Beekeeping is often romanticized—golden honey, buzzing gardens, and a more mindful way of life. But the truth? Keeping bees alive, especially through winter, takes more than enthusiasm. It takes local knowledge, humility, and a willingness to learn the right lessons early.

If you want to be a good beekeeper—not just someone who keeps buying replacement packages every spring—these five principles will save you time, money, and a lot of heartbreak.

1. Find a Local Mentor Who Actually Overwinters Bees

Not all beekeepers are created equal. One of the biggest mistakes new beekeepers make is learning from someone who replaces their bees every year. If your mentor is routinely ordering new packages each spring, they’re not teaching sustainability—they’re teaching a cycle of loss. It’s not only careless-it’s costly.

You see, beekeepers that have done it long enough know that every Spring we will get swarms. They don’t mind losing their bees because they know bees are replaceable. Does that make it okay to not care for the ones you already have? Do you not care for your dog because you can get another from a shelter? No. That’s bad business and bad beekeeping.

Instead, find someone in your area who consistently overwinters their colonies successfully. That means their bees survive your exact climate, forage conditions, and seasonal patterns. If they can get their bees to make it over winter, hopefully they can help you get your bees to make it overwinter. Local, proven experience matters more than popularity or how long someone has “kept bees.” My (horrible) first mentor would always say that she kept bees “on and off for the last 20 years” which, I eventually discovered, meant one hive 20 years ago that lasted two years and then FFWD a few years back when her daughter wanted a hive.

My suggestion-ask a lot questions of a potential mentor. Here are a few to get you thinking:

• How many colonies do you have?
• When did you start beekeeping?
• How many years have you kept bees?
• How many hives did you have last year and how many of those colonies overwintered?
• What type of beekeeper would you say you are? (natural, traditional, Darwinian, non-traditional, etc)
• Do you treat your bees? Tell me more about that.
• Have you had other mentees? Are they still beekeeping? Would you say they are successful beekeepers now?
• What does mentorship look like to you?
• What do you charge? Can we trade?

2. Start with Local Bees (Swarms If You Can Get Them)

Your bees should match your environment.

Bees raised in your region are already adapted to your local climate, nectar flows, and disease pressures. When you import bees from far away—like buying southern bees for a northern climate—you’re potentially setting yourself (and your bees) up for struggle.

The gold standard? Swarms.

Swarms are resilient, locally adapted, and often incredibly productive. A good mentor can help you catch one—or at least point you in the right direction. They can also split one of their own colonies for you to start a hive with. If swarms aren’t an option, prioritize buying from local beekeepers instead of large, out-of-state suppliers.

3. Stop Taking Advice from the Internet (Unless It’s Hyper-Local)

Online beekeeping forums can be helpful (if you know how to discern what is helpful and what isn’t)-but they can also be wildly misleading. If you are a newbee you have nothing to compare things to so it can be difficult to discern what suggestion to listen to and what to let go.

Advice that works in one region can fail completely in another. A beekeeper in a totally different climate may give you guidance that unintentionally harms your colony.

Before you act on any advice, ask:

• Does this person keep bees in my climate?
• Are their seasonal conditions similar to mine?
• Is there anyone else in my area that can confirm?

Even still, take it with caution. Beekeeping is hyper-local. What works 100 miles away might not work in your backyard.

4. Learn Bee Health Beyond Just Varroa

Yes, varroa mites are a major issue—but they’re not the whole story. Did you know that there are over 70 honeybee viruses? Varroa is a vector for some of these viruses because it causes bees stress and leaves them sick and vulnerable-just like stress does to humans. Black Queen Cell Virus, Deformed Wing Virus, Chronic Honeybee Paralysis Virus, and Sacbrood Virus are just a few.

Good beekeeping means understanding the full picture of honeybee health:

• Brood diseases
• Viral loads
• Nutrition and forage diversity
• Stress from environmental conditions

If you only focus on one pest, you’re missing the bigger system your bees are living in. There is a trusted source online that you can learn from called the Honeybee Health Coalition. One of the best things on their site is the Varroa Management Tool.

Healthy bees come from informed, observant beekeepers—not just treatments.

5. Bad Biosecurity Kills Hives

When you inspect a hive, your tools, gloves, and even your hands can pick up microscopic pathogens, spores (like foulbrood), or contaminated debris.

Clean your tools between hives
Your hive tool, gloves, and smoker can all carry disease. A quick scrape and occasional sanitizing goes a long way, especially if something looks off in a colony.

Keep Your Tools to Yourself

It might feel harmless to borrow a hive tool or let another beekeeper take a quick look in your boxes—but shared equipment is one of the easiest ways to spread disease between apiaries. Hive tools, gloves, brushes, and even smokers can carry spores, mites, and pathogens from one colony to another without you ever seeing it happen.

As a rule of thumb: don’t use other people’s tools in your hives, and don’t allow yours to be used elsewhere unless they’ve been properly cleaned and sanitized (use heat and a bleach solution). If someone wants to help you inspect, have them use your equipment. It’s a small boundary, but it protects your bees, their bees, and the wider beekeeping community.

Work your healthiest hives first
Always start inspections with your strongest, healthiest colonies and move toward weaker ones last. This reduces the chance of spreading pathogens where they don’t belong. Starting with your strongest colonies first is about reducing the chance that you become the vector.

Avoid swapping frames or equipment
It’s tempting to “boost” a hive by borrowing resources—but you can easily transfer disease, pests, or viruses in the process. Only do this when you fully understand the risks.

Be cautious with used equipment
Secondhand gear can carry more than history. If you didn’t manage the colony it came from, clean and sanitize it thoroughly before introducing it to your bees.

Limit robbing behavior
Robbing spreads disease fast. Keep entrances appropriate to colony strength, avoid leaving honey or syrup exposed, and don’t leave hives open longer than necessary.

Replace old comb
Old comb should be replaced every 1-3 years (or 20-30% of comb every year). Old comb holds pathogens and environmental pesticides. Agricultural chemicals absorb into wax.