Honey Bee Hobbyist, 2nd Edition

Discover the secrets of successful hobby beekeeping with advice from a world-renowned honey bee expert!

• Detailed, practical instructions for hobby beekeeping
• Bee anatomy, behavior, and reproduction
• How to safely open a hive and use a bee smoker
• How to monitor hive conditions, prevent swarming, and deal with bee diseases
• Sting prevention and effective strategies for safe handling
• Fun uses for your beekeeping hobby, including entertainment and education
• Urban beekeeping, with updated information on beekeeping on rooftops and in city environments

Find out everything you need to know to keep and acquire bees!

This comprehensive guide counsels the beginning beekeeper on all things honeybee related, from observing your first hive to harvesting your own honey. A practical and engaging introduction to beekeeping, Honey Bee Hobbyist can help you decide if backyard beekeeping is for you and how to go about it. Well-illustrated with more than 100 fascinating color photographs, this how-to book is written by world-renowned honey bee expert and enthusiast, entomologist Norman Gary.

Learn all about honey bees as important pollinators, including the intricacies of bee reproduction and society, how to use surplus honey, why most people shouldn't fear a bee sting, expert tips and tricks for beekeeping success, the details of colony defense, advice for teaching kids about bees, how to tag or paint bees for identification, and much more.

Dr. Norman Gary shares his extensive beekeeping expertise in this entertaining and authoritative guide. He introduces you to all the equipment, tools, and protective clothing you'll need to get started, teaches you to understand bee behavior so you can relax and enjoy working with these amazing creatures, and provides myth-busting insights, never-before-published tips, and more. From assembling your new hive and stocking it with bees to managing a growing colony and harvesting your honey rewards, Dr. Gary takes you through every step of keeping honeybees as a rewarding lifelong hobby.

Discover whether honey beekeeping is right for you, and explore the beginner's guide to backyard beekeeping, with Honey Bee Hobbyist, 2nd Edition!

"Dr. Gary's fascination with the honey bee and his extensive beekeeping experience make this an engaging and indispensable read."
—Susan M. Brackney, author of Plan Bee

"The easiest to use, most fundamental guide for beginning beekeepers I know."
—Kim Flottum, editor of Bee Culture Magazine