An Introduction to Beekeeping

I purchased my first beehive when I was 16 years old in an attempt to become an amateur beekeeper and have been enjoying beekeeping as a hobby for seven years since. Friends were dumbfounded upon discovering that I entertained the thought, and then actually went out and started acquiring the necessary equipment in order to begin this new enterprise. I myself have always enjoyed getting into trouble (not to mention I love honey) and thought "why not?"

Beekeepers Inspecting Hives

Nowadays, beekeeping is enjoyed as a hobby with as little as 1 hive, and have also become businesses where thousands of hives are maintained. And getting started is not as hard as people think. It will take some time and a couple hundred dollars. And I would suggest doing a little research before diving in. If possible, find a local beekeeper and putter around their beehives a bit. I was lucky enough to find a couple that were willing to help an excited teenager and they were a wealth of information.


Some of the basic things you will need, and we'll go over them more in detail later on, will be hive bodies, frames, tools, a bee-suit, and the bees themselves. All of the necessities and more can be bought online.

 Western Honey Bee

Like I said, you will need to be willing to invest some time and money into your new endeavor. Spending some times with books or online will possibly save you a lot of those obnoxious "learn-it-the-hard-way" lessons. I haven't found it to be difficult and have been able to keep up with my bees despite working a full-time job and putting myself through college. Once your beehives are up in the spring, they are relatively easy to maintain throughout the summer. It won't be until extracting the honey and getting hives prepped for winter that you'll need a weekend or so devoted to your bees.

Beekeeping is incredibly rewarding, and there is nothing like watching a stream of liquid gold pouring out of recently extracted frames. The honey and wax produced make great gifts for friends and family, and can net a nice chunk of change selling what you were able to harvest. 

More information about beekeeping can be found by checking out a book, looking online, or finding a good beekeeper in your area.