Beekeeping for Beginners: How to Be a Successful Beekeeper!

At Queen Bri's Honey, we are 5th generation beekeepers, and our entire family is involved in our beekeeping operation. Let us teach you how to be beekeepers!

Whether your interest in beekeeping is as a hobby, because your grandpa once kept bees when you were growing up, or you think this might be a cool little side business, this course will help get you started on your new adventure as a beekeeper!

In this course, you will learn everything you need to know about getting started as a beekeeper. By the time you finish this course, you will have learned all about each of the topics listed below, and you will be ready to get started out in your own beekeeping adventure.

With 44+ lessons and 9+ hours of instruction, there is a ton of information packed into this course. In fact, this course contains even more information than my 2- day in-person Beginner Beekeeping class that I conduct!

We will cover the following topics:

• History of Beekeeping

• Benefits of Bees

• Decline of the Honeybee Population

• Zoning, Neighbors, Family Support, Costs, and Time Considerations

• What You Need to Do Before You Start Beekeeping

• Types of Honey Bees

• Obtaining Your Bees

• How Bees Communicate and Make Honey

• Honey Bee Life Cycle - Honeybee Jobs & How Queens are Made

• Types of Hives

• Selecting a Location for Your Hives

• Protecting Your Hives With Raised Stands and Fencing

• Basic Beekeeping Equipment - What You Need and What's Optional

• Video Demo: Basic Beekeeping Equipment

• Video Demo: How to Build Your Equipment for Your Bees Arrival

• How to Install Your Bees into Their New Hive

• Video Demo: How to Install Packages of Bees

• Do's and Don'ts Before Visiting Your Hives

• How Often to Inspect Your Hive Throughout the Year

• Video Demo: How to Light Your Smoker

• Video Demo: How to Suit Up to Prevent Getting Stung

• How to Inspect a Beehive - Inside and Out

• Video Demo: How to Inspect Your New Beehive

• What to Expect Your First 12 Months

• Beekeeping Calendar: How Beekeeping Inspections Change Throughout the Year

• How Nectar Flow and Bloom Cycles Affect Your Bees

• Common Hive Problems

• Potential Hive Diseases

• Honeybee Pests - Prevention and Treatment

• Honey Harvest - Honey Extraction Equipment Needed & How to Harvest Your Honey

• Honey Label Requirements

• Cleaning Up Your Beeswax to Make Bee Products With It

• When and How to Prepare Your Hives for Winter

• Video Demo: Preparing Your Hives For Winter

This class uses multiple learning formats, from PowerPoint slides, to handouts, to on-site video demonstrations in one of our apiaries (bee yard) so that the information can be easily learned no matter your preferred learning style.

If you have any questions during or after the course, you are always more than welcome to contact me. I am so excited to help you get started as a beekeeper, and I look forward to hearing stories about your new beekeeping adventures!

Instructors

Tonya Wells and Brianna Wells – Owners / Beekeepers of Queen Bri's Honey in Oklahoma City