Storey’s Guide to Keeping Honey Bees: Honey Production, Pollination, Health

by Malcolm T. Sanford, Richard E. Bonney

This trusted handbook is a must-have for novice and seasoned beekeepers alike. Now totally redesigned and featuring color photos and graphics, the second edition also includes up-to-date information on honey bee health. The go-to reference presents comprehensive yet accessible information on everything from planning hives and installing a colony to preventing disease and managing productive hives that will bear bountiful honey harvests year after year.

Genres: Nonfiction, Gardening, Agriculture, Reference, Animals, Science, Nature

224 pages, Hardcover

First published September 15, 2010

About the author

Dr. Malcolm T. Sanford is professor emeritus at the University of Florida. He has been published extensively in the apiculture press including the journals Bee Culture and American Bee Journal. He has been the author of The Apis Newsletter for more than 20 years at Ohio State University and the University of Florida, writing on beekeeping management, and is the coordinator of the Apis Information Resource Center. He has been a beekeeping management consultant in Egypt, Italy, France, Chile, Ecuador, Iraq, and Mexico. He lives in Gainesville, Florida.

Reviews

[Marzie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Anyone who gardens, farm or is just interested in nature, knows of the plight of honey bees. More than a few of us have thought of having backyard or rooftop hives. Storey's Guide to Keeping Honey Bees is an extremely useful book for encouraging you while letting you know just what you're getting into! Packed with advice for the novice beekeeper, I felt encouraged to give beekeeping a try when we move to a larger property next year. The Guide is filled to the brim with resources, suppliers, and advice on connecting with your local apiarists for advice on what you need to do in your specific geographic region.

This is an invaluable book for those considering trying a few hives.


I received a Digital Review Copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

[Kasey · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book was the textbook for a beekeeping class that I wanted to take, but ultimately didn't get into. I read it after taking a different, more basic online beekeeping class and I thought this was a great companion to the webinars. The information is straightforward and well-organized. I appreciated the sidebars from beekeepers for more perspective. What really made it all come together, however, were the pictures, which clarified some aspects of my beekeeping class that I was having a hard time visualizing. This is a helpful resource that I am sure I will come back to again once my bees arrive.

[Sally · Rating 5 out of 5]

The perfect book to read during Spring, so you may better understand the world around you. I’ve had an interest in beekeeping for a few years now because we have a couple of hives at the library and community garden, and my curiosity has finally gotten the better of me. I highly recommend this guide to anyone that has an interest but no idea what they’re doing. It not only covers the development and harvesting of honey but also the anatomy of a bee and hive, equipment and location, and diseases and pests of hives. It’s all encompassing and written for novices to get started. My favorite fact was that bears don’t attack hives so they can eat the honey, but so they can eat the brood (baby bees), which is a good source of protein. The honey is just a sweet bonus.

[Connie · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is VERY informative!! It goes right from the beginning on whether or not you may like to even do this! It tells about bees and shows pictures of them, too! It tells about diseases and ways the hive may die. It tells you what you should and should not do, especially at the start of your journey.
I liked that it even tells you to find out who does this in your area, so you can get help. Also, you need to have your hives inspected. Did you know that?? I didn't.
Great book!
Enjoy!
By the way, I just wanted to see what was entailed to do it. I don't really get along with bees. LOL

[Critterbee❇ · Rating 3 out of 5]

Helpful, reassuring, and brightly photographed., Included is a wealth of information on bees and beekeeping, the history of beekeeping, what to expect when starting out, troubleshooting problems and intense bee information. Enough information is provided to prepare novices for beginning.

Overall a wonderful addition to any public library. This would also be a nice gift for an aspiring beekeeper.

*eARC Netgalley*

[Wolf Fortenberry · Rating 5 out of 5]

Awesome book for the beginner bee keeper. This is the third book in the Stoney’s Guide To reference series, and it did not fail to impress as usual. This book is packed with tons of great information for those interested in beekeeping, and it’s a hard book to beat for someone looking for one source to gain a well rounded understanding of starting and caring for their own apiary.

[Donda Johnson · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book has a lot of useful information for a would-be future beekeeper. There are little stories scattered throughout the book that give insight on a beekeeper's life. Storey's guides are always super helpful.

[Laura · Rating 5 out of 5]

A very complete compilation for the new beekeeper with information good for all.
Well researched and resourced with fantastic photos and diagrams.
Very comprehensive.

[Benjamin · Rating 4 out of 5]

Packs in a lot of information. Unfortunately, I have a lot of other food growing endeavors to figure out first so bees are going to have to wait for awhile.

