It’s not imperative to read all the beekeeping books out there (and believe me, there’s a lot!) but it’s always nice to read different ways of doing things and learning more about the complexity of the honeybee. This will give you a better understanding of why and how bees produce honey and how you can attempt to maximise your haul.
We’ve broken down the books into some subtopics that you may want to explore further.
Practical Beekeeping
BBKA Guide to Beekeeping – Ivor Davis and Roger Cullum-Kenyon
Guide To Bees and Honey – Ted Hooper
Collins Beekeeper’s Bible
Beekeeping A Seasonal Guide – Ron Brown
Beekeeping A Practical Guide – Roger Patterson
The Beekeeper’s Problem Solver – James E. Tew
Honey, Beeswax and Propolis
Bees and Honey – David Cramp & Jenni Fleetwood
Manuka: The Biography of an Extraordinary Honey – Cliff Van Eaton
Heather Honey, An Anthology of Works – Ian Copinger
Beeswax Alchemy – Petra Ahnert
Queen Rearing
In Search of the Perfect Bee – Brother Adam
Queen Bee: Biology, Rearing and Breeding – David Richard Woodward
Microscopy
Practical Microscopy – Bob Maurer
Pollen Microscopy – Norman John Chapman
Bee Diseases
Honeybee Veterinary Medicine – Nicolas Vidal-Naquet
Honey Bee Pests, Predators and Diseases Book – Kim Flottum and Roger Morse
Managing Bee Health: A Practical Guide for Beekeepers – John Carr
Planting for Pollinators
Plants for Bees – W.D.J Kirk and F.N Howes
Planting for Honeybees: The Grower’s Guide to Creating a Buzz – Sarah Wyndham Lewis
The Bee Bible: 50 Ways to Keep Bees Buzzing – Sally Coulthard
The Bee-Friendly Garden – Gretchen LeBuhn & Kate Frey
Natural Beekeeping
Natural Beekeeping with the Warre Hive – David Heaf
Top Bar Beekeeping – Les Crowder
The Idle Beekeeper – Bill Anderson
Just for Fun
A Sting in the Tale – Dave Goulson
The History of Bees – Maja Lunde
Honeybee Democracy – Thomas D.Seeley
Buzz: The Nature and Necessity of Bees – Thor Hanson
The Honey Factory: Inside the Ingenious World of Bees – Diedrich Steen & Jürgen Tautz
For Little Beekeepers
The Honeybee – Kirsten Hall
The Beeman – Laurie Krebs
Little Honey Bee – Katie Haworth
Little Yellow Bee – Ginger Swift
UnBEElieveables – Douglas Florian
Well what do you think? Have we missed out any beekeeping books that you think should be on the list, just let us know! Just remember, beekeeping is a hobby that should be fun so enjoy reading up about it.
