Beginning Beekeeping - everything you need to make your hive thrive

Description

Contents 4......Page 6 1 All About Honeybees 9......Page 11 Why We Need Honeybees 10......Page 12 Common Species of Honeybees 12......Page 14 The Honeybee Hive 14......Page 16 Stages of Honeybee Development 16......Page 18 The Queen 18......Page 20 The Drone 20......Page 22 The Worker 22......Page 24 How the Hive Works 24......Page 26 How Bees Communicate 26......Page 28 What Bees Eat 28......Page 30 2 Getting Started 31......Page 33 The Evolution of Beekeeping 32......Page 34 The Pioneers of Beekeeping 34......Page 36 Why Become a Beekeeper? 36......Page 38 Urban Beekeeping 38......Page 40 Rural Beekeeping 40......Page 42 Beekeeping on a Budget 42......Page 44 The Beekeeper’s Toolshed 44......Page 46 The Beekeeper’s Closet 46......Page 48 The Langstroth Hive 48......Page 50 Langstroth Foundations and Frames 50......Page 52 The Top-Bar Hive 52......Page 54 Other Hive Types 54......Page 56 Creating a Well-Planned Apiary 56......Page 58 Creating a Garden for Your Bees 58......Page 60 Attracting Swarms to Your Hives 60......Page 62 Catching Swarms 62......Page 64 Buying and Installing Bees 64......Page 66 Installing a Queen 70......Page 72 3 Maintaining Your Hives 73......Page 75 Anatomy of a Healthy Hive 74......Page 76 Handling Bees Safely 76......Page 78 Inspecting Your Hives 78......Page 80 Maintaining a Queenright Colony 82......Page 84 Replacing the Queen (Requeening) 84......Page 86 Swarm Causes and Controls 86......Page 88 Controlling Overcrowding 88......Page 90 Storing and Using Drawn Comb 90......Page 92 Recordkeeping 92......Page 94 Hive Inspections 94......Page 96 Hive Box Maintenance 98......Page 100 Top-Bar Hive Considerations 100......Page 102 4 The Harvest 105......Page 107 Products of the Hive 106......Page 108 Setting Up Your Honey Extraction Space 108......Page 110 How to Remove Bees from a Super 110......Page 112 Extracting and Filtering Honey 112......Page 114 Bottling and Labeling Honey 114......Page 116 Honey Extraction in a Top-Bar Hive 116......Page 118 Harvesting Wax 118......Page 120 Building a Solar Wax Melter 120......Page 122 Harvesting and Storing Pollen 122......Page 124 Uses for Honey 124......Page 126 Uses for Wax 126......Page 128 5 Pests and Hive Treatments 129......Page 131 Common Threats to Bees 130......Page 132 Minimizing the Risks for Colony Collapse Disorder (CCD) 132......Page 134 Bee Mites: Diseases and Treatments 134......Page 136 Brood Diseases and Treatments 136......Page 138 Viruses 137......Page 139 Significant Threats to Your Bees 138......Page 140 Small Hive Beetles 140......Page 142 Other Pests 142......Page 144 Approaches to Pest Management 144......Page 146 Using Integrated Pest Management......Page 148 6 Troubleshooting 149......Page 151 Managing Queen Issues 150......Page 152 Preventing Dead Bees 152......Page 154 Laying Workers and Drone-Laying Queens 154......Page 156 Managing a Tiny Colony 156......Page 158 Preventing Robbing 158......Page 160 Preventing Absconding 160......Page 162 Moving and Transporting Hives 162......Page 164 Handling Aggressive Hives 164......Page 166 7 Seasonal Beekeeping 167......Page 169 Beekeeping in Spring 168......Page 170 Beekeeping in Summer 170......Page 172 Beekeeping in Autumn 172......Page 174 Beekeeping in Winter174......Page 176 Dealing with Flooding 178......Page 180 Feeding Your Bees 180......Page 182 Resources and Suppliers 184......Page 186 Organizations and Magazines 185......Page 187 Index 186......Page 188