The beekeeper's world
Beekeeping
Getting started, choosing hives, managing colonies through the seasons, keeping them healthy and harvesting, step by step.
Contents
- 01Getting startedTraining, registering hives and finding your first colonies.2 articles
- 02Hives and apiaryChoosing a hive and setting up an apiary.4 articles
- 03EquipmentSuits, smokers, hive tools and extractors.1 article
- 04Through the seasonsInspections, feeding, swarming and wintering, month by month.2 articles
- 05Colony healthVarroa, hornets, foulbrood, nosema: spotting threats and protecting colonies.3 articles
- 06Breeding and selectionQueen rearing, grafting, splits, strain selection, instrumental insemination and stock improvement.4 articles
- 07Harvest and extractionSupering, harvesting, extracting and jarring.1 article
in the apiary
All articles
- Through the seasons
Beekeeping calendar: month-by-month hive management by US region
US beekeeping calendar month by month: packages, inspections, supers, swarms, dearth, mite washes, fall feeding and winterizing, with timing by region.
- Equipment
Beekeeping equipment for beginners: the complete US list, 2026 prices and budget
Beekeeping equipment for beginners in the US: Langstroth hive, deeps and mediums, suit, gloves, smoker, hive tool, feeders, mite testing, extractor and budget.
- Getting started
Beekeeping laws by state: apiary registration, inspections, moving bees, local ordinances and selling honey
Beekeeping laws by state explained: who must register an apiary, fees, inspections, moving bees across state lines, city ordinances, varroa products and honey.
- Through the seasons
Feeding honey bees: sugar water ratios, fall feeding, fondant and pollen patties by region
Feeding honey bees in the US: 1:1 and 2:1 sugar water, how much honey to leave by region, fall feeding dates, fondant, candy boards and pollen patties.
- Harvest and extraction
How to harvest honey: timing by region, pulling supers, extracting, moisture and selling
How to harvest honey in the US: when supers are ready by region, escape and fume boards, small hive beetles, extracting, moisture, bottling and state rules.
- Colony health
Honey bee diseases in the US: identifying foulbrood, brood diseases, nosema, viruses and hive beetles, and what your state requires
Honey bee diseases in the US: spotting AFB and EFB, the rope test, antibiotics under the VFD rule, nosema, viruses, small hive beetle and state reporting rules.
- Breeding and selection
Honey bee genetics: inheritance, heritability, mite-resistant stocks and breeding better bees in the US
Honey bee genetics for US beekeepers: the csd gene, polyandry, heritability, VSH, Pol-line, Russian and Minnesota Hygienic bees, and how to breed better stock.
- Getting started
How to start beekeeping: classes, state rules, costs and your first year
How to start beekeeping in the US: a bee club class, your state's apiary rules, packages vs nucs, the real cost of two Langstroth hives and a first-year plan.
- Breeding and selection
Instrumental insemination of honey bee queens: protocol, equipment, success rates and US rules
Instrumental insemination of honey bee queens in the US: step-by-step protocol, doses, CO2, courses and costs in $, success rates, frozen semen and USDA rules.
- Hives and apiary
Langstroth hive: dimensions, deeps vs mediums, 8 vs 10 frames, and cost
The Langstroth hive explained: box and frame dimensions, bee space, deeps vs mediums, 8 or 10 frames, supering, wintering by region, state laws and 2026 prices.
- Breeding and selection
Raising queen bees: grafting, cell builders, the day-by-day schedule, mating nucs and mite-resistant stock
How to raise queen bees in the US: larva age for grafting, cell builders, a day-by-day schedule, mating nucs, regional timing, Africanized areas, state rules.
- Breeding and selection
Honey bee swarming: signs, swarm prevention, splits, catching swarms and Africanized bees
Swarm prevention for US beekeepers: why bees swarm, swarm cell signs, splits, Demaree and checkerboarding, catching swarms, regional seasons and state rules.
- Hives and apiary
Types of beehives: Langstroth 10-frame and 8-frame, top-bar, long hive and Warré compared
Types of beehives compared for US beekeepers: Langstroth 10-frame and 8-frame, deeps vs mediums, top-bar, long hive and Warré: sizes, weights, laws and prices.
- Colony health
Varroa mites: testing, thresholds, EPA-registered treatments and regional timing
Varroa mites in the US: how they kill colonies, the alcohol wash, HBHC thresholds, every EPA-registered treatment, amitraz resistance and timing by region.
- Hives and apiary
Warré hive: dimensions, plans, nadiring, harvest and state laws in the US
The Warré hive for US beekeepers: box dimensions in inches and mm, building plans, nadiring, crush and strain harvest, varroa, state frame laws and prices.
- Hives and apiary
Where to put a beehive: setbacks, local rules, sun or shade, water, bears and moving hives in the US
Beehive placement in the US: state and city setbacks, flyway barriers, sun or shade by region, entrance direction, water, bears, pesticides and moving hives.
- Colony health
Yellow-legged hornet in the US: where it is, how to identify it and how to protect your hives
Yellow-legged hornet in the US: where it has been found in Georgia and the Carolinas, how to identify and report it, and how beekeepers can protect their hives.
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