Sue Hubbell | Beekeeper, AUthor of a book of bees
The only time I ever believed that I knew all there was to know about beekeeping was the first year I was keeping them. Every year since I’ve known less and less and have accepted the humbling truth that bees know more about making honey than I do.
Whether you are an experienced beekeeping enthusiast or you are a ‘newbee’, only just taking your first baby steps into the realm, the art can be quite puzzling, frankly. It’s a delicate venture, ever-changing with seasons and times. You need to be constantly updated with the trends and changes in the field. Well, the best way to do this will be by using a beekeeping book.
While you will find some pretty handy tips in websites and online platforms and videos, books give a more in-depth look at the subject. They cover a range of topics, including how to gather up your first hive and the history of bees. Others even provide recipes you can use to enjoy the delicacy.
But, with the numerous number of books about beekeeping out there, the problem comes in finding something that is actually worthwhile. Well, we did the research, so you don’t have to and compiled a top list of books about beekeeping. We’ve also split them into different topics so you can find what's right for you.
Let’s take a look.
By the way, if you are in a hurry and don't want to read our reviews, you can jump ahead to our quick view list of book recommendations.
You May Also Like: How to Start a Bee Garden
Why Backyard Beekeeping Makes Sense — Books About Benefits and Uses of Honey
If you make the decision to start keeping honeybees, you'll have plenty of the liquid gold which means you may want to know about all the ways you can use it. Or perhaps you are undecided about whether it is worth your time and effort to become a backyard beekeeper (or a commercial one for that matter).
As such, we thought it would make sense to start our list of beekeeping book recommendations with ones that cover the benefits and uses of honey.
If you want to get right to the how to's, click here to skip this section.
The Beekeeper's Bible: Bees, Honey, Recipes & Other Home Uses
By Richard Jones and Sharon Sweeney-Lynch
The Beekeeper's Bible is one of the most comprehensive guides to beekeeping, addressing the essentials of beekeeping out there. The authors, Jones and Sweeney-Lynch, both have extensive experiences in the art. Richard "Bugman" Jones is an expert ecologist and entomologist, as well as a high profile adviser to the BBC Wildlife Magazine, while Sharon Sweeny-Lynch acts s a freelance writer for the Guardian and other various consumer magazines. They combined their forces to come up with this one immaculate all-rounded piece.
The Beekeepers bible beautifully addresses the society and science of beekeeping in a concise and accessible language. It takes on nearly every facet of beekeeping, taking you through the history of the insects and the honey itself. You get to learn how to safely manage your hive daily and harvest the honey without aggravating the bees.
Additionally, the book provides an outlook of the common ways people use bee products, such as beeswax and honey. It provides detailed instructions about how you can make candles, beautify products and candles. To top it off, you even get 100 honey-themed recipes to spruce up your meals. Readers especially appreciate how well it is illustrated using photography and how-to instructions.
What people say about this book...
“This book is rich and complete on all things bees, truly a wealth of information. From the history of beekeeping, to the breeds, styles of hives, and a million other things to learn to the honey recipes, crafts, and then some. This thick book is chock full of information”
“This book has funny little quirky history lessons about ancient cultures that kept bees and how they did it, it has all the newer ways to set up and apiary, Are you looking for ways to process more than just honey? This book has ideas and recipes for all sorts of things from candles, to lip balms, to furniture polish. You'll just love the way it looks on a coffee table too!”
The Honey Prescription: The Amazing Power of Honey as Medicine
By Nathaniel Altman
If you are turning to beekeeping and honey for its more health-related reasons, then look no further than The Honey Prescription. The book takes a deep dive into the scientific and psychological reasons for the healing powers of honey. It goes over the history of using honey as a healing agent, tracing it back from the ancient Egyptian era to modern times.
The author, Nathaniel Altman, is a researcher and medical writer with over 15 books on alternative healing. In The Honey Prescription, he leaves no topic uncovered on the subject, even addressing the whole healing process's psychology. He goes over in detail why honey is so effective when treating diseases that are resistant to antibiotics.
The book also takes a look at all the latest and most relevant data collected from years of scientific research into the medicinal benefits of honey. It showcases how you can use honey to treat regular health problems ranging from conjunctivitis and ulcers to burns and tooth decay.
