Exceptional Websites

University of Georgia Honey Bee Program
Offers beginners to master level beekeeping courses, sponsors a honey show and offers one of the only honey judging licensing courses in the USA.
The World of Bees on Stamps
Bees and honey have been the subjects of stamps for as long as there have been stamps. This could be the largest reference of bee-related stamps, postmarks and postcards in the world.
The Bee Photographer
Beautiful photographic journal of beekeeping from around the world.
Selections from the Everett F. Phillips’ Beekeeping collection at Mann Library
One of the largest and most complete apiculture libraries in the world.
Apiservices – Beekeeping Virtual Gallery
Incredible source of beekeeping information from around the world. Very busy website, but worth digging into.
The Apiary Map
Google map showing apiaries from all over the world. Also shows bee variety. Add yours now.
Beetography
Hundreds of striking photographs of bees and flowers. RSS feeds available and photos are for sale.
Honey Bees and Beekeeping: A Year in the Life of an Apiary
An excellent series on basic beekeeping. Part of the University of Illinois Extension. Includes videos.
The Bee by Andrew Gough
A fascinating look at the history of bee symbolism and mythology from Egypt to modern times.
An Exceptional Harvest of Acacia Honey-May 2011 – Collecting and processing.
Blog by a French beekeeper with excellent photos of the process. Black Locust bloomed May 9 and the honey was extracted by the end of May. Also see current postings. (French translated to English)
Tales From The Hive
Visit PBS’s online version of the NOVA program. NOVA chronicles a year in the life of a bee colony with stunning imagery.
Electron Micrograph of a Honey Bee
Breathtaking image of a honey bee. 2011 Wellcome Image Award winner.
Homage to Brother Adam – A great beekeeper of the 20th century and a list of his publications
Brother Adam was a pioneer in the search for the optimum strain of bees. He developed the Buckfast Bee at Buckfast Abby.
Mediterranean Melissopalynology
The study of the origins of honey produced in all the countries around the Mediterranean Sea, by the pollen contained in the honey.
Honey in Madagascar
Fascinating description (with photos) of beekeeping and honey customs and beliefs of tribes in Madagascar.
National Honey Board – USA
Organization responsible for the marketing and promotion of honey in the United States. Funded by beekeepers and honey producers, they support the quality, purity and healthful image of honey to the American consumer.
Italian – National Observatory of Production and Market of honey (Osservatorio Nazionale della Produzione e del Mercato del miele)
National organization supporting the production and marketing of honey in Italy. It monitors the honey market, measures and takes action to improve the quality of honey, promotes honey terrior and the culture of honey.
Bees for Development
Bees for Development assists beekeepers living in poor and remote areas of the world, and raises awareness about the value of beekeeping for poverty alleviation.
Sustainable beekeeping initiative in the Hindu Kush-Himalayas reqion – ICIMOD The International Center for Integrated Mountain Development, ICIMOD serves eight regional member countries of the Hindu Kush-Himalayas – Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, China, India, Myanmar, Nepal, and Pakistan. It is best browsed with the site search. For example, see “honey” search results on the site.
Towards Sustainable Beekeeping A thoughtful philosophical and practical account by David Heaf. This is an update of an article which appeared in four parts in The Beekeepers Quarterly (Issues 91, 92, 93 & 94, 2008).

Beekeeping Associations, Journals & Magazines

Apimondia-International Federation of Beekeepers Associations
Apimondia Foundation: Clearing house of Beekeeping Information. It serves the scientific, technical and economic development of beekeeping all over the world. Publisher of Apiacta, beekeeping journal.

