvesting honey, which can take a long time.
If you’re looking for a way to get started, consider taking an online beekeeping course. These courses can be taken at your own pace and at a time that works best for you.
In addition to online courses, the University of Maine Cooperative Extension offers hands-on classes around the state year-round. These workshops can be a great place to learn the basics of beekeeping and help you build a bee colony.