Another great thing you’ll appreciate about the book is just how easy it is to follow through. It is structured into four parts, covering only the most valuable and practical information about the subject.
What people say about this book...
“I just finished reading this very informative book and found it to be a very compelling read. I learned a lot of practical and valuable information on the subject of honey bees and the numerous medical uses of honey in the past and in contemporary times”
“Marvelous written very good info on the healing qualities of honey and its scientific proves very well written thank you”
The Fresh Honey Cookbook: 84 Recipes from a Beekeeper's Kitchen
By Laurey Masterton
If you are entirely ready to start keeping bees, there is still no reason why you can’t enjoy all those good benefits of honey. And for this, a recipe book would be much more beneficial.
Being primarily a cookbook, The Fresh Honey Cookbook explores all the tasty seasonal favors you can get from honey and use them fittingly in your meal plan as the year moves on. From avocado honey for baby carrots to sourwood on peaches and cranberry honey for thanksgiving, the book highlights only the best combinations to keep your taste buds excited.
The author, Laurey Masterton, was not only a beekeeper but also a caterer, café owner and spokeswoman for the National Honey Board. She was especially enthusiastic about teaching the benefits of consuming local ingredients, which she relayed in this book.
The recipes themselves go over everything from vegetables and proteins to desserts. The author even gives out a list of where you can get the different variations of honey. You get to combine the honey with other ingredients, seamlessly marrying the flavors to bring out the honey’s true potential. It also takes you through a little history on beekeeping, its importance, and trivia on the subject to keep you entertained.
What people say about this book...
“Being a photographer, I love the work of Johnny Autry, and with his wife, Charlotte, as the food stylist, they have, along with the collaboration of Laurey's recipes and details of beekeeping, presented a beautiful book”
“My culinary skills are poor at best, but I'm getting to been expert on coffee laced with a different honey every day and the morning oatmeal has moved from something to dread to something to look forward.”
Healthy Honey Cookbook: Recipes, Anecdotes, and Lore
By Larry Lonik
Much like its predecessor, The Healthy Honey Cookbook is here to prove that there’s more than just one boring way to enjoy honey in your healthy meals. With this fine honey cookbook, you get over 200 recipes for not only vegetables and fruits but also beverages, dressings, salads, meats, cakes, pies, and desserts you can enjoy your honey with.
The recipes are relatively simple, coupled with smart illustrations that make it easy for any beginner honey lover, looking to experiment with honey. As a plus, the second section also mentions a thing about beauty treatments with honey, which can be beneficial for any skincare enthusiast.
Like all other great books about honey, the book also strives to rejuvenate your knowledge base with a little history and facts about honey. Only these ones are sourced directly from the National Honey Board. Its author Larry Lonik, a morel hunting legend, poured all his in-depth knowledge into the book, publishing it himself under RKT imprint.
What people say about this book...
“This book is perfect for what I needed. I am teaching a mini-class about benefits of honey and also recipes to incorporate for the evening.”
“This is a great book!...not only filled with easy to follow recipes, but also has a ton of facts and history all about honey. Super happy with this purchase.”
How to Keep Bees for Beginners — Getting Started with Beekeeping Books
Now that we have some ideas of what to do with all the honey you'll be harvesting, it's time to learn how to keep bees. If you do a search on Amazon for "beekeeping books", you'll get thousands of results. But no worries, we narrowed the list to 7 of the most popular and useful books about keeping bees. Considered to be some of the best beekeeping books by readers, they cover a wide range of information so you can get your first hive off to the right start. You'll also learn how to maintain your hives, harvest honey and deal with any problems that may arise.
For those of you who have already been keeping bees successfully and are looking for information about how to make money with all the honey you have, you can skip ahead to the next section. However, you may want to continue to scroll and check out the books because there is always more to learn.
Before we get to our list, we do want to take a minute to mention a classic beekeeping book written by Sue Hubbell in 1998. After over two decades, A Book of Bees: And How to Keep Them is still an extremely popular book in which the author not only provides useful information, but also shares what it's like to keep bees from her personal experiences.