Argentina – Argentina Beekeepers’ Society
Argentina – Argentine Beekeepers’ Magazine
Austrian/German – Austrian Beekeepers Association (Österreichischer Imkerbund)
Belgium – Flanders – Royal Flemish Beekeepers Association (KonVIB – Koninklijke Vlaamse ImkersBond)
Canada – Canadian Honey Council: national association of beekeepers
Canada – Strathcona, Vancouver BC Beekeepers Association
Czechoslovakia – Apislavia: Czech Beekeepers Union
France – Association of Beekeeping Development in Ile De France ADAIF (Association de développement de l’apiculture en Ile de France ADAIF)
France – FNOSAD: National Federation of Bee Sanitation Departments & Journal: Health of the Bee (La Santé de l’Abeille)
France – Apidologie—Leading Journal Devoted to Bee Science
France – The Central Society of Beekeeping—Since 1856 (Société Centrale d’Apiculture)
France – Magazine: The Bee in France (L’Abeille de France)
France – National Union of Beekeeping (Syndicat National d’Apiculture )
France – UNAF: National Union of French Apiculture
German – German Beekeepers Association (Deutschen Imkerbund e.V.)
Greek – e-Magazine: Melissokomia – Apiculture & Products of Bees (Μελισσοκομία)
Ireland – The Federation of Irish Beekeepers’ Associations
Ireland – Magazine: An Beachaire – The Irish Beekeeper
Italian – Magazine: The Italian Beekeeper (L’Apicoltore Italiano)
Italian – Magazine: Italian Bee (Apitalia)
Italian – Italian Federation of Beekeepers (Federazione Apicoltori Italiani)
Italian – UNA-API National Union of Italian Beekeepers Association & UNAAPI Magazine: L’Apis
Kazakhstan – Official site of the National Union of Beekeepers in Kazakhstan, Russia (Официальный сайт Национального Союза пчеловодов Казахстан)
Liechtenstein/German – Liechtenstein Beekeepers Association (Liechtensteiner Imkerverein)
Luxembourg/German – Luxembourg Beekeeper Association (Lëtzebuerger Landesverband fir Beienzuucht | Lëtzebuerger Beienziichter)
Netherlands – S. Holland – Leiden Beekeepers Association (Imkersvereniging Leiden eo)
New Zealand – National Beekeepers’ Association of New Zealand
Poland – Polish Association of Beekeeping
Poland – Beekeeping Portal & Apiary Magazine (Czasopismo Pasieka)
Poland – Beekeeping in Poland – Section of larger site
Poland – Magazine: Monthly Beekeeping (Miesięcznik PSZCZELARSTWO)
Poland – Journal of Apicultural Science
Poland – Institute of Horticulture – Apiculture Division, Pulawy, Poland
Scotland – Scottish Beekeepers Association
Swiss/German – Swiss Federation of Beekeepers (Verein Deutschschweizerischer und Rätoromanischer Bienenfreunde – VDRB)
Swiss/Italian – Ticino (Switzerland) Beekeepers Society (Società Ticinese di Apicoltura – STA)
UK – The Bee Farmers’ Association of the UK
UK – The British Beekeepers’ Association
Ukraine – Beekeepers Association of Ukraine (Братство бджолярів України)
USA – American Beekeeping Federation
USA – American Bee Journal—Since 1861
USA – The American Honey Producers Association
USA – Bee Culture: The Magazine of American Beekeeping
USA – Who’s Who of North American Beekeeping
USA – Bees Without Borders
Wales – Cymdeithas Gwenynwyr Cymru – Welsh Beekeepers’ Association
Walloon & Brussels – Beekeeping – Walloon and Brussels (l’apiculture Wallonne et Bruxelloise)

Save the Bees – Bee Support

BeeSpotter! An organized effort by the University of Illinois to promote understanding of honey bees by collecting data for a nationwide effort to baseline information on population status of all species of honey bees, including bumblebees. Currently only in Illinois, you may participate by uploading your bee picture and related information.

