The Ten Best Books On Beekeeping 2027

Updated 30 October 2026

This year, I have taken Honey By The Ton (Oliver Field) , The Honey Bee (V.R. Vickery), ABC and XYZ of Bee Culture, Queen Rearing & Bee Breeding (Laidlaw and Page) and The Biology of the Honey Bee (Winston) off my Top 10 list. It was a difficult decision, but it was time to give some newer books their due. In their place I have added Healthy Bees, Heavy Hives (Donohoe & Horton), Haynes Bee Manual (Waring), Beekeeping For Gardeners (Rickitt), Using Apideas (Basterfield) and Honey Bee Biology (Johnson).

We all have our favourites, don’t we? There are the books we refer to again and again because they contain so much wisdom, and the ones we love because they remind us of a golden era in history. My favourites tend to be some older ‘classic’ beekeeping books, and I do have a bias towards queen rearing and large-scale beekeeping. Here are the ten best books on beekeeping (in my opinion):

Quick Picks

• New beekeeper: Haynes (UK) or Sammataro (US)
• Second year: Hooper
• Varroa: Stainton
• Swarming: Shaw
• Queens: Brother Adam, Basterfield
• Going commercial: Manley, Donohoe & Horton

1. Honey Farming: R.O.B. Manley

This is, in my opinion, the greatest beekeeping book ever written. Unsurprisingly, given that it came out in 1946, some of it is now out of date. However, most of the skills and challenges of keeping bees, particularly on a large commercial scale, are the same as they have always been. It’s the same insect, after all. This is definitely not a book for beginners, but even non-beekeepers would get some pleasure from it. It is a book based on the considerable experience of Manley, who was the first bee farmer in England to run 1,000 colonies. He was a very practical man; open about the problems he faced and the solutions he found to deal with them. His writing style is wonderful; this is not just a list of techniques and facts about bees, it is a work of art that is both beautiful and incredibly useful. There is plenty of wisdom in here to benefit a hobby beekeeper who has maybe three or more years of experience.

I should also like to give an honourable mention to Honey By The Ton by Oliver Field, although it is very difficult to get hold of. Oliver Field used to work for Manley before he branched out on his own, and this lovely little book came out forty years after Manley’s masterpiece. It shows my bias towards commercial beekeeping as this book is essentially an updated, slightly abbreviated, version of Honey Farming. It’s all about the answer to the simple question, “how do you go about earning a living from honey production?” Field, like Manley, is very practical and a problem solver. He also has that innate stoicism that comes along with farming, based on the certain knowledge that something is bound to go wrong at some point. It’s all about how we respond to adversity and use our knowledge of bees and nature to recover.

2. Healthy Bees, Heavy Hives: Steve Donohoe and Paul Horton

That’s right folks, I’m including my own book on this list. It is difficult to be objective about these things, but I do genuinely think that Paul and I hit a sweet spot when we came up with this one. Jerry from Northern Bee Books is always very kind about it, and I believe it was his best-selling beekeeping book in the year following publication. Many eminent beekeepers have recommended it, and I heard that one prominent bee farmer bought a copy for each of the beekeepers on his team, as he thought it was the best book on commercial beekeeping since Honey Farming by Manley. A recent review by Elaine Robinson in the BBKA News (Nov 2026) said that it helped her with studying for the BBKA exams, particularly Module 8. If you are interested in improving your honey crop or are moving from hobby beekeeper to something more, or if you are studying for BBKA exams, this might be for you.

3. Beekeeping At Buckfast Abbey: Brother Adam

First published in 1975, this little book is packed with information on exactly how Brother Adam organised the commercial beekeeping operation based at Buckfast. Having had conversations with people that worked there, including David Kemp, who was his assistant for ten years, I find this book fascinating. Brother Adam was ahead of his time; he may not have been right about everything, but he was a brilliant beekeeper and breeder of queens. I know that Mike Palmer, the great beekeeper in St Albans, Vermont, follows Brother Adam’s queen rearing method almost to the letter. I too, have found it to be the best way to produce numerous queen cells in one go. This book describes how Adam ran things at Buckfast, including trips up to the heather on Dartmoor, rendering wax from old comb, raising queens and so much more. A piece of history.

4. Haynes Bee Manual: Claire Waring

As far as I can tell, this is probably the best book for beginners who are based in the UK. Most Haynes manuals are for cars; how to repair and maintain them, but this one is for bees. The format is clear, easy to read, and it is excellent for people who learn by seeing pictures as well as text (isn’t that most people?). The latest edition at the time of writing is still over ten years old, so it is also worth buying Varroa Management by Kirsty Stainton to ensure that the area concerning mite control is well covered.