Beekeeping for Beginners: How To Raise Your First Bee Colonies
By Amber Bradshaw
Keeping bees can be a fruitful process, but it is also quite delicate. It requires precision and a certain finesse to keep the bees around and actively producing. With Beekeeping for Beginners, you’ll are a step closer to attracting a hive of the healthy pollinators to your yard and raising them to maturity. The book offers a step-by-step guide into the fundamentals of modern-day beekeeping practices. It goes over everything from picking the right hive and helping your bees survive through winter to collecting honey without getting stung due to basic mistakes.
The book is easy to follow through and is broken down into three sectors. It starts off with The essentials of beekeeping, then modern beekeeping, and finally, ends with a glossary with all the bee lingo to help you integrate yourself with the bee society.
The author Amber Bradshaw is an experienced beekeeper of many years. Passion is to teach others to become self-sufficient while making eco-friendly things from scratch. The author is also a college instructor, public speaker and owns an online farmer’s market.
What people have to say about this book...
“This is an excellent book! It held my attention until I finally had to put it down to get other stuff done. It’s an easy read, yet very factual and informative. It gives the exact right amount of detail without droning on (pun intended).”
“The information was presented very well and in a manner that was easy to grasp and understand and topics logically built from one to the next.”
The Backyard Beekeeper, 4th Edition: An Absolute Beginner's Guide to Keeping Bees in Your Yard and Garden
By Kim Flottum
The Backyard Beekeeper has the word backyard as part of its name for a reason. It is one of the greatest books you can use to cultivate a bee colony in your backyard. The author, Kim Flottum, has garnered more than a decade’s worth of experience in the field, which he shares in this ideal beekeeper handbook.
The books’ main aim is to make the act of beekeeping actually enjoyable as a pastime hobby. It is packed with techniques and tips to get you started. You’ll find tons of well-structured information on the equipment you’ll need as a beginner and their use. They also come accompanied by detailed diagrams and pictures, so you know what goes where.
The first sections basically show you how to proceed when you first get your bees and how to get them in the hive without experiencing a rebellion. It will then take you through how to handle bees through the different seasons in the year and how you can harvest and extract the honey.
The book also offers expert advice on practices such as the setting up and preserving of bees in large numbers. You get to learn how to choose an appropriate location for the hive, control swarms, harvest honey, and deal with common diseases affecting bees. Being the 4th Edition of the book includes additional modern information on pest control, how to feed the colony, and to use the smoker the right way. It is both simple and affordable.
What people have to say about this book...
“The science of bee keeping is constantly changing. This book keeps me apprised of changing recommendations. If you’re thinking of bee keeping or just interested in learning about bee keeping, this is the place to start.”
“I'm researching prior to getting bees for the first time, and this book is amazing. very informative, great pictures, packed with information. Everything you need to know is in here!”
Beekeeping For Dummies, 5th Edition (2020)
By Howland Blackiston
Of course, our beginner's list couldn’t be complete without an entry from the famous for Dummies series. Just like its counterparts, the Beekeeping For Dummies is incredibly well received by beginner-level beekeepers. The author, Howland Blackinston, sets out to share his over 30 years experience in beekeeping. He is extremely well-versed in the subject, going as far as being the Backyard Beekeepers Association's former president. He is able to deliver the content in the simplest and friendliest tone that is easy to digest.
The best thing about this book is its use of text and pictures. It is well described with information that will help you navigate through the initial challenges of beekeeping. But don’t get it wrong, despite the controversial title, the book is equally just as helpful to the professionals in the trade. It’s the 5th Edition of the beekeeping series, meaning it is up to date with all the modern techniques in beekeeping. This includes the latest information, more so on the nutrition needed to enhance your bees' productivity and health.
The book is split into 6 sectors, which cover all the fundamentals. They include topics on how to manage a top bar hive and langstrol, how to get bees, and manage them in both the city and suburbs. It also shows you how to fix the common problems which affect beehives and bees.
What people have to say about this book...
“Amazing book. I had read one or 2 others before this and this one cover it all. I had so many questions and they were all answered before I was halfway through. Super informative. I feel well prepared to tackle this new hobby”
“This book is organized so you can reference what you are specifically interested in by a particular chapter, or read it from cover to cover. This has been a pleasant read and very educational on bee keeping.”
