What do you need to have to start beekeeping?
Well, I could have saved a lot of time in building gear and saved money that I used to purchase gear if I'd taken my own advice.
Find a mentor!
As a hobbyist beekeeper going into my tenth season, I have bought a lot of equipment and home-built a lot as well. Probably 70% of what I've purchased and built never gets used--what a waste! After doing this for seven years with inconsistent results, I finally quit doing what I was doing and started to follow a mentor. And my results are starting to improve.
So how do you find a good mentor?
Well, think about what you want to accomplish. A lot of folks get into beekeeping because they want honey. That's not a bad objective in my opinion, that's why I got into it. And, it's still an important part of my small operation. Others may just want to help the bees. Some may want to raise queen bees. The important thing you must know what it is you want to accomplish in beekeeping. This is something that may evolve over time and that's OK, just make sure you start somewhere.
Now, once you have your objectives firmly in mind, then find your mentor. Go to beekeeping clubs, meet and talk to people. Join some beekeeping forums. Find out who is doing what you want to do. Then verify. If honey is your goal, make them "show you the honey"!!! Then and only then will you know that you have the right mentor. I can't stress enough the importance of vetting out your mentor. Like many other endeavors in life, there are talkers and then there are doers. I've found that the doers do a lot less talking and listen more. The talkers can be eloquent and exude all sorts of confidence, and even get a bunch of followers but when it comes time to perform they don't show up. In fact, I know of one talker who even wrote book on beekeeping, but 90% of his bees die in the wintertime. Why would I ever want to buy the book or listen to that person?
Also, as in any endeavor, I've found that the good mentors are generally happy to share their knowledge and derive joy and satisfaction from their mentees' successes. In other words, they don't charge exorbitant amounts of cash providing their knowledge. You should be prepared to do something for your mentor, like maybe give him or her a queen bee that you raised. Or a piece of equipment that you have that he/she needs. But, it should be an arrangement that works for both of you. It may be hard to find that person, but when you do, it will be worth the wait...trust me!
If you can't find a local mentor who is successful in doing what you want to do, the next best thing is to find someone on YouTube or other online source. That is how I found my mentor, Mike Palmer. Actually, he doesn't even know that he's my mentor, but I am trying to do everything he does to accomplish my goal of a "sustainable apiary". Here is one of his videos that provides an overview of what I am endeavoring to accomplish in my apiary:
Utilizing a mentor who is not in your area does have one big problem. Beekeeping is local. What works for a person in northern Vermont in the US may not work in South Australia...likely it won't. There are general principles that are universal, but keep in mind that not every beekeeping method is universal.
Other than a mentor there are just a few "must haves" on the equipment side of things. You need a smoker, you need a veil or an apiarist suit and you need some sort of a beehive structure to put the bees in. Oh, and of course you need bees. Make sure that you get a queen bee or queen bees that have survived the winter in your area or progeny from winter survivors. Again, beekeeping is local, good queens from Atlanta, Georgia aren't necessarily going to have success if you move them to the Olympic Peninsula in Washington.
Have fun, it's beekeeping!
