Beginning In Beekeeping: Start Your Very First Beehive!

Step by step instruction on getting started in beekeeping for beginners

What you'll learn
Where to set up your apiary
How to get your hive occupied with bees
How to manage bees in your hive
How to harvest, extract and pack you own delicious honey
How to extract beeswax and make simple candles and beeswax polish
What beekeeping is all about
The benefits of keeping bees in a top bar hive and frame hives
How to make your own top bar hive
Requirements
The course is designed to be understandable by the complete beginner
An interest in learning different ways to keep bees
An interest in simple, low cost beekeeping
An interest in producing your own wonderful, high quality bee products for sale or home consumption
An interest in bees and the natural environment
An interest in doing your bit to protect bees, enhance biodiversity and the natural environment
Description
This course will introduce you to the wonderful topic of keeping bees in both conventional frame hives and also in top bar hives.  The aim is to keep bees in a simple, low cost, natural and enjoyable way.  You will learn about conventional frame hive beekeeping.  You will also learn about top bar beekeeping and why you should consider keeping your bees in a top bar hive.  You will learn about bees.  You will learn how to make your own hive, where to source bees and how to manage the bees in the hive.  You will learn how to harvest and extract the delicious honey and package and label your honey for sale.You will learn about beeswax.  You will learn how to render wax combs into wax blocks.  You will learn how to filter your wax and use it to make simple candles and beeswax polish.  The course will take you right through the whole process from the timber in your shed to building the hive.  Then on to getting bees, managing then bees to harvesting and packing the honey and using the beeswax.  By the end of this course and associated assignments you will be a beekeeper!    The course contains over 11.5 hours of video lectures and practical demonstrations and is organised into the following sections:In Section One we introduce this course and beekeeping. We considered issues such as how to get the most from the course, who can become a beekeeper, the benefits of bees and beekeeping and the challenges in starting any new project.In Section Two we look at the broad approaches to beekeeping and help you identify which approach might interest you.Section Three look at the bee colony and the occupants of the hive. We also looked at the life cycle of the honeybee and the beekeeping year.Section Four looks at types of bee hives and other beekeeping equipment. There were a number of activities such as to choose the type of hive you want to start with and identify local bee equipment suppliers. We also have an optional activity to make a simple top bar hive.Section Five is a pivotal section to establish an apiary site and to acquire basic equipment and bees.  Getting your first colony of bees is a game changer. The bees themselves become your teacher! This is the point where you became a beekeeper.Section Six looks at basic bee management. We look at issues such as the principles of bee management, how to inspect a colony of bees, bee health, swarm control and feeding bees.Section Seven looks at bee products and in particular honey and beeswax. In section seven you will produce some wonderful bee products to share with friends and family.

Overview

Section 1: Introduction

Lecture 1 Introduction to the course

Lecture 2 Get the most from this Course

Lecture 3 Can you become a beekeeper?

Lecture 4 Benefits of bees and beekeeping

Lecture 5 Challenges in starting any new project

Lecture 6 Activity: Self-reflection on starting new projects

Lecture 7 Cost to start with one hive

Lecture 8 Activity - Draw up your own basic budget

Lecture 9 Summary of section 1

Section 2: Approaches to beekeeping

Lecture 10 Introduction to section 2

Lecture 11 Different approaches to beekeeping

Lecture 12 Activity - What approach interests you?

Lecture 13 The fixed comb hive

Lecture 14 The top bar hive

Lecture 15 The frame hive

Lecture 16 Hive innovations

Lecture 17 Activity - Research your local and national beekeeping associations

Lecture 18 Activity - Attend a meeting of your local beekeeping association

Lecture 19 Activity - What types of hives are most common in your country/locality?