Backyard Beekeeping: Everything You Need to Know to Start Your First Hive
By David Burns and Sheri Burns
Backyard Beekeeping is a nice little book, which perfectly sums up all the essentials of beekeeping in just 170 pages. It is specifically focused on the first couple of months’ experience in beekeeping in your backyard. It includes all the information you’ll need in those initial stages, from the setting up of the beehive to when you make your first harvest. You’ll get a detailed overview of the gear you will need as well as some tips on how to choose the best hive for you. To get you started is a step-by-step guide on the whole hive assembly process.
Besides the fact that it covers all the basics, the book is great for beginners because it is an easy read. It is filled with colorful illustrations that you can follow up with, more so at the start of your beekeeping venture. It takes you through the many different approaches, either medicated or natural, which you can choose according to preference. It also takes you through ways you can prevent swarming.
As an extra surprise, the book comes with a spare 15 honey-based recipes and a dozen creative ways you can make use of beeswax
What people have to say about this book...
“Great honeybee book. Wonderful details with colorful illustrations. I am a backyard beekeeper and the Burns family has taught me so many things about how to properly care for and keep healthy bees.”
“I wanted to know all the pros and cons of beekeeping before I jumped headlong into the hobby! I now feel much better prepared to accept that responsibility.”
The Beginner's Guide to Beekeeping: Everything You Need to Know
By Samantha Johnson and Daniel Johnson
The Beginner's Guide to Beekeeping is an interesting and easy read about the art of beekeeping. Originally published in 2013, this is a revised and updated version of the book, so it includes the latest techniques. The additional 16 pages, redesigned to appeal to the more high-school and middle-age bee enthusiasts.
The author Daniel and his sister, Samantha Johnson, have worked together on a couple of rural-living guide books. They are 4-H alumni and have lived on the family farm, where they have cared for and raised various animals over the years, including rabbits and mountain ponies. In the book, they set out to answer all the prospective questions any new beekeeper might have about beekeeping.
This updated and revised version covers all the hot topics any new bee might have, including setting up a new hive, caring for, and raising a colony. It helps you get to know your bees, prevent pests and diseases, and elaborated on how to harvest the honey and wax products at the end of it all. All this information is all laid out in a simple way, with tons of pictures to elaborate the more technical aspects of it all. The 160 page book is also pretty short yet extremely well versed.
What people have to say about this book...
“It covers all the questions I might have thought to ask and a whole lot of others that hadn’t occurred to me. And it covers everything from what type of bees there are and what they do, right the way through to how to build your own hive and how to produce and market your honey and beeswax.”
“This is very similar to other bee books, but it does have very good, basic, helpful information! It was written in a great tone and very easy to understand with lovely pictures.”
The Beekeeper's Handbook (Fourth Edition)
By Diana Sammataro and Alphonse Avitabile
The Beekeeper's Handbook is yet another renowned comprehensive manual in the world of beekeeping. It has everything you know about beekeeping and then some. Originally published by Diana Sammataro and Alphonse Avitabile in 1973, the book has been used by multitudes over the years when starting out their journey of beekeeping. The book's newest Edition is more revised and updated to include the latest trends in the field, including mite detection and control and a section covering some bees tested to have tolerance to mites.
The Beekeeper's Handbook is well written, clear, and concise. It covers every important question you might have about raising bees during the changing seasons, backed with well-illustrated drawings about the subject matter. This includes over 100 pictures on how to set up an apiary, handling the bees, overwintering techniques, swarming behavior, and treating hive pests. Overall, it gives a deeper understanding of bee behavior and will help troubleshoot any problems you might encounter as a new and experienced beekeeper.
It also notes any pros and cons to certain techniques so you can choose one according to your preference. The book also elaborates the importance of each step in the overall creating of top-tier honey.
What people have to say about this book...
“Definitely one of the better bee books I've read. I found it to be very thorough and definitive without delving into the bee debates. It was clear cut and provided answers that were well researched and documented.”
“Fantastic how-to book, updated in 2011 with the latest beekeeping info. It is more than a ‘for dummies’ type of book, but not a so-called 'bible.' Excellent book for beginners and experienced beekeepers.”
