Things I’d Do Again as a First-Year Beekeeper

Our first year of beekeeping doesn’t really end until spring. Getting bees through winter is one of the hardest parts of the job, and it’s where a lot of lessons show up. Winter, however, is also a good time to pause and take stock. This post—and the next—are a record of what I’d do again as a first-year beekeeper, and what I’d think twice about. I’ll update these once winter is fully behind us.

1. Read books (and more than one)

Call it research, preparation, or just curiosity—reading matters. What I appreciate about books is that they usually reflect multiple perspectives and have at least some level of vetting. That’s not always true of YouTube, podcasts, or social media. Those can be useful, but they’re best used alongside more grounded sources. If you don’t love books, that’s fine—just don’t rely on a single voice. Break the algorithm.

A few favorites: Honey Bee Democracy (Thomas Seeley) and The Backyard Beekeeper (Kim Flottum). If you’re interested in more natural or data-driven approaches, Dead Bees Don’t Make Honey and The Honey Bee’s Guide to Varroa Management are worth your time.

2. Join a local bee club

All beekeeping is local. Your bee club is where you’ll learn how your climate, forage, and seasonal patterns actually affect your hives. Clubs also offer mentorship, bee schools, apiary visits, and often shared equipment. Start by searching your city or state plus “beekeeping club”—most states have an association that can point you in the right direction.

3. Find a mentor

Nothing replaces opening a hive for the first time with someone experienced standing next to you. After posting in my local club’s Facebook group, I had my first apiary visit in mid-March. I expected to observe; instead, I was handed a hive tool and told to open the hive. That moment changed everything.

A good mentor gives hands-on experience early, talks you through decisions, and is available when questions come up during the season. You don’t have to agree with everything they do—take what’s useful and build your own approach. Just don’t be a burden. Work around their schedule, and when you harvest honey, share a jar as thanks.

4. Buy local

This mostly applies to bees, but it can apply to equipment too. Local bees are adapted to your area, and a good seller often becomes another informal mentor. We bought our nucs from a local apiary, and it was one of the best decisions we made. The willingness to answer questions—and explain why—made a real difference. As with mentors, though, respect their time. Do your homework first and reach out when it really matters.

5. Start with nucs

I can’t compare nucs to packages or swarms, but starting with nucs set us up for early success. Nucs come with drawn comb, brood, food, and an established queen, which shortens the learning curve considerably. Our colonies built up quickly—quickly enough that we split one by early summer and ended the season with three hives and a modest honey harvest. While first-year honey isn’t guaranteed, strong starts make a difference.

6. Start with two hives

This advice gets repeated for a reason. Two hives make learning easier because you have something to compare—growth rates, queen performance, pest pressure. I’m also not someone who wants to inspect weekly. Having two hives gave me more hands-on experience without constantly disrupting the same colony.

7. Collect data

This one is personal, but valuable. I work as a researcher, and I came to beekeeping after reading Honey Bee Democracy and realizing how much overlap there is between bee behavior and the kinds of systems I study professionally. I keep inspection notes and use temperature sensors to track colony health. That data has helped me identify swarms, understand insulation effects, and monitor winter activity without opening hives unnecessarily.

8. Test before treating

Along the same lines, I’m a strong believer in testing for mites before treating. I used alcohol washes throughout the season and only treated in late fall when mite levels rose beyond my comfort level. One hive wasn’t treated at all during the active season due to consistently low counts. As of February 2026, all three colonies are still alive.

9. Include my family

Beekeeping with my husband and young daughters has made this experience both better and, at times, more challenging. I love the questions that come up in the bee yard and watching my kids work through real fears of stinging insects. There are moments when their timing is less than ideal (never schedule an inspection close to lunch or snack time), but learning and growing alongside them has been one of the most meaningful parts of this first year. Beekeeping has become something we share, not just something I do.

10. Slow down inspections and trust observation

Early on, we are told to get into our hives often to increase learning, but I believe that less can be more. Careful observation—from the outside of the hive, through notes, and with the help of data—often told me what I needed to know without disrupting the bees. Especially as someone who tends to overthink (and overreact) slowing down and spreading out my inspections forced me to be more intentional and reminded me that beekeeping is as much about restraint as action.