Surfing the web, and on various discussion boards, the prospective beekeeper looking for advice is repeatedly told: 1) join a club, and 2) get a mentor. That’s good advice, but it falls far short. Joining a club is great, but sending in your $20 won’t get you any closer to becoming a better beekeeper. And just finding a mentor won’t either, unless they’re a good friend or neighbor who’s willing to swap lessons for apple pies. First of all, the number of experienced beekeepers is far fewer than the number of new beekeepers. Add to that the fact that most experienced beekeepers have their own bees to take care of and limited free time like most people, and finding one who is close enough and willing to teach a new beekeeper may be a challenge — finding one who has the heart and willingness to make home visits is like finding gold!
I’m going to suggest a new angle toward getting the new, prospective beekeeper everything they need to find success in this challenging mix of science and art we call beekeeping.
1. The new beekeeper should find a local club or association and start attending meetings. Local clubs provide opportunities to learn. See if your local club is a fit for you. Are meetings educational? Is time made at each meeting to allow you to network and find a bee buddy or mentor? If you don’t feel it’s a good fit, look elsewhere for a club that fits, or join multiple local clubs.
2. Start your search for a good beginning beekeeper class. Half-day or single-day classes are good for determining if beekeeping is something you’d like to learn. Better introductory beekeeping classes span multiple evenings or weekends and encourage Master Beekeeping Program Certified testing. If you’re more advanced, look for a club that provides intermediate-level topics at meetings or pushes its members toward Journeyman-level material and courses. If your local club minimizes education, look for a class at the next closest club and attend their meetings too. The drive may be worthwhile.
3. Sign up and take the next beginning beekeeper class offered. Read the handouts; read the book. Don’t be satisfied to be spoon-fed the information, and don’t limit yourself to only the information in the class. Consider this class your toe in the door, your introduction, the beginning of your adventure. Beekeeping is challenging, with a steep and expensive learning curve; challenge yourself to learn this craft.
4. Visit your local library and check out books on beekeeping. You will find some entertaining, some scientific, and some historical. Read all that you find helpful.
5. Decide right now that coming to monthly meetings is an important part of your continuing beekeeping education. Monthly meetings are opportunities to learn. Miss one at your own risk. Many club meeting topics follow the bees’ annual cycle through the seasons. Important things to do and observe are discussed at meetings. The meeting you miss may be the one that offers the information you needed to hear that month.
6. Volunteer for club activities. Club activities are opportunities to learn. If your club offers community outreach at festivals and events, talk to your club’s event coordinator. Volunteer to work with someone else “talking bees” with the public. If you took the beginning beekeeper class, you know 100% more than the general population. Listen to the experienced volunteer you’re paired with and learn from them. Talk with them during breaks. If you enjoy speaking to children, there is real need to visit elementary classrooms. Senior centers also appreciate visits and often contact clubs to schedule brief talks.
7. Watch your bees, even if you aren’t going inside the hive. Get a chair, sit, and watch them coming and going. Soak it in. At first you won’t have anything to compare their coming and going with. As the seasons progress, nectar flows begin and end, temperatures change, and their behavior will change as well. Soon you will notice subtle changes in their behavior on the landing board. With time you’ll know when something’s wrong and needs further inspection — just by watching them.
8. If your club has social events like pre-meeting dinners, occasional social gatherings, or days in the bee yard, attend them. Club social events are opportunities to learn and meet other beekeepers. Beekeepers tend to want to talk about bees — exhaustively. Only other beekeepers want to talk about bees as much as you do. You will learn a lot talking with others at these events. Be social. Network.
9. Find a bee buddy. A bee buddy may be another first-year beekeeper in your neighborhood or a second-year beekeeper who lives close by. Your bee buddy is the one you call when your hive swarms and you need to borrow a box. A bee buddy is someone to visit and look at their hives; they come over and look at yours too. Bee buddies show you how to do new things with your bees. Find a bee buddy at meetings, events, or during meeting fellowship time.
10. Enter your hives as often as is prudent. During some seasons the bees are docile and tolerant of your intrusions. In the spring, visit them often — even every week. When you enter the hive, go in with an idea of what you wish to accomplish. What do you want to observe? The first few times you will be so filled with excitement that you’ll forget to look for the things you set as your goal. That’s okay — look on your next visit. There are other seasons when the bees are best left alone, such as when they are arranging and securing their winter home or during colder months. Take every opportunity to observe them.
11. Join your club’s online discussion group if it has one. You’ll find quick answers to questions you have. Often, a photo and description posted to the group will result in helpful responses or ease your anxiety about something you’ve never seen before. If you do have an emergency, often a club member can swing by after work and take a look. Both women and men participate in these forums, and sometimes you’ll find you’re neighbors!
12. Read your club’s newsletter. Local happenings are listed, along with important dates, sale ads, articles of interest, club minutes, and scheduled speakers and topics — all to keep you informed. Often the club will have an article or beekeeping calendar directly related to seasonal beekeeping, letting you know what to observe and do in your hives that month.
13. Attend local educational offerings. Local educational offerings are opportunities to learn. Some clubs bring in out-of-town speakers for special topics of interest. Other times, clubs or local beekeepers offer day classes on specific topics: queen rearing, moving hives, making splits, Africanized bees, oh my!
14. Attend state conferences. Conferences are opportunities to learn. Even if you can’t stay for two and a half days, at least go for a single day. The information you hear will come from seasoned beekeepers and scholars in bee research from around the country. They have a knack for breaking it down for us simple beekeepers, though, so it all works out. Have lunch with fellow beekeepers. If you stay overnight, find out where your club or a neighboring club will be having dinner and socialize. Carpool with your bee buddy. Hang out in the hotel lobby and talk bees until late.
15. You may never need this if you’re doing all of the above, but if you do: email your club’s secretary to see if a bee buddy or mentor lives close to you — preferably one who also attends meetings. Sit with them, or watch and listen to them teach at the front of the room. If you don’t understand something, ask after the meeting. Offer to help with hard work like pulling supers, rotating boxes, or extracting honey. Tell them you’ll gladly help with their next swarm retrieval. Ask them tough questions that show your enthusiasm and that you’re making every effort to learn. If they know you’re dedicated to learning, attending, and making an effort, it makes all the difference in the world.
16. Set high goals for yourself: go from mentee to mentor. Take on the challenge of the Master Beekeeping Program, which will guide you to becoming a better beekeeper. After your beginning course, take the Certified-level testing. After a period of time, you
will feel more comfortable with your beekeeping and should take the next step toward Journeyman Certification. Become a mentor by volunteering as a club officer, presenting at a club event, or taking on a mentee yourself. Teaching and serving is an educational opportunity for you as well as for others. It’s also your opportunity to give back and grow from mentee to mentor in whatever role you feel comfortable with.
In the end, it’s all about learning about bees — their biology, behavior, and management. Along with that come the seasons, foliage, and the bees’ cousins and foes. Beekeeping is both fun and challenging. It’s learning the biology of animal husbandry along with the age-old craft of keeping bees. The new beekeeper who wants to succeed should throw themselves into learning this craft by taking advantage of every opportunity that presents itself, rather than assuming success will come from passive learning. Today’s prospective beekeeper has more resources than ever before: monthly meetings, progressive educational offerings, club outreach opportunities, fellowship, books, YouTube videos, discussion groups, conferences, and more. Take advantage of every offering available, and you will succeed. Now, get to a meeting!