Storey's Guide to Keeping Honey Bees, 2nd Edition: Honey Production, Pollination, Health
By Malcolm T. Sanford and Richard E. Bonney
Storey's Guide to Keeping Honey Bees is a simple textbook for anyone interested to learn about keeping bees, or just honey production in general. The main author Malcolm T. Sanford, professor emeritus at the University of Florida is has well over 20 years the world of apiculture. He’s been published multiply in bee-related journals such as the American Bee Journal and Bee Culture and has even been a beekeeping management consultant in over 6 different countries worldwide.
In this book, he presents his overview of the critically important insects. He helps new beekeepers to understand the process behind planning for a hive, getting bees, setting up a colony, and maintaining the bee’s health through disease and pest prevention. The author elaborates all the apiary tools and equipment you will need for this, outlining your beekeeper responsibilities by the seasons, as well as offer detailed instructions on how to harvest the honey,
At the end, the book also takes a peek into what goes on in the honey bee nest. You get to experience the colony life and a quick lesson on the honey bee behavior and anatomy. This is both good for the experienced or novice beekeeper.
What people have to say about this book...
“Storey's Guide to Keeping Honey Bees is an extremely useful book for encouraging you while letting you know just what you're getting into! Packed with advice for the novice beekeeper, I felt encouraged to give beekeeping a try when we move to a larger property next year.”
“The information is straightforward and well-organized. I appreciated the sidebars from beekeepers for more perspective. What really made it all come together, however, were the pictures, which clarified some aspects of my beekeeping class that I was having a hard time visualizing.”
How to Start a Market Garden or Honey Business — Books about Making Money with Beekeeping
Now we get to the "meat and potatoes" of beekeeping — generating an income from all of your hard, yet enjoyable work. In addition to books about starting a honey business, we also included two other resources you may find of interest. One covers making money with a market garden, which is great for those of you who are also growing vegetables and fruits. The other is about making money selling some of those flowers you are growing for the bees!
We also recommend getting at least one book book about starting a home business in general. The Starting a Business Quick Start Guide by Ken Colwell PhD MBA or Starting a Business All-in-One For Dummies by by Bob Nelson and Eric Tyson are great introductory options.
Before we get to our recommendations, we want to give a special shout out to an older book, The Complete Guide to Beekeeping for Fun & Profit Everything You Need to Know Explained Simply by Cindy Belknap. Released in 2010, it's still a highly rated source of information for both hobbyists who want to make a little money with their extra honey, as well as those who want to start a full-blown honey business.
Backyard Beekeeping Business Start Up: How to Start, Run & Grow a Million Dollar Organic Honey Business from Home!
By Eddie Fisher
If you are looking to get into beekeeping on a more commercial scale, then the Backyard Beekeeping Business Start Up is the book for you. It comes as a result of the 11-year beekeeping experience of the author Eddie Fisher, who got into the business of beekeeping back in 2005. With previously no knowledge in the realm, the author started out in his backyard and ended up opening a successful bee farm in only two years. What you get is pure, raw information as to what exactly goes on in the business and how to make profits out of it.
The book starts with the basics of beekeeping, looking at the equipment types of bees; it then takes you through the process of starting a hive and what goes on behind it. The author then gets into the various benefits you’ll gain from organic honey and how it heals various ailments. The second part of the book is where the author looks at the business application of it all.
What people have to say about this book...
“Other than being just a guide in beekeeping, the book also touches on honey and its benefits to our overall well-being.”
“This book is awesome the way is been written, lot’s of explaining and identifying problems ahead, from small scale, to big businesses and how to go about. The author is very meticulous with all aspects of the honeybee dues and don’ts, very in depth info approximately costs, needs, location, licenses and permits, equipment and sanitation, Sale products, to you need to look for them, to expenses and book keeping”
Backyard Beekeeping: “The New Gold” — Everything You Need to Know to Start your First Hive, Raising Bees and How to Start, Run & Grow a Profitable Organic Honey Business From Home!
By Violet Walker
Coming from the Backyard Beekeeping series is yet another beekeeping handbook. Only in this case, the title of the book says it all. The New Gold sets out to give you all the information you need to start an organic honey business from your backyard. The author, Violet Walker, sets out to share her expertise in the field, teaching you the tricks on how you can make a killing in raising bees from the comfort of your home.
