Is Beekeeping For You? Watch the Bee Boot Camp Video
Prospective Beekeeper,
Before you just dive in and buy a bunch of beekeeping equipment you might later regret, it is important to first understand the ideal mindset of a beekeeper. Whether you are thinking of getting into beekeeping as a hobby just to help save the bees or you're anticipating all that yummy honey you will get to harvest, there's one thing that will distinguish you from the rest.
What is that one thing? It's your mindset. You might already have some ideas of what beekeeping is going to be like. You will have a certain attitude that affects how you will handle your bees. It will also affect the outcome of your beekeeping efforts. That is why we made this Bee Bootcamp video.
This is Vital to Your Positive Beekeeping Experience
What we've developed over the last 10 years is a method that breaks from more recent traditions in beekeeping. It goes back to older times, when beekeeping was simple. We call it "The Beepods Way of Beekeeping." The Beepods Way is the careful combination of equipment and philosophy that drives our methodology.
The physical structure of the Beepods hive is modeled after some of the oldest bee hives in existence. Imagine a hollowed out tree trunk, laid flat with sticks across the top... that was essentially the concept behind the Kenyan hive, which itself was inspired by the 17th century Greek hive. It's the Kenyan top bar hive that inspired the design of the Beepods top bar hive. But, I'm not here today to sell you on any particular style of hive...
The utmost priority is the health and happiness of the bees.
There was a time when all beehives were feral. Honey bees have been around for thousands of years. They have been doing their thing - pollinating, foraging and reproducing - all by themselves, long before the intervention of humans. This is the most ideal environment for honey bees. The term has more recently been coined as “treatment-free.” The phrase treatment-free is somewhat equivalent to the use of the word "organic" in the context of the production of fruits and vegetables. To us, it means little to no intervention. Ultimately, our desired outcome in keeping bees is to be left with strong bees. The only way to get strong bees is to stop shoring up the weak bees. But hang on... we'll get into this deeper in the video. I promise.
"I thought it would be challenging to manage the bee colony without getting stung. The Bee Boot Camp was very helpful. It gave me a better understanding of how a colony works."
~ Stephanie Harpt, Small Mammals Zookeeper, Milwaukee County Zoo
"Several of our staff mentioned that the training Laura led was the best beekeeping education they have ever received. It was thorough, engaging and full of helpful visuals."
Eliza Fournier, Urban Youth Programs Director
Windy City Harvest Youth Farm (a program of the Chicago Botanic Garden)
Who is this video for?
For people interesting in knowing more about honey bees and what beekeeping is all about.
It's not for experienced beekeepers. If you have already purchased a hive or kept bees, this is not for you.
You have probably seen evidence of the Traditional Practice - those stacked white boxes found in orchards and almond fields. In those environments, it is very common for the beekeeper to have a very hurried and forceful mindset. Very little of what I mentioned above is taken into consideration when they deal with their bees. They wear the full Hazmat-style suits, they need smoke to tame their bees. In this case, the bees are regarded as little more than livestock! The beekeepers perform rapid inspections where speed, efficiency and profit take priority over the comfort and happiness of the bees.
There is so much more I want to write about here, but I think it is explained much better in the 27-minute video we've thoughtfully put together for you. It goes over the beekeeper's mindset and The Beepods Way in more detail. You'll learn more about the colony and the superorganism, the various roles and responsibilities of the bees in the hive, what bees collect and store for food, the honey bee life cycle, very basic bee anatomy, how and why bees sting (and how to handle that), and much more.
Most importantly, we want you to walk away after watching the video with a solid sense of the options available so you can make an educated decision on your own about which direction you want to go. Is beekeeping for you? Well, we hope so, but even if it's not, at the end of the video we'll tell you what else you can do so you can still participate in helping our pollinators!
Scott Offord
Beepods