Best Online Beekeeping Courses

So you want to become a beekeeper? Great! Beekeeping is an AMAZING hobby. The next step is to learn what to do so you can keep your bees healthy. A great way to learn about bees and beekeeping is through online courses, especially if there aren't any in-person classes near you or if you'd like an introduction to beekeeping before you spend the time and money on an in-person class.

Here's a breakdown of some of the top online beekeeping courses available for English-speaking individuals to help you choose the one that is right for you.

Before we look at the course, there are a few things you should keep in mind:

1. Your experience level: Are you a complete beginner, or are you looking for advanced education?
2. The style beehive you want to keep bees in: Having an instructor that teaches beekeeping in your preferred beehive style will help you the most. If you're not sure, choose the most popular hive style in your area. You can always try different hive styles later.
3. The instructor: Where is the instructor located and are they experienced in this subject? Are they an entomologist, hobby beekeeper or commercial beekeeper with hundreds of hives? University-run courses held by entomologists tend to teach more about bee biology whereas courses by hobby beekeepers focus on keeping bees on a small scale and commercial beekeepers teach in a style that's best when you have lots of hives. Which would you prefer? There's no wrong or right answer. 
4. The course format: Do you prefer video lectures, written materials, or a combination of both? Do you want live chats and assignments or to go at your pace when it is convenient for you?
5. The cost: How much does the course cost and is it within your budget?
6. Do you want to be able to ask your instructor questions: Some courses are just content and there is no instructor to ask questions, some courses offer the ability to message a question anytime and some have scheduled live chats.

Beekeeping for Beginners by Beekeeping Made Simple

This online beekeeping course is for people with absolutely no knowledge about bees or beekeeping. It covers a wide range of topics from bee biology, equipment, how to install bees and inspect a hive to more complex beekeeping such as splitting hives, queen troubles and overwintering.

What you get: 5 hours of video lessons, PDF print-outs, access to student-only facebook group, one-on-one mentorship, and 2 live chats every month.

Cons: The instructor is a hobby beekeeper as well as worked for a commercial apiary. She does not have a college degree in entomology. 

Cost:

You can try the course free of charge for one month. After that you are on a monthly subscription for $19/month which can be cancelled anytime. For those looking to save, there is a yearly subscription option for $185/year as well as forever access to the course for a one-time fee of $350.

Overall: Beekeeping for Beginners is a comprehensive online beekeeping course that teaches everything the beginner beekeeper needs to know to get started and care for their bees over the years. It is not a university course taught by entomologists. It is a class taught be a backyard beekeeper with experience in the business end of beekeeping. The most helpful part of this course is the support you receive. Laryssa starts the course explaining her story and how she failed year after year before finally "getting it". She's available to email anytime with questions, she holds live chats twice a month, interacts with those in the Facebook group and, overall, is present as a person you can go to with any and every question about bees.

The Beekeeper.org by The Flow Company

This course consists of video tutorials made by different experts in the field of beekeeping. It is for the beginner backyard beekeeper looking to get started and care for their bees.

What you get: video tutorials, PDF's to print out, someone to email with questions

Pros: video tutorials are filmed by a different expert in the field, giving you a variety of knowledge by people with a lot of experience

Cons: The course is made by a corporation that sells beekeeping equipment. You do not get the one-on-one mentorship relationship as with a course held by one instructor. There is no option to purchase the class, so you will have to be on a recurring subscription payment plan for as long as you'd access to the course. 

Cost: This online course offers a monthly subscription option of $19/month and an annual subscription option for $189/month.

Overall: The class teaches how to care for bees from getting started to overwintering. The videos are shot in full HD and full of great tips. However, since it is done by a variety of teachers, there is no one person you really get to know when asking a question nor are there live chats or a community. 

Beekeeping 101 by Penn State

Penn State University's entomology department created an introductory beekeeping course that consists of video tutorials. It provides an extensive amount of information about honey bee biology and how to care for bees.

What You Get: 9 hours of video tutorials about the basics of bees and beekeeping

Cons: There is quite a bit of information about honey bee biology. However, the course does not go into detail about how the beekeeper manages pests and keeps the hive healthy and safe through winter. There is no instructor you can contact with questions. There are no assignments or further learning.

Cost: A one time fee of $159 to take the course an unlimited number of times.

Overall: This course was offered for free for an extended period of time, which really boosted the popularity of this class which is when I took it. As a free course, it can be quite helpful for the beginner beekeeper to understand the parts of the bee, how the hive works and the basics of beekeeping. However, this course does not prepare you for how to care for the hive over the months. I breezed through it in a couple hours and did not find it helpful for the backyard beekeeper who is planning on getting bees in the next few months.

Better Bee

This online course that shows prerecorded videos and then has a live chat with your instructor. It is held by a beekeeping supply company based out of NY.

What you get: Prerecorded lectures and two virtual events

Cons:  Must be able to make the day and times for the classes. There is no instructor to contact after the class is over or that continues to offer support and chats. There is not much video content showing the beekeeping handling the bees as in other online courses because most of it is a live class. 

Overall: This course is a nice introduction to beekeeping especially if you want to be able to ask questions as you are taking the class. There is no teacher you can contact after the course is over. The majority of the class is held live and this part cannot be rewatched at a later date.

Perfect Bee

What you get: access to their extensive written content about bees and beekeeping, a community of beekeepers with live chats to join in from February to October and a beekeeping forum to ask questions.

Cons: Content is all text-based which prevents the student from seeing what the beekeeper does. 

Overall: Perfect Bee has been around for quite a while. It has developed a great network of beekeepers around the county to helped people getting started understand how to care for bees in their unique area. Having content provided in written form instead of video format has its pros and cons. It is always great to see what the beekeeper does and the intricacies of how they do it that is not explained in text. However, if you do not have a great internet connection, it may be frustrating to load and watch the videos. It that situation, written text would be best.

Beekeeping Essentials by Cornell University

What you get: a small class experience with Cornell faculty. The course is more similar to a typical college course. It is 6 weeks in length with 6-8 hours of study per week and facilitated discussions, live sessions and assignments with feedback from the facilitators.

Cons: You cannot refer back to this course once it is live. There are a few "facilitators" that run the class. This course is the most expensive at $699 and includes more of a time commitment at the scheduled time that the course is held. 

Overall: This course is great for people looking for a university-standard class to learn more about bees and beekeeping. If you love the idea of having in-depth discussions led by university faculty and graded assignments, this is for you. It's not for people looking to start beekeeping and could use someone to go to with questions about their bees and want how-to video to watch when they need to. This course is also a big time commitment.

Who Is the Winner?

Since the average person looking to start beekeeping wants to have a handful of hives in their backyard because it sounds fun and interesting, Beekeeping Made Simple is the obvious choice. They teach what you need to know to become a beekeeper and care for your hives while also providing it in a manner that is easy to understand. It was made by a beekeeper who struggled to understand what you really do when opening a hive and what the role of the beekeeper should be. They are open and honest about their failures, which helps students struggling to successfully keep their bees alive feel Ike they're not alone and want to keep trying. The one-on-one mentorship surpasses what the other courses offer. Their dedication to getting to know every student is what really makes this class stand out from the rest. With new videos and content going out every week and monthly live chats, there's always something new to learn and be inspired by and someone to share it with!