[Dawn · Rating 5 out of 5]

Informative guide to beekeeping, pretty comprehensive.

[Derrick Reed · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great

Very good book for the novice but also good for those with some experience. Great photos help explain concepts as well.

[Colin Mann · Rating 3 out of 5]

Great photos but almost too basic. Would have liked to see more in-depth guidance on bee management. A decent introduction but not a book I would suggest beekeepers use as a reference text.

[Chris Andrews]

A book full of great information. This is a required book for the University of Montana's Apprentice Beekeeping program.

[Maddy Richard · Rating 4 out of 5]

A really good book for someone interested in becoming a honey beekeeper. Would definitely need a more detailed how-to guide once started, but it’s perfect for a novice in their beginning stages.

[Nicole Estes · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great book! Basics of beekeeping very useful and practical

[Rebecca · Rating 4 out of 5]

Provides the basics for new beekeepers

[Rev · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved the information provided in this book. I don't know if I'll ever actually start keeping honeybees, but if I did this book provides a very thorough overview of what kind of care they need.

[Jerry · Rating 4 out of 5]

Stinging

[Tara · Rating 4 out of 5]

Lots of great photos and good explanations.

[MsMood · Rating 5 out of 5]

I’m thinking about it! 🐝🐝🐝

[Kerry Clair · Rating 5 out of 5]

One of the better beekeeping books out there. Very well done.

[Flora · Rating 5 out of 5]

As a beginner's beekeeping book, this was great. I can easily recommend it as an introduction for anyone interested in the subject.

[Mb · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great book that went with an introductory course. Very interesting & industrious insects. Live field experience was the best.

[Megan Graber · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very informative! Wish I would have read before I got the bees…

[Meghan · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good overview for the novice. Let’s go keep some bees!

[Taylor Condron · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great information for anyone just starting out on their beekeeping journey!

[Melanie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Storey’s Guide to Keeping Honey Bees
Malcolm T. Sanford & Richard E. Bonney
Produced by Storey Publishing
Source : Review copy

When we first started our ‘hobby’ farm we turned to Storey’s Guides as our first choice in all inclusive information to get us started. I recently have been curious about honey bees and how to start hives. I saw that Storey had a guide to honey bees and I was sure it would be a great read.

I was enlightened again by the level of instruction and direction that this guide gave. Well described information for the beginner to ponder and think on before jumping into being a beekeeper. There is much more to beekeeping than I could ever imagine.

The book began with an introduction for the beginner which I found very helpful. It then discussed the many interesting aspects of a honey bee and how to keep a hive. The book goes into many details that I would find useful if we were to start our own hives. It is not only a great beginner book, it delves into much detail for the experienced beekeeper to have on hand as a resource. My previous Storey Guides have been well used through the years as a book to use to find quick answers as well as helping others who may be new to the hobby.

I will be using this book in the future as we continue to learn about the process of keeping honey bees. It references many other books, and online organizations that specialize in all things bees.
I received a copy of this book from Storey in exchange for an honest review

[Arminzerella · Rating 5 out of 5]

The authors have a wealth of bee and beekeeping information between them, having written articles and several books on these topics. Storey’s Guide to Keeping Honey Bees is an excellent primer for the beginning beekeeper (experienced ones may learn a thing or two as well!), and one to revisit time and time again. One of the things it addresses particularly well is the infestation of the Varroa mite (as well as other bee diseases/parasites) and the options beekeepers have for dealing with it. This guide mixes information with narratives from beekeepers in an interesting and informative way and shares other beekeepers successes as well as failures so that readers can benefit from their experiences. I definitely plan to reread this as I learn more about my colonies of bees. An enjoyable, reliable, and informational guide.

[Scott Knight · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book provides what I would consider to be an intermediate level of beekeeping knowledge. It was the second book I read on beekeeping and had additional information that was not covered in the first book I read. I felt this book was more focused on larger scale commercial beekeeping type knowledge rather than hobbyist beekeepers who may have more time to do things manually, or a desire to do things with minimal or no chemical control.

I had the opportunity to attend a class with Dr. Sanford and his knowledge is exceptional. I would recommend this book to anyone that is trying to learn before they get their first hives. It is certainly a must read book for new beekeepers to understand what they are getting into and what to watch out for. It is also very thorough in what is necessary to get started.

[Joseph · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is an excellent book for anyone just starting out keeping bees. It explains everything you need to know and the supplies to get. I found it very helpful and I would recommend it to anyone interested in raising honey bees.