I have been keeping bees for about four years. Started with two hives (recommended so if one goes bad you have something to compare to) and now have nine. Major problems you will encounter are pests and diseases. I got started after a year when my garden essentially produced no cucumbers. I made some inquires and learned that some years before, about 80% of the wild colonies and the beekeepers colonies were lost to a little mite called a varroa mite, so there were few bees around to provide adequate polination. No one knew at the time what was killing off the bees. Some treatments were developed (basically installing chemical miticide strips in the hives {when the bees are not making honey for human consumption}. We continue to fight those mites to this day as the varroa mite quickly (over a few years or so) become resistant to the treatment. There is now a new pest, called the African Small Hive Beetle, that is more destructive than the varroa mite, but it is not as wide spread. They too are developing a resistance to available treatments. There is a new approach to fighting these pests, called Integrated Pest Management (IPM), that uses non chemical means to control these pests. From what I am reading, research shows real promise for this approach, although, I have yet to purchase the equipment necessary for IPM. Diseases are also a problem, but there are treatments for them that are quite effective. Keeping bees is a lot of work, but in my opinion is well worth the effort and cost. In addition to benefiting from harvesting honey, I am helping mother nature. Two recommendations I would make: 1) Join your local beekeeping organization (if there is one near you) and take a beeginning beekeeping class (or find a mentor to help you). 2) Buy your bees in what are called "nukes" from a source closest to you, rather than buying "package bees" from a mail order source. When you buy a nuke, you get a real good head start with developing a colony and more than likely will be able to get some honey the first year. If you need any more info, just e-mail me. Don't want to take up more time on this forum. Best of luck!