Beekeeping: A Practical Guide

by Richard E. Bonney

Keep your own bees and enjoy delicious golden honey from your own backyard. With his respect and admiration for bees evident on every page, Richard E. Bonney describes how to acquire bees, manage a hive, prevent and treat diseases, and extract a crop of honey. Enthusiastic beekeepers of every stripe and experience level will benefit from Bonney’s astonishing knowledge of the craft — from beekeeping history and honeybee biology to the complex social structure of the hive.

Genres: Nonfiction

192 pages, Paperback

First published January 10, 1993

About the author

Veteran beekeeper Richard E. Bonney, author of Hive Management, Beekeeping, and co-author of Storey’s Guide to Keeping Honey Bees, was the longtime owner of Charlemont Apiaries in Charlemont, Massachusetts.

Reviews

[Toni · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a very thorough book. It didn't address a couple of questions it created in my mind, but it covers a lot. The biggest thing I learned is that I don't want bees after all. They have to be babied, watched over a lot, etc. It made me wonder how on earth bees could have EVER survived before humans started protecting them!

I would recommend this book for anyone seriously thinking of becoming a beekeeper, so you know what it really entails.

At the end of the book, there's a list of suggested books to read. I find it ironic that the author states that books even 20 years old are most likely outdated, when the copyright for the book I read is 1995 (30 years ago, exactly). (Of course, the book was brand new when he made that statement.)

[Graham · Rating 3 out of 5]

Printed in the early 90’s some of the info presented is now out of date. Ie: bee species mentioned - midnight and starline, certain mite treatments are no longer available, etc.
Overall a decent book with a lot of good information regarding general beekeeping and some strategies for success. Definitely a good resource for someone just learning about beekeeping but I’m sure there aren’t more up to date sources

[Magdalena Julkowska · Rating 4 out of 5]

Overall a pretty good read - however it’s missing quite a lot of info like - how do I recognize brood from honey and so on. Illustrations were great but somewhat limited. It does provide pretty good overview and history of beekeeping, as well as the risks and obligations, but for someone who is just beginning to read about bees it’s a lot of missing info.

[Sid · Rating 3 out of 5]

I picked this one up at my local bee store on recommendations of their staff. Good quick read. Decent level of detail, but left me with a lot of questions which I found answers to in other books. I'm doing a lot of bee reading this winter in prep for the spring and this was a good start.

[Onisim Moisa · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent

I am a novice in beekeeping, therefore, the info on the pages of this book are very precious. I look forward to apply what I've learned. Perhaps I will re-read the book many times.

[Nathan Brant · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thinking about beekeeping? Read this book first. It's well organized, straight forward, and easily understood. And honey. It's all about the honey, honey, honey . . .

[Annie Oosterwyk · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of my favorite beekeeping books.

[Fed · Rating 5 out of 5]

If you are planning to be a beekeeper you should read this book. This is not just a book, but a manual for successful beekeeping.

One warning: This book will not help you with the latest diseases that have been destroying bee colonies in the last 10 years. Although, I am sure that if you are planning to become a beekeeper, you already know that you will always have to keep up with journals and publications released by universities that study apiculture in order to know how to medicate your hives and keep them healthy.

[Bob Redmond · Rating 4 out of 5]

One of the standards for beginning beekeepers. Published in 1993, the book lacks the latest information on diseases, but since beekeeping has remained mostly the same since the 1850's, theres plenty of valuable information here.

*

WHY I READ THIS BOOK: It was recommended by a few old-head beekeepers. I had bounced around in it as one of my research aides, but I kept getting drawn in and ended up reading it from beginning to end, in order to appreciate the annual cycle of bees.

[Leigh-ann · Rating 4 out of 5]

Beekeeping is something I've had an interest in for many years, although I've never had the space to consider it. This book was a good introduction to the topic and it let me know that even though I'm about to move to 1 acre, I'll still probably need to hold off until I have even more property. Lots of good photos, and the author seems to offer lots of great tips for newbies. I'll be back!

[Justin · Rating 5 out of 5]

Well I have gone from "that is something I am interested in" to "that's something I would like to do someday" to "I can't wait to get started with bee keeping!" This book was very informative and lots of fascinating bee info even if you don't plan on keeping them someday but beware though, after reading it you just may go to " I can't wait to get started with keeping bees" like I did.

[Andrew · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a good book for explaining to the ignorant (me) without seeming like it was dumbing down everything. Very readable - quick read, 1-2 hours.

[Zoe · Rating 4 out of 5]

Informative and overall seems a good overview. Could use illustrative pictures or diagrams to truly help the neophyte.

[LisaKaren · Rating 1 out of 5]

Blech. Sure it had the basics, but this guy is so negative, I don't think he actually wants anyone else to keep bees.

[Ann Messick · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good book to start.

[Jason Ramsey · Rating 4 out of 5]

I talked to a man who had a beehive, and I realized I knew nothing about honey bees, so I bought this book. Very informative for someone who knows nothing.. I enjoyed it!

[Bill Robson · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a useful book for a beginner beekeeper. I own this one.

[Brooke Gilley · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great Information for people wanting to learn the basics of beekeeping especially for newbies.