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<p><b>Introduction 1</b></p> <p>About This Book 1</p> <p>How This Book Is Organised 2</p> <p>Part I: Getting Hooked on Honey Bees 2</p> <p>Part II: Starting Your Adventure 2</p> <p>Part III: Looking Inside Your Hive 3</p> <p>Part IV: Common Problems and Simple Solutions 3</p> <p>Part V: Sweet Rewards 4</p> <p>Part VI: The Part of Tens 4</p> <p>Icons Used in This Book 4</p> <p>Where to Go from Here 5</p> <p><b>Part I: Getting Hooked on Honey Bees 7</b></p> <p><b>Chapter 1: To Bee or Not to Bee? 9</b></p> <p>Discovering the Benefits of Beekeeping 10</p> <p>Harvesting liquid gold: Honey 11</p> <p>Bees as pollinators: Their vital role in</p> <p>ensuring our food supply 11</p> <p>Helping the bees; helping the environment 13</p> <p>Passing on your knowledge 13</p> <p>Good for your wellbeing; good for your health 13</p> <p>Determining Your Beekeeping Potential 15</p> <p>Environmental considerations 15</p> <p>Being responsible and considering others 16</p> <p>Costs and equipment 16</p> <p>Time and commitment 17</p> <p>Beekeeper personality traits 17</p> <p>Overcoming Fear of Stings 17</p> <p>Knowing what to do if you’re stung 19</p> <p>Building up a tolerance 19</p> <p>Watching for allergic reactions 20</p> <p><b>Chapter 2: Life Inside the Honey Bee Hive 21</b></p> <p>Basic Body Parts 21</p> <p>Skeleton 22</p> <p>Head 22</p> <p>Thorax 24</p> <p>Abdomen 25</p> <p>The Amazing Language of Bees 25</p> <p>Pheromones 25</p> <p>Shall we dance? 26</p> <p>Dividing Honey Bees into Three Castes 27</p> <p>Her majesty, the queen 27</p> <p>The industrious little worker bee 30</p> <p>The woeful drone 34</p> <p>The Honey Bee Life-Cycle 35</p> <p>Egg 36</p> <p>Larva 37</p> <p>Pupa 37</p> <p><b>Part II: Starting Your Adventure 41</b></p> <p><b>Chapter 3: Locating Your Hive 43</b></p> <p>Getting Over ‘Buzz Off!’: Consulting Family and Neighbours 43</p> <p>Location, Location, Location: Where to Keep Your Hives 45</p> <p>Providing for your thirsty bees 47</p> <p>Understanding why your honey varies in colour and flavour 49</p> <p>Knowing When to Start Your Adventure 50</p> <p><b>Chapter 4: Stocking Up on Basic Beekeeping Equipment 51</b></p> <p>Finding Out about the Modified National Hive 52</p> <p>Knowing the Basic Parts of the Hive 53</p> <p>Hive stand 54</p> <p>Floor 55</p> <p>Entrance block 55</p> <p>Brood chamber 56</p> <p>Queen excluder 58</p> <p>Super 58</p> <p>Frames 59</p> <p>Foundation 61</p> <p>Crown board 65</p> <p>Roof 66</p> <p>Ordering Hive Parts 66</p> <p>Preparing for assembly 67</p> <p>Adding on Feeders 68</p> <p>Miller and Ashforth rapid feeders 68</p> <p>Bucket feeder 69</p> <p>Frame feeder 71</p> <p>Stocking Up on Your Personal Beekeeping Equipment 72</p> <p>Smoker 72</p> <p>Hive tool 73</p> <p>Covering Up with Bee-Proof Clothing 74</p> <p>Veils 74</p> <p>Gloves 75</p> <p>Really Helpful Accessories 76</p> <p>Elevated hive stand 76</p> <p>Frame rest 78</p> <p>Bee brush 78</p> <p>Other necessities 79</p> <p><b>Chapter 5: Obtaining and Hiving Your Bees 81</b></p> <p>Determining the Kind of Bee You Want 81</p> <p>Deciding How to Obtain Your Initial Bee Colony 83</p> <p>Picking a reputable bee supplier 84</p> <p>Deciding when to place your order 84</p> <p>Buying a nucleus colony 85</p> <p>Transferring your nucleus to a hive 86</p> <p>Purchasing an established colony 87</p> <p>Capturing a wild swarm of bees 88</p> <p>Ordering package bees 88</p> <p>Meeting and Greeting: The Day Your Bees Arrive 89</p> <p>Bringing home your bees 90</p> <p>Feeding your bees 90</p> <p>Buzzing with Excitement: Putting Your Bees into the Hive 91</p> <p><b>Part III: Looking Inside Your Hive 97</b></p> <p><b>Chapter 6: Opening Your Hive 99</b></p> <p>Setting an Inspection Schedule 