Beginning in Beekeeping: Start Your Very First Beehive

The course has over 11.5 hours of video lectures and practical demonstrations, broken up into 7 sections:

• Section 1 introduces this course and beekeeping. It talks about how to get the most out of the course, who can be a beekeeper, the benefits of bees and beekeeping, and the challenges of starting anything new.
• Section 2 discusses the broad approaches to beekeeping and helps you determine which one might be right for you.
• Section 3 looks at the bee colony and its occupants. Honeybee life cycles and beekeeping seasons are also covered.
• Section 4 discusses beekeeping equipment and types of bee hives. As a start-up, there are a number of activities you need to do, such as determining which type of hive to purchase and finding local vendors of bee equipment. You can also make a top bar hive as an optional activity.
• Section 5 focuses on the establishment of an apiary site and the acquisition of equipment and bees necessary to establish a successful apiary. You will never look at beekeeping the same way again after you get your first colony. You learn from the bees themselves! Your journey as a beekeeper begins here.
• Section 6 covers basic bee management. Among the topics covered are bee management principles, how to inspect a colony of bees, bee health, swarm control, and feeding bees.
• Section 7 discusses bee products and, in particular, honey and beeswax. You’ll be able to make some awesome bee products to share.