Beekeeping
Beekeeping can be fun and rewarding, but like any agricultural practice, you'll be more successful if you start out
informed. Find a beekeeping group or mentor, take a course, have a good beekeeping book on hand for our area, and buy
bees and equipment from a reputable seller. Get started with the resources below.
Honey Bees
Where to Buy in the Helena Area - updated 2/28/2020
A Year in the Hive: Beekeeping Tasks by Season
Intro to Beekeeping Course Slides, Lewis & Clark County Extension & Montana Department of Agriculture
- Honeybee IPM, Pest & Disease Management
- MDA Apiary Program, MT Beekeeping Industry
American Beekeeping Federation
Apiary Registration, Montana Department of Agriculture
Frequently Asked Questions, Lewis and Clark County Extension
Honeybee Disease Summary Chart, Lewis and Clark County Extension
Mites, Insects, & Diseases of Honey Bees, Ruth O'Neill, Research Associate, Wanner Entomology Extension Lab
Varroa Management Decision Tool, Honey Bee Health Coalition
Native Bees
Bumble Bees of the Western United States, USFS
Montana Bee Identification Guide, MSU, NRCS and the Pollinator Partnership
More about Pollinators
- Of the hundred or so crops that make up most of the world's food supply, only 15% are pollinated by domestic bees, while at least 80% are pollinated by wild bees and other wildlife.
- Bees recover slowly from insecticide spraying and other disturbances because of their low fecundity (they are unable to reproduce rapidly or in great numbers) which also makes them more susceptible to local extinction.
- It may take 3 to 4 years for bumble bee populations to return to pre-pesticide application levels
- Climate change has the potential to affect the distribution of pollinators and the plants they pollinate, as well as the timing of flowering and migration.