Charlotte Anderson - Buzz into Beekeeping: A Step-by-Step Guide to Becoming a Successful Beekeeper

Copyright 2020 by Charlotte Anderson

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Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data is available on file.

Cover design by Daniel Brount

Cover photos by Charlotte Anderson

Print ISBN: 978-1-5107-5739-4

Ebook ISBN: 978-1-5107-5740-0

Printed in China

For my husband, Richard, who has always encouraged me to go for my dreams.
And for my father, James Jones, who thought his little girl could hang the moon.

Contents

About the Author

Born and raised in the foothills of the South Carolina mountains, I always had a special love of nature. Childhood summers spent on Grandpas farm allowed me to develop an appreciation for growing my own food and living a more self-sufficient life. My small backyard homestead features chickens, miniature donkeys, and several gardens. A few years ago, I thought that adding honeybees to the mix seemed like a great idea.

Lacking any beekeeping experience or family members who were beekeepers, my journey began. Reading, researching, attending local beekeeper association meetings, and state meetings paid off. In 2012, I became the first female Master Beekeeper in the state of South Carolina, and was named Beekeeper of the Year that same year.

Over the years, participating in numerous educational events and teaching local beekeeping classes has given me the pleasure of sharing my knowledge of bees with others. My online beekeeping class has helped hundreds of beekeepers get started each year in this fascinating hobby.

When not working in the garden, or spending time with the mini donkeys, I continue to be involved with the world of the honeybee. My website www.carolinahoneybees.com teaches others how to become better beekeepers and how to put the resources of the beehive to good use.

Introduction

Do you envision yourself enjoying a jar of fresh, raw honey from your own beehive? If so, you are not alone. Beekeeping has become very popular in recent years. News media reports on the decline of pollinators are commonplace, spurring a heightened interest in honeybees from people in all walks of life. (Who doesnt smile when seeing a honeybee gathering pollen from flowering plants?) In wake of current concerns about bees, efforts are being made to become more bee friendly. Considerate homeowners seek out plants and flowers that benefit bees and other pollinators, and are becoming more mindful of pesticide use, using fewer insecticides and the least toxic formulas to minimize damage to beneficial insects.

For some of us, finding simple ways to help is not enough. We want to be more involved with the world of the honeybee. We want to become beekeepers, and we want to do it for a variety of reasons. My reason for becoming a beekeeper may be different from yours. In fact, you may have several reasons to keep bees. Do you have an interest in becoming more sustainable? What about seeking a more natural life and reducing your carbon footprint? Many of us like the idea of producing our own food. When you produce your own honey, you know exactly what is in the jar. Even a small-scale beekeeper can produce enough honey for family use. In most regions, a healthy established hive of bees will produce at least fifty to sixty pounds of excess honey in a good year, roughly the equivalent of a five-gallon bucket. Maybe you would like to produce even more honey? If you have the time and energy, adding a few more beehives could produce honey enough to sell.

Honeybee on echinacea flower

Beekeeping today is not the same as it was in Grandpas day. Changing weather patterns affect bee health and productivity, and the introduction of new pesticides and diseases have made beekeeping extremely challenging. When foraging bees come into contact with pesticide spray, it results in bee deaths. A colony may only lose a small number of foragers to poison or the entire colony may die. Beekeepers living near large agricultural operations must be especially cognizant of pesticide poisoning. Alas, that is the way it goes. As our world changes, beekeeping methods must change with it.

Beekeeping is a combination of several disciplines. From biology to agriculture, bee life encompasses the world as a whole. It is not necessary to become a bee scientist if you want to raise bees. However, knowledge is power when managing beehives. This book is not designed to teach you every little detail about beekeeping. No one book could do that because the world of the honeybee is so diverse. My desire is to share tidbits and tips that I have learned over the years and that tend to be overlooked by new beekeepers.

The rewarding adventure of beekeeping is not without risks. You will have failureswe all do. Talk with other successful beekeepers and ask for advice, but think for yourself. As you grow in beekeeping experience continue to read and learn more about bees. Beekeeping is not a one and done activity. You must keep up with changes that affect your colonies. Forgive yourself for making mistakes with your beesit happens to everyone. If you apply what you learn, your successes will outweigh your failures by a large measure.

Have you considered beekeeping for years? I did. While not lucky enough to have close friends with bee knowledge, I always found the idea of keeping wild bees in a box fascinating. And to be able to produce my own honey, that sounded incredible. This idea appealed to my sense of being more self-sufficient and knowing the origin of my food. (And the idea of selling excess honey to pay my beekeeping expenses sounded great, too!)

Tall beehive

I recommend beginning your beekeeping journey at least six months before your bees arrive. It is a good idea to take a couple of classes because the management of honeybees involves a lot of opinions. We all have our own point of view and you will benefit from exploring different ideas. A good beekeeping class can also help with the basics. You will learn the basic parts of a hive, how to buy bees, and basic management techniques. My website, www.carolinahoneybees.com, has helped many new beekeepers. Also, check out local beekeeping clubs. They often offer classes in late winter. Beekeeping in todays environment is not easy, but you can be successful if you continue to learn and work at it.