Welcome to our four-part series on getting started in this fascinating and educational backyard pastime, sideline job, or full time career. All are possible with honey bees. Listen in as Kim Flottum, author and retired Editor of Bee Culture magazine, Dr. James Tew, author, Bee Culture magazine contributor and retired Extension Specialist in Beekeeping from the University of Alabama and Ohio State University, and Jeff Ott, a skilled, long time back yard beekeeper discuss the ins and outs of this craft, covering all aspects of getting started.

Part 2 - Where To Get Bees

So you’ve got a good idea about what equipment you’ll need and where your bees will go, so now, where do you get bees? There are several ‘races’ of bees you can get, just like dogs or cows. They are similar in most ways, but each has some special traits you will want to investigate. Then, once you’ve decided what kind of bees will be best for you, how do you get them into that equipment you just picked out. Well, all manner of techniques exist…from the postoffice, from a local supplier or from a local beekeeper, and they come in all kinds of containers, so check out all the bees, and all the ways you can get them.

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Resources for Beginning Beekeepers

Books

• The Backyard Beekeeper, 4th Edition - Kim Flottum
• The New Starting Right with Bees - Kim Flottum, Kathy Summers
• Wisdom for Beekeepers: 500 Tips for Successful Beekeeping - James E. Tew
• The Beekeeper's Problem Solver: 100 Common Problems Explored and Explained - James E. Tew
• ABC-XYZ of Bee Culture - A.I. Root Company

Magazines

• Bee Culture
• American Bee Journal
• The Beekeeper's Quarterly

Associations & Organizationshttps://beeinformed.org

• American Beekeeping Federation 
• American Honey Producers Association
• Bee Informed

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The How To Get Started with Bees Series is Sponsored by BetterBee. BetterBee’s mission is to support every beekeeper with excellent customer service, continued education and quality equipment. How do they do this? Because many of their employees are also beekeepers, so they know the needs, challenges and answers to your beekeeping questions. From their colorful and informative catalog to their support of beekeeper educational activities, including this podcast series, BetterBee truly is Beekeepers Serving Beekeepers. See for yourself at www.betterbee.com

This episode is brought to you by Global Patties! Global Patties is a family business that manufactures protein supplement patties for honey bees. Feeding your hives protein supplement patties will help ensure that they produce strong and health colonies by increasing brood production and overall honey flow. Global offers a variety of standard patties, as well as custom patties to meet your specific needs. Visit them today at http://globalpatties.com and let them know you appreciate them sponsoring this episode! 

We want to also thank 2 Million Blossoms as a sponsor of the podcast. 2 Million Blossoms is a new quarterly magazine destined for your coffee table. Each page of the magazine is dedicated to the stories and photos of all pollinators and written by leading researchers, photographers and our very own, Kim Flottum.

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We hope you enjoy this podcast and welcome your questions and comments: [email protected]

Thanks to Bee Culture, the Magazine of American Beekeeping, for their support of The Beekeeping Today Podcast. Available in print and digital at www.beeculture.com

Thank you for listening! 

Podcast music: Midway Music, "All We Know"