Rebecca Spawn wrote:
 
>Greetings!  I subscribed to Bee-L about a month ago because I
>wanted to learn more about keeping bees.  I want you all to know, I
>thoroughly enjoy this list and have no plans of unsubscribing!  :-}
>I've gathered a tremendous amount of information in a very short
>amount of time.
>I've wanted to keep bees for many years and have decided it's time to
>do it.  Could someone please send me some basic information on how to
>get started?   Where do I get the bees and all the equipment?  What
>time of year is best to begin?
 
   You have already received some good information.  However, I usually
recomment the following book as a start, available from most bookstores:
 
Hubbell, Sue.  1988.  A BOOK OF BEES.  Ballantine Books, NY (paper): ISBN:
0-345-34261-5
 
   That book gives you a real feel for the excitement of beekeeping.
Besides that advice, you should really serve as a volunteer apprentice with
a really qualified beekeeper --- one who has to make a living or at least a
good profit.  Some amateurs, by contrast, do not have the efficiency and
touch that makes for enjoyable beekeeping.
 
   Here's hoping you weather the fierce winter!  (I grew up in Roseau, MN,
just south of Winnipeg and know what you experience down there in the
"banana belt" of the upper Midwest.)
 
                                                        Adrian
 
Adrian M. Wenner                         (805) 893-2838 (UCSB office)
Ecol., Evol., & Marine Biology           (805) 893-8062  (UCSB FAX)
Univ. of Calif., Santa Barbara           (805) 963-8508 (home office & FAX)
Santa Barbara, CA  93106
 
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