99</p> <p>Preparing to Visit Your Hive 100</p> <p>Making ‘non-scents’ a part of personal hygiene 101</p> <p>Getting dressed up and ready to go 101</p> <p>Lighting your smoker 102</p> <p>Opening the Hive 104</p> <p>Removing the crown board 106</p> <p>The Hive’s Open! Now What? 107</p> <p><b>Chapter 7: What to Look for when You’re Inspecting 109</b></p> <p>Exploring Basic Inspection Techniques: Examining a Full Colony 109</p> <p>Removing the first frame 110</p> <p>Working your way through the hive 112</p> <p>Holding up frames for inspection 112</p> <p>Understanding what to look for every time 113</p> <p>Replacing frames 117</p> <p>Closing the hive 118</p> <p>Establishing a Colony from a Nucleus 119</p> <p>Managing your nucleus 119</p> <p>Starting your Colony with a Package of Bees 121</p> <p>Checking in: A week after hiving your bees 121</p> <p>The second and third weeks 124</p> <p>Weeks four to eight 125</p> <p><b>Chapter 8: Your Work throughout the Seasons 129</b></p> <p>Lazy, Hazy Days of Summer 129</p> <p>Your summer to-do list 130</p> <p>Your summer time commitment 130</p> <p>Falling Leaves Point to Autumn Tasks 131</p> <p>Your autumn to-do list 131</p> <p>Making one hive from two 133</p> <p>Your autumn time commitment 134</p> <p>Clustering in a Winter Wonderland 134</p> <p>Your winter to-do list 135</p> <p>Your winter time commitment 136</p> <p>Spring Is in the Air: Starting Your Second Season 137</p> <p>Your spring to-do list 137</p> <p>Making two hives from one 138</p> <p>Your spring time commitment 140</p> <p>Administering spring medication 141</p> <p>Reversing hive bodies 141</p> <p><b>Part IV: Common Problems and Simple Solutions 145</b></p> <p><b>Chapter 9: Heading Off Potential Problems 147</b></p> <p>Avoiding Absconding 147</p> <p>Swarming 148</p> <p>Absconding 156</p> <p>Where Did the Queen Go? 157</p> <p>Letting nature take its course 157</p> <p>Ordering a replacement queen 158</p> <p>Introducing a new queen to the hive 158</p> <p>Avoiding Chilled Brood 160</p> <p>Dealing with the Dreaded Robbing Frenzies 161</p> <p>Knowing the difference between normal and</p> <p>abnormal (robbing) behaviour 161</p> <p>Putting a stop to a robbing attack 162</p> <p>Preventing robbing in the first place 162</p> <p>Ridding Your Hive of the Laying Worker Phenomenon 163</p> <p>How to know if you have laying workers 163</p> <p>Getting rid of laying workers 164</p> <p>Preventing Pesticide Poisoning 166</p> <p><b>Chapter 10: Treating Diseases and Considering Colony Collapse Disorder 169</b></p> <p>Medicating when Necessary 170</p> <p>Knowing the Big Six Bee Diseases 170</p> <p>American foulbrood (AFB) 171</p> <p>European foulbrood (EFB) 172</p> <p>Nosema 172</p> <p>Chalkbrood 173</p> <p>Sacbrood 174</p> <p>Stonebrood 174</p> <p>A handy chart 174</p> <p>Shedding Some Light on Colony Collapse Disorder and Vanishing Hives 177</p> <p>Unlocking the mystery of the Mary Celeste hives 177</p> <p>Discovering more about CCD 178</p> <p>Exploring Potential Causes of CCD 179</p> <p>The mobile phone theory 179</p> <p>Pollinating insect research 179</p> <p>A Final Word 181</p> <p><b>Chapter 11: Buzz Off! Dealing with Honey Bee Pests 183</b></p> <p>Preventing Parasitic Mites 183</p> <p>Varroa mites 183</p> <p>Controlling Varroa the natural way 192</p> <p>Acarine (Tracheal mites) 193</p> <p>Wax Moths 196</p> <p>Ants, Ants and More Ants 197</p> <p>Keeping Out Mice 198</p> <p>Dealing with Birds that Have a Taste for Bees 199</p> <p>Pest Control in a Nutshell 199</p> <p><b>Chapter 12: Raising Your Own Queens 201</b></p> <p>Why Raising Queens Makes You Proud 201</p> <p>Accentuating the Positive: Choosing Good Traits 202</p> <p>What Makes a Queen a Queen 204</p> <p>Buzzing with love: Queen mating 205</p> <p>Creating Demand: Making a Queenless Nuc 