Beekeeping For Dummies

by Howland Blackiston

The single best and most comprehensive guide for prospective, new and experienced hobbyist beekeepers

Beekeeping For Dummies, 5th Edition, is one of the most popular titles in the For Dummies series available today. Including the latest information regarding every aspect of backyard beekeeping and honey production, this book describes how to get started, how to care for and safely handle bees, and how to maintain healthy and productive colonies.

This book is loaded with up-to-date, practical examples and helpful illustrations of proven techniques and strategies for both new and seasoned hobbyist beekeepers. Some of the updates for this brand-new edition include:

New information regarding the critical role that nutrition plays in the health and productivity of your bees News about the latest beekeeping products, medications, and all-natural remedies Information regarding dozens of helpful beekeeping resources Redeemable coupons from beekeeping suppliers that save the reader money Beekeeping For Dummies embodies the straightforward and simple approach made famous by the For Dummies series. Each and every reader will benefit from its accessible and approachable take on beekeeping.

Genres: Nonfiction, Reference, Animals, Science, Gardening, How To, Business

496 pages, Paperback

First published February 15, 2002

Reviews

[Lesli · Rating 2 out of 5]

Good for the basics, but skims the surface of some areas--like extracting--that really require a bit more depth for the beginner. Also, dogmatic, and "one right way" attitude that spoils things for me. Too much advice on using chemicals.

[Tara · Rating 5 out of 5]

Definitely going to buy a copy of this book. This was very detailed in everything you'll need to start up beekeeping, including blueprints to build your own hive, how to brew your own mead and various recipes.

[jimtown · Rating 5 out of 5]

Logically organized and very helpful volume for the person interested in beginning beekeeping. I was able to locate the areas of most interest to me and save some of the less vital chapters to read as needed, such as diseases of the bee.

Beekeeping for Dummies shows not only the best equipment to use, but some of the less common hives, such as the observation hive. There are links to places to get a starter kit and the items needed to keep bees, including the bees themselves and the all important Queen bee.

Later, if all that goes well, there are chapters on harvesting the honey, and even using the beeswax. Interesting and informative. I'm going to bookmark a lot of pages here.

Here's a quote from the book:

"Beekeeping isn't labor intensive. Sure, you'll spend part of a weekend putting together your new equipment. And I'm anticipating that you'll be spending some time reading up on your new hobby. (I sure hope you read my book from cover to cover!) But the actual time that you absolutely must spend with your bees is surprsingly modest."

[Jason Waltz · Rating 5 out of 5]

excellent, helpful, delivered what I sought. easy to read as all Dummy books are. if you have any interest in bees, this is a great book to start with.

[Reading Cat · Rating 4 out of 5]

Okay for years I've wanted to do beekeeping, especially since my yard got wrecked by a storm and I had a major cleanup. Last year, I thought of it too late, but this year, I'm (barely) just in time.

I do not think this book covers everything I will need to know about beekeeping, like...at all. However, I learned (as promised in a 'for dummies' title) the basics--like the different kinds of hives, what you're supposed to do, when... etc. For example, I am such a newbie I didn't know what a super was--it's a special box that's for YOUR honey--the rest of the honey in the lower parts of the hive are what the bees eat during the winter to say alive. I know a little about the kinds of pests to look out for, and the basics of how to use a smoker, etc.

As others mentioned, he falls a little short in the Big Moment--the honey/wax harvesting part, but a) that's like MONTHS away for me, let me actually get my bees and get a summer happening and b) during those months, I'll have plenty of time to find more resources on what more specifically I need to get and do. SO I'm not worried. He front loads the info that I think is most needed for a beginner, literally giving you step by step how to get your bees when they arrive into your hive, and when to peek on them next.

The author lives in Connecticut, which is not terribly far from where I live, so while I hear and understand other reviewers' hesitance about the geographic advice, I honestly think I'm close enough to him that it'll pretty much work without conversion for me.

Above all, this book gives me confidence. I don't think I'll be a honey making superstar (my goal is to get my bees through a year, period) any time soon, but I feel like I know enough of what I'm in for to start setting up my hive.

Wish me luck!!

[LeAnn L Morgan · Rating 5 out of 5]

The whole process from beginning to end is fascinating. There are some recipes where you use honey and I just made the oatmeal chocolate chip cookies. Very good.
Mead, wine made from honey instead of grapes, has piqued my interest.

[Stephen Rose · Rating 5 out of 5]

My family is looking to start beeping so I read this, and this seems like a great start.
It features details in urban and homestead beekeeping, identifying bees’ biology, understanding hives and tools, and harvesting selling your honey.

