A Bee Enthusiast's Guide to Getting Started with Honey Bees and Beekeeping
A bee enthusiast's guide to getting into honey bees & beekeeping
Page 1, The Bee Enthusiast's Guide
Beginner's Guide to Honey Bees & Beekeeping: Introduction
Get Started
Get Started and Let Your Interest Take Wing
Well, let's begin with this: Keeping bees is a blast! Honey Bees are A-MAZE-ING furry little creatures and are much more intelligent than most people ever imagined. We need them! We are glad you’re interested in learning more about bees and pollinators, and one day maybe getting your own bees, harvesting honey and jumping into the world (and lifestyle) of beekeeping.
Bees never cease to fascinate us and keeping bees is entertaining and rewarding. To learn all about bees, pollinators and their place in Nature, jump into this Enthusiast's Guide to Honey Bees & Beekeeping and you'll begin to wrap your brain around these awesome creatures! To make this trip a little easier to begin, we divided our guide into simple sections. Starting at the top is our suggested jumping-off place, but everyone and their journey is different.
So step onto the you path wherever you find your own trailhead, and follow as long and far as you wish. We hope it leads you to a box of bees in your backyard and ends in you finding a life-changing "hobby" where you'll find yourself communing with nature, its plants and creatures and making friends in the most unexpected places. Remember to visit our Resources Page for weblinks to much of what you read about below and more!
So step onto the you path wherever you find your own trailhead, and follow as long and far as you wish. We hope it leads you to a box of bees in your backyard and ends in you finding a life-changing "hobby" where you'll find yourself communing with nature, its plants and creatures and making friends in the most unexpected places. Remember to visit our Resources Page for weblinks to much of what you read about below and more!
Get Inspired
Interested in Honey Bees & Beekeeping?
Many nature enthusiasts want to support pollinators. Some wonder about the lifestyle of a beekeeper. A few find out more about what beekeepers actually do day-to-day in order to successfully manage thriving honey bee hives...
However deep your interests go, this guide will help you find your way into the world of honey bees and their keepers. Read on and take a peek! Stay a while and explore a little deeper. Click some of the posted weblinks on our Resources page and enjoy the history, mystery and industry evolving around a tiny little creature known as apis Mellifera, or the Honey Bee.
Be sure to visit our new Honey Bee Blog! Started in 2026, it will be updated periodically with articles and insights gathered from presentations and classes we have attended, as well as articles, books and magazines read. The following sections make it easy to start your journey. Click below or use the Navigation Menu to jump on in!
Be sure to visit our new Honey Bee Blog! Started in 2026, it will be updated periodically with articles and insights gathered from presentations and classes we have attended, as well as articles, books and magazines read. The following sections make it easy to start your journey. Click below or use the Navigation Menu to jump on in!
There are more beekeepers around than you think and organizations to support them in many cities, most regions and every State. Through collaborative efforts beekeepers develop the tools needed to keep their bees alive, healthy and productive. It is no easy feat- and no one has to do it alone.
A successful approach to getting started in beekeeping begins with a little bit of learning... and more learning inevitably follows. Hundreds of links are available below and on our Resources page to help beekeepers and enthusiasts understand bee behavior, biology and anatomy so we can interact with bees in a beneficial, non-disruptive manner best suited to the needs of the bees and their keepers.
Educational tools and resources that help equip American beekeepers with the information needed to make informed decisions have been around since we first brought bees to the new colonies. Many of these magazines are still in print today and there are countless archived articles found online as well.
Nothing can prepare you for just how you will feel and react when a colony of bees is opened and many take wing around you. Do not wait to experience this thrilling action until you receive your first package of bees! Suit up, dig in and witness the magic of the honey bee first-hand with a trusted friend and beekeeper. Then learn how to get your own bee colonies!