Beekeeping Fundamentals
A self-paced introduction to keeping honey bees — from colony biology and equipment to your first inspection, seasonal care, and harvest.
- 1
What Is Beekeeping?
An orientation to what beekeeping involves day-to-day, season-to-season, and what it actually takes to keep a colony of honey bees alive and productive.
5 min - 2
Honey Bee Biology and the Colony
How a honey bee colony is organized — the three castes, the brood cycle, and why the colony behaves as a single superorganism rather than a swarm of individuals.
5 min - 3
Hive Types and Equipment
The main hive designs beekeepers choose between — including horizontal and insulated poly hives — the core equipment inside a Langstroth hive, and the protective gear and tools every new keeper needs.
9 min - 4
Getting Your First Bees
Packages, nucs, and swarms compared, how to site an apiary, and what to check with your local regulator before your bees arrive.
6 min - 5
Your First Hive Inspection
What to check, in what order, how to read a frame, and how to work a hive calmly so your bees — and you — stay relaxed.
5 min - 6
The Beekeeping Year: A Seasonal Calendar
How a colony's needs change across the year — from spring buildup through summer nectar flow, fall preparation, and the winter cluster — with cold-climate specifics from Ontario.
5 min - 7
Feeding and Colony Nutrition
When and why to feed sugar syrup or pollen substitute, the two syrup ratios beekeepers use and why, and when feeding does more harm than good.
4 min - 8
Common Pests and Diseases
Varroa mites, American and European foulbrood, small hive beetle, Nosema, deformed wing virus, and the integrated pest management approach beekeepers use to monitor for and respond to colony health problems.
9 min - 9
Swarm Prevention and Colony Growth
Why healthy colonies swarm, how to tell swarm cells from supersedure cells, and how splitting a colony works with — rather than against — that instinct.
7 min - 10
Harvesting and Enjoying Your Honey
How to tell honey is ready to harvest, the basics of extraction, and making sure the colony keeps enough for itself before you take any surplus.
4 min - 11
Glossary of Beekeeping Terms
A quick-reference glossary of the beekeeping terms used throughout this course, from colony biology to equipment and seasonal management.
7 min