This page and those linked on the top left are intended to give help and guidance to all those who have just started beekeeping, or are about to. There is a lot of information on this website and a lot for the beginner to learn. Although there may be some good sound advice available elsewhere for the beginner, there is also some that is more than a little dubious. All the information on this website is sound, providing it is used in the intended context. I hope you find everything you need. There may be some repetition on these pages, but please remember that some visitors don't read all of them.

I hope you have satisfied yourself that you and beekeeping are suited and are prepared to put in the level of committment required. I assume you have made contact with a local BKA, handled a full colony of bees on several occasions, got stung a few times and spoken to your family and neighbours. If so, well done and welcome to beekeeping.

All beekeepers have to be much better and more knowledgeable now than beekeepers were in the past. There are introduced pests and diseases that can quickly kill a colony, family and neighbours are not as understanding as they were and the litigation culture has appeared.

To be successful, modern beekeeper's must be good handlers of bees and understand the theory to a reasonable depth. A high level of committment is needed and there is more to beekeeping than simply having a box of bees at the bottom of the garden, where you turn on a tap and the honey pours out, with no work or cost involved.

This website is considered to be one of the world's most comprehensive and authoritative beekeeping websites. It was set up by the late Dave Cushman for the benefit of all beekeepers. Please refer to it whenever there is a need and if you are happy with it, please tell others about it and suggest linking it to other websites so others can benefit.

I have been involved with teaching beekeeping to all abilities since the 1970s and understand the needs of those who are just starting, or are about to. It gives me great pleasure to see someone handling a colony of bees well, when they know what they are doing. It gives me even more pleasure if I have helped them in some way.

I hope you enjoy your new hobby. Remember - Beekeeping is fun!

Roger Patterson.

Page created 13/08/2017

Page updated 01/01/2023