What is Beekeeping
Beekeeping (or apiculture) has been around for thousands of years and has evolved immensely, as you might expect. We humans have put ourselves through a lot to get at the sticky sweet reward and risking arms, limbs, and stings in the process. We robbed comb from trees, climbed sheer cliff walls, took on aggressive strains and manufactured numerous tools and strategies to overcome difficult odds. Eventually, we found that putting bees in makeshift hives made from clay, logs, and other materials might be a more manageable approach. This approach helped us to avoid unnecessary injury and allowed us to understand better and eventually work with the honey bee rather than travelling from the safety of our villages to hunt them down.
Fast forwarding, it wasn’t until as late as 1895 that Reverand Lorenzo Langstroth discovered key details around bee space that led to the removable frame hive, paving the way for modern hive design. His hive design, the Langstroth, is still one of the most popular used worldwide today.
So put succinctly, beekeeping is the practice of raising and managing honey bees in specially designed hives to care for our bees with the added benefit of being able to collect honey and other bee-related products.
For most of us starting the hobby, the obvious and primary motivation is honey. When you taste your first honey crop, you quickly realise what all the other beekeepers are raving about. Honey is beautiful, surprising in its appearance, incredible to taste, and has seasonal variability. A natural product that is highly valued when farmed responsibly and supplied directly from the hive. A steady honey supply on the breakfast table never gets old, but that’s only the start of what it means to be a beekeeper. Aside from the obvious, there is so much more to beekeeping, and people are drawn to it for numerous different reasons.
The environment, agriculture and our ecosystems are becoming increasingly important in people’s lives, so naturally, we’re looking for more direct ways to get involved and do our part to help. Beekeeping is perfect in that it plays directly into these narratives. It is an ideal gateway into the natural world, opening our eyes to what has been living under our noses and beneath our feet.
As beekeepers, we have come to understand the seasons better, pollination, protecting our honey bees, becoming more self-sufficient, getting outside and better understanding our immediate environment, all whilst learning about an insect steeped in our history. The honey bee is one of the most heavily studied insects by biologists, entomologists and scientists in various disciplines, which aids us as stewards of the honey bee and continues to help evolve and protect our craft.
Getting Started as a New Beekeeper
The interest in beekeeping has continued to grow year after year, and the ability to dip your toes in and get a little experience before you commit is easier than ever. Here are a few tips to get you moving in the right direction.
Do Your Research
There’s an incredible wealth of information online which can either stoke your interest or have you running for the hills, but it’s an excellent place to start. Some very dedicated individuals are keen to share everything they can about their craft, and with the rise in video content, there are some very impressive YouTube channels to help you get a feel for keeping bees. That said, some content can be slightly shaky regarding accuracy, while some advice could be more credible, or it just targets those with considerable experience. Discerning one positive content from the negative can be challenging when you’re new.
Visit a Beekeeping Association
The BBKA (British Beekeeping Association) represent the UK’s hobbyist beekeepers whilst supporting and promoting the conservation of our bees in all forms. There is undoubtedly a local association near you and perhaps why you find yourself on our website. Regardless of your country and location, associations will regularly meet to discuss bees, give presentations, and provide training but, more importantly, allow you to bounce ideas off like-minded people. You’ll often hear this being an essential piece of advice for new-bees as it enables you to learn about beekeeping first-hand without acquiring all the equipment and bees first. After a couple of meetings, you’ll know if it’s something you want to take further with the added benefit of people and an association that will help you acquire bees and guide you through those early steps.
It's Not Expensive (To Get Started)
I often hear that beekeeping is an expensive endeavour, but the truth is, it really isn’t. It’s like any hobby; the cost depends on how far you want to take it. If you have a couple of hives out in the back garden, it’s a pastime requiring minimal time and spending. But there’s always something new to try and learn, which can take you down unexpected paths requiring the need for more hives and more equipment. The point here is, keep the rumour of serious expense from putting you off, you can spend very little and still get an incredible amount out of beekeeping.
Get a Mentor
Mentorship is a big deal for us beekeepers, firstly, we love showing people our bees, but we also love to share, help, and teach. Most associations will run a mentorship programme that pairs off beekeepers living close to each other—allowing you to seek help and potentially experience beekeeping first-hand comfortably.
Learn By Doing
Procrastination is commonplace amongst new beekeepers because keeping bees is something one should only rush into head first with a bit of understanding. But once you’ve been to a couple of meetings and you’re sure you want to get started, don’t delay. Talk to your mentor or someone at your association and look to get hold of your bees as soon as possible; the only natural way to fully appreciate beekeeping is to jump in and try it. But even if you still find that it isn’t suitable for you, selling your bees and equipment is relatively easy to do to the point that you may profit.
Here we just wanted to introduce you to some basic concepts of why we love beekeeping and a few pointers on getting started. This is not exhaustive but we hope it’s a good place to start. If in doubt, just pay a visit to one of our meetings, you can find out more on our Meetings page detailing all the upcoming topics and discussions. All meetings provide opportunity to say hi and get advice from more experienced members, we are here to help 🙂