I'm often asked, "What is a good beekeeping book for beginners?" I reply, "There are several." The book that I started reading while my mother was living with me in her last months was the Beekeeper's Bible. Later, after becoming a 4-H advisor and mentor, I resolved that the my recommendation is Beekeeping for Dummies. You can do well with any or all of these reads. I recommend them all. There are many other great beekeeping books, however I wanted to narrow this list to four favorites. Happy Beekeeping!
Beekeeping For Dummies, 5th Edition, is one of the most popular titles in theFor Dummiesseries 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.
The Backyard Beekeeper - Revised and Updated, 3rd EditionThird Edition, Kindle Edition
The Backyard Beekeeper, now in its revised and expanded third edition, makes the time-honored and complex tradition of beekeeping an enjoyable and accessible backyard pastime that will appeal to gardeners, crafters, and cooks everywhere. This expanded edition gives you even more information on "greening" your beekeeping with sustainable practices, pesticide-resistant bees, and urban and suburban beekeeping. More than a guide to beekeeping, it is a handbook for harvesting the products of a beehive and a honey cookbook--all in one lively, beautifully illustrated reference.
The ABC & XYZ of Bee Culture: An Encyclopedia Pertaining to the Scientific and Practical Culture of Honey BeesHardcover – May 1, 2007
The 41st Edition of The ABC & XYZ Of Bee Culture has over 900 pages and more than 1,000 photos. Most photos are color, but many are black and white because of the extensive array of historical topics, people and events that are covered...here and nowhere else. Constructed as an easy to use and comprehensive encyclopedia of honey bees, beekeeping and beekeeping practices and equipment, the alphabetical listings cover absolutely everything in the beekeeping world. From African Honey Bees, to beeswax, to comb honey, to G. M. Doolittle, to essential oils, to Karl von Frisch, to Extracted Honey, to more than 50 of the most popular honey plants to laying workers, to honey bee mites, to nucleus colonies, to Queen piping and Queen rearing, to the A. I. Root Company History, to smoking colonies, to Top Bar Hives, to Varroa, to wintering to worker cells.
The Beekeeper's Bible : Bees, Honey, Recipes & Other Home Uses
The Beekeeper's Bible is as much an ultimate guide to the practical essentials of beekeeping as it is a beautiful almanac to be read from cover to cover. Part history book, part handbook, and part cookbook, this illustrated tome covers every facet of the ancient hobby of beekeeping, from how to manage hives safely to harvesting one's own honey, and ideas for how to use honey and beeswax. Detailed instructions for making candles, furniture polish, beauty products, and nearly 100 honey-themed recipes are included. Fully illustrated with how-to photography and unique etchings, any backyard enthusiast or gardener can confidently dive into beekeeping with this book in hand (or daydream about harvesting their own honey while relaxing in the comfort of an armchair).
