My parents were beekeepers, but I never learned much about bee care because I was frightened of being stung! I enjoyed trying the honey cake recipes, though.
You can get more bees if you register with the local council as someone who will come and collect swarms which appear in people's gardens - then you just need to buy the hive.
One thing I learned was if there aren't that many in a swarm, or a hive is a bit short of bees, you can mix them together and shove a load of flour over them - by the time they've cleaned it off, they all smell the same so won't fight off the interlopers!
Also, if you get permission to place a hive on someone else's land, like a farmer's field, be aware that it could be stolen by another beekeeper - sadly, they're not all honest, as my parents found. Maybe paint/scratch identification on each piece of the hive to deter bee-snatchers?