Lecture 20 Summary of section 2

Section 3: About the honeybee colony

Lecture 21 Introduction to section 3

Lecture 22 A little bit about bees

Lecture 23 Occupants of the hive - queen, drones and workers

Lecture 24 The life-cycle of the honeybee colony

Lecture 25 The beekeeping year

Lecture 26 Activity: The beekeeping year in your locality

Lecture 27 Summary of section 3

Section 4: Bee hives and other basic beekeeping equipment

Lecture 28 Introduction to section 4

Lecture 29 Components of a typical frame hive

Lecture 30 The nucleus hive (Nuc)

Lecture 31 Activity - Choose your type of hive to start with

Lecture 32 Activity (Optional) - Make your own horizontal top bar hive

Lecture 33 Caring for and maintaining your hive

Lecture 34 Protective and other basic equipment needed

Lecture 35 Activity - Research local bee equipment suppliers

Lecture 36 Summary of section 4

Section 5: Establishing an apiary and getting bees

Lecture 37 Introduction to section 5

Lecture 38 Beekeeping and safety issues

Lecture 39 Factors to consider when choosing an apiary site

Lecture 40 Activity - Choose your own apiary site

Lecture 41 How to set up your beehive in the apiary

Lecture 42 Activity (Optional) - Make a simple hive stand

Lecture 43 Activity - Acquire basic beekeeping equipment

Lecture 44 Activity - Assemble your hive

Lecture 45 Activity - Paint your beehive

Lecture 46 Activity - Make up frames with foundation

Lecture 47 Activity - Set up your hive on your hive stand

Lecture 48 Stocking your empty beehive with bees

Lecture 49 Activity - Research local suppliers of bees

Lecture 50 Getting ready to work with bees

Lecture 51 Activity - Transfer bees in a nucleus colony into your hive

Lecture 52 Activity - Catching a swarm of bees and stocking a hive - Part 1

Lecture 53 Activity - Catching a swarm of bees and stocking a hive - Part 2

Lecture 54 Summary of section 5

Section 6: Basic bee management

Lecture 55 Introduction to section 6

Lecture 56 Principles of bee management

Lecture 57 An overview of seasonal management

Lecture 58 Record keeping

Lecture 59 How to inspect a beehive

Lecture 60 Hive inspection and queen marking - demonstration

Lecture 61 Inspecting the top bar hive

Lecture 62 Activity - Inspect your own beehive

Lecture 63 Bee health, pests and diseases - Part 1

Lecture 64 Bee health, pests and diseases - Part 2

Lecture 65 Activity - Bee pests and diseases in your country

Lecture 66 Swarm prevention and control

Lecture 67 Activity - Nucleus method of swarm control

Lecture 68 Uniting two colonies of bees

Lecture 69 Feeding bees

Lecture 70 Demonstration - Feeding bees with a rapid feeder

Lecture 71 Activity - Make and use a simple home made bee feeder

Lecture 72 Planting for bees

Lecture 73 Activity - Establish a floral calendar for your area

Lecture 74 Some key challenges in beekeeping

Lecture 75 Summary of section 6

Section 7: Bee products

Lecture 76 Introduction to section 7

Lecture 77 Honey, wax and other products from bees

Lecture 78 Harvesting honey from your beehive

Lecture 79 Extracting and processing honey

Lecture 80 Storing your supers after extraction

Lecture 81 Packing, labelling and marketing honey

Lecture 82 Activity - Harvest, extract, process, package and label your own honey

Lecture 83 Processing beeswax from your hive

Lecture 84 Demonstration - Processing beeswax (Kenya)

Lecture 85 Demonstration - Filter beeswax

Lecture 86 Activity - Add beeswax to the top bars for your top bar hive (Optional)

Lecture 87 Activity - Make a beeswax candle

Lecture 88 Activity - Make a beeswax polish

Lecture 89 Summary of section 7

Section 8: Course conclusion

Lecture 90 Introduction to section 8

Lecture 91 Review of what we have covered in this course

Lecture 92 Further reading and resources on starting beekeeping

Lecture 93 Congratulations!

Section 9: Bonus Section

Lecture 94 Harvesting honey from my Top Bar Hive!

Lecture 95 Bonus lecture

Those who want to start beekeeping as a new hobby in spring 2022,Those interested in starting beekeeping in a natural way,Those interested in starting beekeeping in a simple and low cost way,Those interested in producing delicious, natural honey for their own consumption or for sale,Those interested in learning how to process and utilise beeswax,Existing beekeepers who want to try out top bar hive beekeeping