One Question, Too Many Answers

There’s an old beekeeping joke with many variations that essentially sounds a little something like this. “Ask 10 beekeepers a question and you’ll get 11 answers” and as a new beekeeper, I remember feeling extremely overwhelmed by this.

My best advice for beginner beekeepers is to learn as much as you can about the bee itself, bee nutrition, bee behavior, bee reproduction, threats and diseases, and use that knowledge to make your best judgement.

Keeping bees is a lot like raising children – you’re never quite prepared and there’s a million ways to do it. So, have fun and do your best and when all else fails, realize that you will make mistakes and your bees will either pay dearly or correct those mistakes. Whatever you do, be committed to constantly learning new things and improving to become a better beekeeper.

A few beginner beekeeping tips:

1. Find a mentor
2. Read
3. When in doubt, ask questions
4. Join an online forum (beekeeping themed social media groups can be extremely informative)
5. Study bees – behavior, nutrition, life cycles, pests and diseases, etc.
6. Keep learning