A New Threat to Honey Bees, the Parasitic Phorid Fly Apocephalus borealis
New study implicates a parasitic Phorid fly with the sudden disappearance of honey bees from their hives consistent with a symptom of Colony Collapse Disorder CCD.
Penn State Honey Bee and Pollinator Research
Penn State researchers are among the leaders investigating the disappearance of honey bees.
The Vanishing of the Bees
Beautifully produced film documenting the mysterious disappearance of honey bees.
The Silence of the Bees
PBS Nature episode, aired October 28, 2007. Scientists and bee experts featured in the program discuss the crucial role that honeybees, a “keystone species,” play in our economy and ecosystems, and what we can do to reverse the decline of pollinators.
Harry H. Laidlaw Jr. Honey Bee Research Facility, University of California, Davis
The largest state funded apiculture facility in North America. Providing research focused on basic bee biology, bee health and genetics.
Status of Pollinators in North America – National Research Council
This landmark study was produced by the Committee on the Status of Pollinators in North America and supported by the U.S. Department of Agriculture and the U.S. Geological Survey.
Italian – Research Unit for Apiculture and Sericulture (Consiglio per la Ricerca e la sperimentazione in Agricoltura – CRA)
Research and services for apiculture and sericulture in Italy. The official organization committed to defending and promoting the Italian honeybee; Apis mellifera ligustica
Distrubing connection between colony collapse disorder researcher and Bayer.
Why pesticides may not have been reported as a cause. What wasn’t reported by the front-page New York Times article, headlined “Scientists and Soldiers Solve a Bee Mystery” (Oct, 2010)
Haagen Dazs Honeybee Crisis – Cute Interactive Animation
A serene bee-scape and a friendly bee help teach about bees and how to help them. Send a personalized “Bee-mail” to help the cause (bee patient, it takes a while to load). Also sponsoring the Haagen Dazs Honey Bee Haven next to the Harry H. Laidlaw Jr. Honey Bee Research Facility on Bee Biology Road, UC Davis.
Bee Friendly Farming
Bee Friendly Farming initiative to recognize anyone who supports bees directly or indirectly, including farms, ranches, businesses, schools, local governments, nonprofits, gardeners and beekeepers.
North American Pollinator Protection Campaign (NAPPC)
NAPPC, made up of respected scientists, researchers, conservationists, government officials and dedicated volunteers, have created major programs to protect pollinators, raise pollinator-related issues, and to benefit the health of all species – particularly those most threatened.
Bee Friendly Gardens
Excellent resource for planting and maintaining bee friendly gardens. Currently focused on California plants, but also contains good general bee garden information.
Mason Bees
How to raise and keep mason bees in your home garden. Excellent pollinators and gentle insects to observe.
University of Illinois Extension – Bee Health Community
Formed in response to the loss of honey bees to colony collapse disorder (CCD), and dedicated to creating sustainable pollination systems.
The Mellisa Garden – a honeybee sanctuary
The Melissa Garden is a honeybee garden sanctuary in Healdsburg, California providing honeybees, native bees and other pollinators with a source of floral resources- free from pesticides.
Biology Letters’ Study on the vision of the Bumblebee
A group of children publish an article on the Bumblebee’s ability to distinguish colors and patterns to help forage from flowers. Read the accompanying article to put it in context. Also listen to NPR’s radio show for another supporting version.
Book: The Forgotten Pollinators
Published in 1996, begins with the chapter, “Silent Springs and Fruitless Falls: The Impending Pollination Crisis“, this book has been responsible for raising the awareness of the relationship between plants and animals and their importance to our natural world.
Hymettus Ltd.
Originally focused on bumblebee research and conservation, its scope has widened to bees, wasps and ants within Great Britain and Ireland.
The Bumblebee Conservation Trust
Through education and conservation, its goal is to prevent further declines in bumblebees and to raise awareness of the problems bumblebees face.
Beebase: Fera National Bee Unit website
UK Federal Food and Environment Research Agency – FERA sets out a plan of action for Government, beekeepers and other stakeholders to ensure a sustainable and productive future for beekeeping in England and Wales.
Bumblebees of the World
Natural History Museum – London, England provides an overview of all of the world’s bumblebee species.

Honey Shows / Competitions

French – The General Agricultural Competition (Le Concours général agricole (CGA)) – An annual competition by the Ministry of Agriculture, Food, Fisheries, Rural Affairs and Planning (MAAPRAT) to recognize the best products from French agriculture. Awards are gold, silver or bronze. For winners, see the list of all products by year
The Irish National Honey Show – See results from prior years – Gormanston, Ireland in July. Held at the Gormanston College Summer School, Gormanston, County Meath, about 32 kilometers (20 miles) north of Dublin.
Other Irish Honey Shows: Co. Dublin Honey Show, Fota Honey Show, Royal County Honey Show, South Tipperary Honey Show, Tullamore Honey Show
The UK National Honey Show – Weybridge, Surrey in October
Royal Highland Show – Largest Agricultural Show in the UK – Edinburgh, Scotland in June
Premio Biomiel – An international competition for organic honey. See this year’s location and date. Also see Awards for past winners.

Conferences & Events

North American Beekeeping Conference
An annual conference supported by the American Beekeeping Federation, the American Honey Producers Association and the Canadian Honey Council.
Apimondia World Event Calendar
Every two years all the beekeepers of the world gather with the beekeeping researchers, supplies manufacturers, honey-traders and all the representatives of the beekeeping sector.

Bee and related directories

Iowa State Entomology Index of Internet Resources
BeeHoo—The World’s Beekeeping Directory
Beekeeping directory and issues, in English and French.
Honey Locator – USA
National Honey Board’s online guide to find suppliers for local and specific floral varieties of honeys.
The Plant List
The working list of all plant species. The Plant List provides the Accepted Latin name for most species, with links to all Synonyms by which that species has been known. It currently lists 1,040,426 scientific plant names.
Updated Bibliography of Bees of the World
A bibliography of references that attempts to provide a complete overview of the research work done on bees so far.

Beekeepers Blogs, Forums & Websites

Australia – Australian Beekeepers Websites
Canada – Bad Beekeeper’s Blog
Canada – Campbell’s Honey Beekeeping Blog
Canada – Mud Songs
is a blog by “some guy” (his reference) from St. John’s, Newfoundland

Greece – Greek Beekeeping Blog Directory
Turkey – Beekeeper Manavgatlei (Translated to English)
Russia – Pchelovod.info – Russian Beekeepers Forum (Translated to English)
USA – Organic Beekeepers Group