⚠️ Parental Warnings ⚠️
None

[Brianne Noyes · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book did its job and made beekeeping seem plausible and desirable for my midlife crisis. Easy to understand descriptions, pictures, and very thorough. But seriously I hope to scout out a place in my yard and start in the next year or two.

[Maia Castonguay · Rating 4 out of 5]

As a young beekeeper who just started my own honey business, I found this book to be very helpful. It gave the basics on how to do virtually everything in the beekeeping world. Although I have already been in the honey business, these tips and tricks were still very helpful to me as I start my own business. This book was a very easy read and separated the chapters in a way that helped me understand the content to its full capacity.
Overall, I see myself using this book in the future, even after already have read it. This book will be very useful for diagnosing hive diseases, keeping my bees healthy and happy, and getting the most that I can out of my hive.

[Rome Doherty · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is the text for a local beekeeping class. It has more information than I want but I think it will be a good resource.

[Mark Hartzer · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is a very comprehensive guide for a new beekeeper, and by and large, it does that job very well. I really liked the color photos as well as the short sections dealing with common issues that one is likely to encounter. BUT, and this is a big but, Mr. Blackiston relies extensively on toxic methods such as Apistan even though he acknowledges that mites might becoming resistant to this form of miticide. Still, it's probably a mostly small point for most people. I think that it is important to try to establish healthy bee colonies without the need of a lot of pesticides. If it was just me, that would be one thing, but both 'Beekeeping for Idiots' and Conrad's book, 'Natural Beekeeping' play down the use of chemicals.

Blackiston does an excellent job overall and I don't want to belittle this well written and easy to read book.

[JoAnne · Rating 3 out of 5]

If you want to lean how to be a beekeeper, don’t use this book as your method. I’m a 15+ year beekeeper and there are a number of errors in the book and some of the information is not specific to local climates, which is hugely important in keeping bees. Join a local bee club and take a local class and get a mentor if you can who keeps bees in your area, and who is up to date on the latest beekeeping information.

Some of the information is good and it’s laid out in a simple and easy to understand way. But if you follow it blindly and you are not keeping bees in the area the author is, you will be making unnecessary mistakes.

[Chris · Rating 4 out of 5]

A great introduction on how to get started
will remain on my shelf for some time i would think. Having just produced my first 20kg batch of honey im looking forward to the next!

Also, this gives you a good look at the role and function bees have in the environment as a whole. Its an enjoyable, and educational read

[Luke Turpin · Rating 5 out of 5]

Informative

I chose this rating because the book was informative and seemed thorough. Look forward to starting my hive next spring.

[Joseph · Rating 5 out of 5]

Super cool.

[Daniel · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed reading every chapter of the book. It was a fun read. I never know what to write in a review. What did I think about the book? I liked the glossary at the end of the book. I also liked the resources section at the back of the book. I also liked the recipes for things to make with wax, and honey and propolis. I really liked the queen rearing chapter.
I try to read all the books about bee keeping I can so that the information will slowly make its way into my brain.
After reading this book I though I could start bee keeping today and do OK at it. While reading the book I though wait a minute the book did not talk about keeping records of your hive inspections. Then at the end of the book there was a list of things to check during hive inspections.
Beekeeping for dummies makes me want to start beekeeping now. To bad its august and to late to start. I will have a goal to start bee keeping next year. Its my new years resolution in august.
I think this book has the information you need to start as a bee keeper. Its a quick read. Its fun to read.
I think it would be fun to have a Langstroth hive and a top bar hive. There is so much to learn about bee keeping and so many things I can do. I can raise queens. I can harvest pollen, propolis, honey. I want to try everything.
What else can I say except that this book was not a waste of my time to read. It was worth the read.

[Tess · Rating 4 out of 5]

I have never read a" 'Topic' for Dummies" book before. Beekeeping for Dummies did not disappoint. It is an excellent introductory book on all things to do with keeping honey bees. The chapters are well laid out and easy to read, and all the little tips and pointers are surely great for the beginning beekeeper, both rural and urban. So informative, though I wouldn't say I'm an expert, I am now so knowledgable on honey bees!

If I have to be critical, perhaps the only limitation of this book is that it's written by a US beekeeper, predominantly for US beekeepers, for example the example calendars offered are for US zones and climates. However, keeping honey bees is similar all around the world, and the author mentions international website resources, and always reminds the beekeeper to check with their local beekeeping associations. (For Irish based beekeepers: www.irishbeekeeping.ie is your gateway to associations, classes, and information).

Overall, no matter where you are in the world, this book is an excellent introduction to keeping honeybees for those who like me, hope to keep their own bees.

[Lydia · Rating 5 out of 5]

Bees! I was surprised that a "For Dummies" book is so highly regarded by the beekeeping community - it's been recommended in nearly every beekeeping forum I've encountered. I felt it was a little bee-neath me to buy this, but I was wrong! This book is thorough and easy to understand.