Part of the topics covered includes how to get started with beekeeping as a complete beginner, expert-proven techniques on safely handling bees, and harvesting the honey and other bee products efficiently. The highlight of the book, you’ll find marketing tricks to help transform the hobby into a thriving business. It shows you how to economize on your space and money to fit compact and more cost-efficient hives in your backyard.
The book is easy to read and informative. The author simply explains the art to a T.
What people have to say about this book...
“I loved it! Informative while being very interesting. A great read while learning”
“Great read for the beginner beekeeper. Recommended if you are new to apiculture and beekeeping as it provides great insight.”
The No-Till Organic Vegetable Farm: How to Start and Run a Profitable Market Garden That Builds Health in Soil, Crops, and Communities
By Daniel Mays
Now, if you are running your aviary hand in hand with a serious organic vegetable farm, then The No-Till Organic Vegetable Farm is your perfect book of choice. The author Daniel Mays, has been running Frith Farm in Maine, where he has been commercially growing vegetables since 2011. He is also keen on holistic approaches to gardening, endorsing unique techniques of regenerative growing practices all over the country. In the book, he focuses on the no-till methods, which have been proven to be a more environmentally conscious alternative to standard farming.
No-till basically involves growing crops without disturbing the soil. This, in turn, helps build soil health and strengthen the social economy as a whole. To help you understand this, the author takes us through the system's environmental, economic, and social benefits. Most of the methods are designed to rely on human power, with a minimal influence of technology.
The book also addresses the business aspect of it all. It shows you how to do more streamlined planning, record-keeping, and marketing strategies that will help reap the most benefits. It takes a step-by-step approach to guide you from the first step of land acquisition to business planning, bed prep, and seed starting to harvest and marketing.
The book is beautifully written, well-illustrated, and should help take you through the entire planting season and make a healthy profit at the end of it.
What people have to say about this book...
“This book highlights what I believe will change our understanding of horticulture, especially for changing the way we macro farm plants. This concept to practice needs to burst open with the force of a blossom, nourishing our minds, soul and body.”
“I have enjoyed many years organic gardening and always used organic fertilizers. Now understand more about managing the soil and using cover crops with a no-till process to create healthy soil life and maintain the biodiversity of soil."
The Flower Farmer: An Organic Grower's Guide to Raising and Selling Cut Flowers, 2nd Edition
By Lynn Byczynski
If you are looking to begin your career as a commercial flower grower, The Flower Farmer can be an invaluable addition to your research material. It provides an introduction course to raising cut flowers for not subsistence, as well as commercial use. The author, Lynn Byczynski, comes from an extensive commercially based background. She’s the editor of Growing for Market, a monthly newsletter. She also runs a wild onion farm in Lawrence, Kansas.
In the book, the author sets out to help small growers of flowers begin and operate flower businesses successfully. It takes the beginner through the basics of selecting the flower varieties, preparing the soil, planting, cultivating and harvest, and floral design. There is also a section for the commercial grower that addresses larger-scale production, insight on selling to wholesalers, florist, and supermarkets, and a look into the farmers market customers.
Being the second edition of the series, the book is updated and revised, so it includes all the latest trends in the fields. This includes how to utilize greenhouses and post-harvest handling of the flowers. The last part is more so addressed the home gardener not looking to go into business, showing how you can simply grow flowers for your own use. It is a beautiful easy read and includes photos and tips spread out through the text, making it extremely easy to digest.
What people have to say about this book...
“It was helpful in all the ways you'd want a niche business book to be. Written in a friendly manner with loads of illustrations, it included: - case studies, told story-style, of real life, local, organic flower farmers across the US.”
“The flower farmer is a great gateway book into flower farming. I appreciated the easy to digest but detailed information and the tips interspersed throughout text.”
Quick View — Beekeeping Book Recommendations
As you’ve seen, all these beekeeping books have their own different levels of information. The focus and depth vary from one book to the next. However, we’ve tried making our selection on only the best for both beginners and professionals. Hopefully, now you can understand what the whole buzz is about bees.
So, whether you need one for more commercial operations, for backyard beekeeping, or as a simple recipe book, there’s one for you.