Best Resources for “Bee-ginning” Beekeepers

Have you been bitten (er, stung?) by the beekeeping bug? Check out these resources to help you get started.

By Daniel Johnson and Samantha Johnson

Beekeeping has benefits for both farmers and gardeners.

When you embark on any new hobby or project, it’s helpful (and fun!) to access a variety of sources of information. That’s one way to increase your knowledge and skill level, while choosing the most effective options for yourself. If beekeeping is your goal, then be sure to check out the following resources—you’ll find organizations, magazines, beekeeping suppliers and more.

<< See our story, Top Five Beekeeping Tips for Farmers and Gardeners

Fascinating Facts

To produce a single pound of honey, bees must visit as many as 2 million flowers and travel an accumulated distance of 50,000 miles.
In her lifetime, an average female honey bee can fly a distance equal to that of traveling 1.5 times around the earth.
Bees fly approximately 15 miles an hour.
Bees have a fairly elaborate system of communication, involving both chemical (scent) and mechanical (“dancing”) aids. Bees can communicate information about food sources and danger, the brood can make requests for food, and queen bees can even offer “encouragement” to the workers.
On a summer day, a busy, healthy queen bee may lay as many as 2,000 eggs!
Each of the three types of honey bee (queens, workers and drones) have a distinct body shape: queens are long, slender and large; workers are shorter and rounder; and drones possess very large eyes.
Check out this page (http://tocohills.dentaloneatlanta.com/health-benefits-of-honey/) for more about the health benefits of honey. (Thanks, Emma Weaver!)

Beekeeping Supply Companies

Betterbee

800-632-3379

www.betterbee.com

Blue Sky Bee Supply

877-529-9233

www.blueskybeesupply.com

Brushy Mountain Bee Farm, Inc.

800-233-7929

www.brushymountainbeefarm.com

Dadant& Sons, Inc.

888-922-1293