I'm going to start my own hive this year, and thanks to this book, I'm less terrified for the arrival of my bees. The book covers bees, equipment, installing bees, keeping your hive healthy, harvesting honey, and manages to keep it interesting. I read this from cover to cover in a couple of days, and have been an obnoxious source of bee facts ever since. I continue to reference it as I get ready for my bee-utiful packet of bees.

[Kurt Ronn · Rating 4 out of 5]

A good field guide for my apiary. I’ll continue to use this book as a reference book combined with YouTube videos from beekeepers, local beekeeper advice, more beekeeping clases and support from regional merchants. There’s no one way to keep bees, so listen to and reading a bit of everything is helpful. Beekeeping for dummies is highly regarded as a basic book from most beekeepers. It’s worth reading as learning can be confusing and overwhelming, so I plan to continue to keep this as a quick reference.

[Jamie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great book for complete beginners. I learned a lot from reading it and will reference it again when I get a bee hive. I am sure there are a lot of other bee books that are more informative, but I wanted to get a basic overall understanding of what bees do, the parts of a bee hive, how to take care of bees, and how to harvest honey. This book includes all of those things. It helped confirm that this IS something I would like to pursue. I would recommend this book to any one interested in bees and bee keeping.

[Harold Martinez · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read this book while the VA was implementing its beekeeping program at the Manchester, NH Veterans Hospital. This served as a good and better understanding of what it takes to be a beekeeper, maintain an active hive, essence of flowers and trees that assist the bees in their food gathering, knowing the pests, enemies, and the knowledge needed to bed the hives in winter. Excellent start for anyone looking to start a hive but better understanding of what kind of environment needed to be successful.

[Boško · Rating 4 out of 5]

I think this is the first "for dummies" book I've read so far. I expected something light on detail, but this was VERY DETAILED indeed :)

I liked the book very much. The author goes wide and pretty deep in all chapters and even cross references them to each other when it makes sense. E.g. queen rearing or bee hive diseases.

The only reason I've knocked one star off is because it is very USA focused, although there are many details valid for the rest of the world too. I'd recommend this book to anyone interested in beekeeping in spite of that.

[Jennifer · Rating 4 out of 5]

I want bees, but this made me realize that it's much more involved that I thought. The diagrams are helpful but because the pictures are not in color it's often hard to really see what you are looking at. While it did breakdown what is involved in caring for bees, it feels overwhelming. I think this is, for me at least, something that I would have to see in order to determine if I could actually be successful at it or not. I went through probably half to three quarters of a container of flags marking up this book and still feel unprepared to care for bees.

[Teri B · Rating 5 out of 5]

Everything you ever wanted to know about bees. Delivered in an efficient and entertaining manner.

I loved listening to the audiobook as I only wanted to get an idea of what bees and bee keeping involved. If I'd ever go into actual beekeeping I definitely would make sure to get hold of a paper copy of the most recent edition of this book as it holds so much valuable information, advice and support that can come in handy when dealing with actual beekeeping.

[Nile · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is the first of the "For Dummies" books that I've read and I was very impressed. I had a preconception that they would be super beginner only. It does a great job of keeping things simple and making sure you have the basics but then goes on to discuss intermediate/advanced techniques in a very easy to understand way. I highly recommend it!

[WillH5080 · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is really good for newbie beekeepers, like me. There a lot of useful information for those who just thinking about staring up beekeeping. It have a lot of tips for both the beginners and the experts. Now i have small apiary and a few these (https://www.bestadvisers.co.uk/bee-house ) nice bee houses. :)

[Sid · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read the 5th edition during the winter months getting ready for my first two hives in 2021. Great book with good explanations and lots of helpful hints. This is the 3rd bee book I've read and probably the most helpful for someone who has yet to get started in the hobby. Still reading more and went to bee school in January at my local bee shop.

[Grant Knuckles · Rating 4 out of 5]

looks good Howland. Great resource book. Bee swarm season here where I live. After collecting several swarms for self, orchard and farmers. I have been made an honorary member of local apiarist society. I am currently learning and preparing for the next hives ie. frames and boxes while staggering a read with your book, lent to me. I wait for a purchased delivery . Thank you.

[Elizabeth · Rating 4 out of 5]

Informative in an easy way; covers a lot of topics and gives you confidence that yes, you can keep bees (until you get to the disease section....). Good books to start with but I wouldn't use it as your beekeeping bible.

[Jennifer Baxter · Rating 5 out of 5]

My husband accidentally bought the Uk version, so a few things where different. It read all the same though and had the basic foundations any bee keeper should learn and know. Very informative and not what I was expecting for a book for dummies.