Beekeeping
Pennsylvania has a long history with beekeeping, and anyone with an apiary in the state has to be registered. If you’re new to beekeeping, Penn State Extension has all the information you need to get started. Learn beekeeping basics such as how to raise honey bees, queen bee rearing advice, beekeeping cell builder basics, and best management practices for bee health.
How to Start Beekeeping
Before you buy your first hive, there are lots of things to consider for anyone thinking about starting beekeeping. It helps learn about bee biology and behavior, hive management, equipment, and bee products, and you’ll be better prepared.
As well as growing your own vegetables and raising chickens in your backyard, beekeeping is an excellent way to be more self-sufficient. There is also a huge industry around beekeeping, and honey bees are the most widely used and dependable pollinators.
One of the most important individuals in any bee colony is the queen honey bee. Numerous methods can be used to produce queen honey bees such as grafting using a cell builder or starter. However, if you’re about to start a new colony or renovate an existing one, you can also install packaged bees.
Beekeeping Basics: How to Raise Honeybees
Interest in hobby beekeeping is hot, but to become a successful beekeeper, it’s crucial you learn about honey bee biology, how to manage bee colonies, and other beekeeping basics. For horticultural professionals, there are Best Management Practices for Bee Health to follow, and these are just as relevant for hobbyist beekeepers as well.
A key part of beekeeping is raising and working with the queen. She is the most important individual in any productive hive.
Honey bees can suffer from a range of different maladies, and you need to be able to recognize and treat them. Environmental stressors can have a big impact on the health of your bees, as can honey bee parasites, pests, and predators. Varroa mite, for example, can weaken the bee immune system. However, feral honey bees are thought to have naturally developed mechanisms to deal with these mites. Honey bees can also be infected with a host of different viruses and bacterial diseases such as American Foulbrood.
- Webinars
Free
BeeCheck: A Communication Tool to Keep Your Bees Safe
When 05/14/2024Length 1 hourLearn more about BeeCheck, including how to register and what to expect from this platform. - Articles
Virus en abejas de miel
Las abejas de miel pueden ser infectadas por una gran variedad de virus. Sin embargo, si la colonia está en buen estado de salud y no experimenta estrés crónico, la mayorÃa de estas infecciones virales no son problemáticas. - Webinars
Beekeeping Basics Webinar Series (In Spanish Language)
Length 9 Hours Total (6 weeks of 1.5 hrs. ea.)Unlock the world of beekeeping in our Spanish-language webinar series. Learn essential skills, from hive management to honey bee behavior. Join us for an interactive journey into beekeeping, perfect for beginners and enthusiasts alike. - Articles
Manejo de abejas de miel a través de las estaciones
En Pensilvania, el estilo de vida de las colonias de abejas melÃferas está estrechamente relacionado con las estaciones debido a la alta variabilidad en la disponibilidad de plantas, temperatura, y precipitación. - Articles
Apicultura, ¿cómo empezar?
La apicultura es una actividad nueva y apasionante para muchas personas. - Articles
An Introduction to Honey Bee Breeding Program Design
Honey bee breeding is a long-term, labor-intensive process that is becoming more popular and accessible. - Articles
Spotted Lanternflies and Beekeeping
The spotted lanternfly, Lycorma delicatula, is an introduced plant hopper from China that is rapidly expanding its range in the United States. - Articles
Alcohol Wash for Varroa Mite Monitoring
An alcohol wash is the best method for monitoring Varroa mite populations in honey bee colonies. - Articles
Honey Bee Management Throughout the Seasons
The honey bee colony lifestyle is closely linked to the seasons when the availability of flowering plants, temperature, and precipitation vary dramatically. - Articles
An Organic Management System for Honey Bees
Outlines the practices, treatments, and steps for managing honey bees using an organic management system. - Articles
Enfermedades de la Abeja de Miel: Loque Americana
La loque americana únicamente afecta a las larvas de la abeja de miel, debilita a la colonial y provocando rápidamente su muerte. - Articles
Métodos para el control de Varroa destructor: un enfoque de manejo integrado de plagas
El parásito Varroa destructor (Figura 1) es actualmente la plaga más importante de la abeja de miel occidental (Apis mellifera). - Articles
Queen Cell Production: Grafting and Graft-Free Methods
Queen production allows beekeepers greater autonomy and independence, enabling individuals to better meet the goals of honey production, pollination, colony production, and genetic selection. - Articles
Beekeeping: Cell Builder Basics
Honey bee colony behavior is dynamic and extremely adaptable, which allows for easy manipulation and management of these amazing social insects. - Videos
Colony Division: An Easy Method to Split a Colony
Length 12:24This short 2-part video provides an overview of colony reproduction and illustrates a simple step-by-step method for dividing or splitting a colony. - Articles
Viruses in Honey Bees
Honey bees are infected with many different kinds of viruses. However, most virus infections are not problematic, if the honey bee colony is healthy and does not experience chronic stress. - Articles
An Introduction to Queen Honey Bee Development
The queen is the most important individual in a colony. She is the only bee capable of producing workers and tens of thousands of workers are required for strong colonies. - Articles
Honey Bee Diseases: American Foulbrood
American foulbrood only attacks honey bee larvae, weakening the colony and quickly leading to its death. - Articles
Methods to Control Varroa Mites: An Integrated Pest Management Approach
Varroa mites (Varroa destructor), are the most influential of all of the pests and diseases of the European honey bee (Apis mellifera) today. - Articles
Tracking the Health of Feral Honey Bees in Pennsylvania
Dr. Margarita M. López-Uribe is leading a project to map feral bees and analyze their immune systems. If you are aware of an unmanaged honeybee colony, please let us know. - Articles
A Quick Reference Guide to Honey Bee Parasites, Pests, Predators, and Diseases
Information about common honey bee maladies, including varroa mite, tracheal mite, bee louse, skunks, bears, foulbrood, and nosema. - Guides and PublicationsStarting At $10.20
A Field Guide to Honey Bees and Their Maladies
Identify and treat maladies in your honey bee colony. - Guides and PublicationsStarting At $8.50
Beekeeping Basics
Become a successful beekeeper by learning about honey bee biology and how to manage bee colonies in this publication. - Online Courses
$159.00
Beekeeping 101
Sections 10Length 9 hoursThis online course about the science and practice of beekeeping is for beginning beekeepers. It covers bee biology and behavior, hive management, equipment, bee products, and more. - Articles
Orchard Pollination: Honey Bees
European honey bees are the primary managed pollinators in orchards because their abundance can be managed from year to year.