When you have made up your mind that you would like to be involved in the pastime of keeping bees you should bear in mind that you are deciding to make a commitment, much like owning a dog.  It is going to change your outlook on nature, your way of life and, to a small extent, your lifestyle.  So making those first tentative steps into the world of the apiarist and the the potential minefield that it could become, you really should be aiming to find a mentor to offer you the inside track on what to do, what not to do and a chance at a little practical experience before you jump in with both feet.

Are you concerned about the reported decline in bee numbers? Do you have a desire to get back to nature, and collect your honey from source? Perhaps you just want to help support the development of bee colonies?

Long has beekeeping been an accepted practice, supporting the delicate eco-system of the food chain, by encouraging pollinators. The beekeeper and the hive is a symbiotic relationship, as old as time itself.

Beekeeping is a wonderful pursuit with rewards that can undoubtedly outweigh the efforts. But without the right equipment, it can be dangerous - both to the beekeeper and to the bees.

One of the most common goals for any beekeeper is the protection of essential colonies of pollinators that agriculture relies on so heavily.

The other, of course, is to collect honey.

Are you concerned about the decline of the bee? Do you worry what will happen if bees just suddenly cease to exist?

Bees are essential pollinators, and there’s a big argument to suggest that we’re in big trouble without them.

According to Greenpeace, bee numbers have been in decline since the late 1990s, when beekeepers around the world spotted a mysterious and somewhat abrupt disappearance of the bees from their hives.

While there’s no single cause that can be attributed with any absolute certainty for the unexplained decline, other than the proclivity of certain pesticides, one thing is for sure -

More of us need to become beekeepers to protect bee populations.