For a less UK oriented, and nevertheless magnificent book for beginners, I would suggest The Beekeeper’s Handbook (Sammataro & Avitabile), which is widely regarded as comprehensive and useful. An American beginner beekeeping book, with European influences, which I saw on Mike Palmer’s bookshelf is Simple, Smart Beekeeping by Kirsten and Michael Traynor. It is absolutely gorgeous, and written in a very logical and helpful way. Did I mention the stunning photographs?!

5. Guide To Bees & Honey: Ted Hooper

On the plus side, this is the classic step-by-step guide to beekeeping in the UK written by a National Diploma holder, former BBKA President and college lecturer in apiculture. It’s a book that I went back to time and again during my early beekeeping years. However, it is a bit of an oldie (5th Edition, 2010), and the illustrations and photographs are in black and white, and not as clear as many newer books. The text is dense, and I think this is a good one to read after becoming familiar with one of the beginner books mentioned above.

6. Beekeeping For Gardeners: Richard Rickitt

Richard, who is co-editor of BeeCraft magazine, has produced a fantastic book aimed at keen gardeners who fancy keeping bees, and anyone interested in all types of bees that you might find in the garden. In 2024 it won the Living Now Award for Green Living and was a finalist for the Garden Media Guild’s Peter Seabrook Practical Book of the Year. If you love gardens, and you love bees of all types, this is for you.

7. Using Apideas: Daniel Basterfield

Perhaps this is a bit niche, but for all that is written about cell building, there is relatively little about getting from queen cell or virgin queen to a mated, laying queen ready for sale or for use in the apiary. As people scale up their queen rearing, they often find that they need to turn to the small mating hives such as apideas or kielers, to make it work. Those tiny little units are tricky to manage, which is why this book is so perfect. It describes, with clear language and great photographs, exactly how to manage the whole process from beginning to end. It’s written by somebody who does this for a living (as well as other aspects of bee farming) who has seemingly made all the mistakes and learned from them. If you want to know how to use mini polystyrene mating nucs, look no further than this.

8. Honey Bee Biology: Brian R. Johnson

I don’t spend much time delving into some aspects of bee biology because I’m more interested in the activities involved with keeping bees rather than learning about the names of their organs, or the various pheromones that they secrete. However, understanding the biology of the honey bee can help with understanding their behaviour, which can make us better beekeepers. I think this book is the best one out there on the subject, and it replaces the older book by Winston in my top 10 list. Johnson teaches entomology at UC Davis and researches honey bee behaviour, genetics and evolution.

9. Swarming Biology and Control: Wally Shaw

A relatively recently published book (2021) which covers swarming in an excellent way. The section on the biology is important, to gain an understanding of why the various methods of control, described later in the book, are meant to work. Wally combines a dry humour with good scientific knowledge and decades of beekeeping experience. The colourful diagrams are easy to follow. You may not agree with everything he says, but that’s the way of beekeeping. It’s a modern classic on swarming, and one for every beekeeper’s bookshelf.

10. Varroa Management: Kirsty Stainton

This book came out in 2022, so it’s quite new, and I am very impressed with the way it has been put together. The text is large and the diagrams clear; the whole thing is so easy to follow, and it’s great for beginners and old-timers alike. Varroa management is critical to successful beekeeping; this book is brilliant at describing the treatment options available to the UK beekeeper. Kirsty does not recommend using alcohol wash to monitor mite infestation, which is a shame as I think it’s the best method, but I’m not going to quibble about that when the rest of it is genius.

Interviews With Beekeepers by Steve Donohoe

I have not been cheeky enough to include my first book in my Top 10 list, but it is a unique book enjoyed by many ‘intermediate to experienced’ beekeepers. When I was a beekeeper of five to six years’ experience, I travelled far and wide to interview some of the beekeepers that I was eager to learn from. That included Michael Palmer and Randy Oliver in the USA, Peter Little and Murray McGregor in the UK, and Richard Noel in France. I recorded what they said, and wrote it down. It’s a record of conversations between a relative novice (me) and some wise and experienced beekeepers.

YouTube vs Books

More and more beekeepers choose to expand their beekeeping knowledge by watching videos rather than reading books. I think that’s a shame because books are beautiful things that you can hold in your hands, and read in the scorching sun when you are on holiday (iPads conk out when it gets too warm). However, there are some great resources out there on YouTube. The lectures that have been recorded from the National Honey Show are a great resource, particularly the talks by Michael Palmer, but I’m sure we all have our favourites. I suppose mine is The Sustainable Apiary from back in 2013.

Unfortunately, there is a lot of misinformation out there, so you need to be careful. My list of good ones is quite brief, but I don’t spend that much time on YouTube:

Bob Binnie
Ian Steppler
Randy Oliver
University of Guelph
Gruff Rees
Stewart Spinks

Happy Holidays to all readers; may you have peace and love in your lives throughout Christmastime and the year ahead.