206</p> <p>Queen Rearing: The Miller Method 207</p> <p>Using an Artificial Swarm to Raise Queens 211</p> <p>The Doolittle Method: Grafting 212</p> <p>Tools and equipment 212</p> <p>How it’s done 214</p> <p>Trying Out the Jenter System 216</p> <p>How it’s done 216</p> <p>Providing nuptial housing 219</p> <p>Finding a Home for Your Queens 220</p> <p><b>Part V: Sweet Rewards 223</b></p> <p><b>Chapter 13: Getting Ready for the Golden Harvest 225</b></p> <p>Choosing Extracted, Comb, Chunk or Soft-Set Honey 226</p> <p>Using the Right Equipment for the Job 228</p> <p>Honey extractors 228</p> <p>Uncapping knife 229</p> <p>Honey strainers 229</p> <p>Other handy gadgets for extracting honey 230</p> <p>Comb honey equipment 233</p> <p>Honey containers 233</p> <p>Planning Your Honey Harvest Set-Up 233</p> <p>Labelling and Selling Your Honey 235</p> <p>Creating an attractive label 235</p> <p>Finding places to market your honey 237</p> <p><b>Chapter 14: Honey, I’m Home: Harvest Time 239</b></p> <p>Knowing When to Harvest 240</p> <p>Getting the Bees Out of the Honey Supers 241</p> <p>Shakin’ ’em out 242</p> <p>Using a bee escape 242</p> <p>Fume board and bee repellent 244</p> <p>Food of the Gods: Honey Extraction 246</p> <p>Cleaning Up after Extracting 249</p> <p>Controlling wax moths 249</p> <p>Harvesting wax 250</p> <p><b>Part VI: The Part of Tens 253</b></p> <p><b>Chapter 15: Ten Fun Things to Do with Bees 255</b></p> <p>Starting an Observation Hive 255</p> <p>Planting Flowers for Your Bees 257</p> <p>Brewing Mead: The Nectar of the Gods 259</p> <p>Getting Creative with Propolis 262</p> <p>Propolis tincture 263</p> <p>Propolis ointment 263</p> <p>Making Candles and Polish from Beeswax 263</p> <p>Beeswax candles 264</p> <p>Beeswax furniture polish 264</p> <p>Beauty and the Bees 265</p> <p>Beeswax lip balm 265</p> <p>Beeswax and olive oil salve 265</p> <p>Getting up Close with a Microscope 266</p> <p><b>Chapter 16: Ten Frequently Asked Questions about Bee Behaviour 267</b></p> <p><b>Chapter 17: Ten Delicious Honey Recipes 271</b></p> <p>Appendix A: Helpful Resources 279</p> <p>Honey Bee Websites 279</p> <p>Apiservices 279</p> <p>Bee Master Forum 279</p> <p>BeeHoo 280</p> <p>British Beekeepers Association 280</p> <p>Bush Farm 280</p> <p>Cornwall Honey 280</p> <p>David A. Cushman 280</p> <p>The Beespace 281</p> <p>Vita (Europe) 281</p> <p>Bee Organisations and Conferences 281</p> <p>Apimondia: International Federation of</p> <p>Beekeepers’ Associations 281</p> <p>The BBKA Spring Convention 282</p> <p>Bee Diseases Insurance Ltd (BDI) 282</p> <p>Bee Improvement and Bee Breeders Association (BIBBA) 282</p> <p>International Bee Research Association 283</p> <p>The National Bee Unit of the Central Science Laboratory 283</p> <p>The National Honey Show 283</p> <p>The National Farmers Union 284</p> <p>Bee Journals and Magazines 284</p> <p>American Bee Journal 284</p> <p>BBKA News 284</p> <p>Bee Craft 285</p> <p>Bee Culture 285</p> <p>The Beekeepers Quarterly 285</p> <p>Bee World 285</p> <p>Beekeeping Supplies and Equipment 285</p> <p>The Bee Shop 286</p> <p>B. J. Sherriff 286</p> <p>Brunel Microscopes Ltd 286</p> <p>Compak 287</p> <p>Giordan 287</p> <p>Maisemore Apiaries Ltd 288</p> <p>Modern Beekeeping 288</p> <p>National Bee Supplies 288</p> <p>Swienty Beekeeping Equipment 289</p> <p>E. H. Thorne 289</p> <p>Appendix B: Glossary 291</p> <p>Index 297</p>

<p><b>David Wiscombe</b> is a beekeeping expert who has been keeping bees for over 50 years. He also teaches novice beekeepers and runs the beekeeping course at River Cottage. <b>Howland Blackiston</b> has more than 20 years' experience keeping bees. He has written many articles on beekeeping and been a keynote speaker at conferences in over 40 countries.

<p><b><i>Learn to:</i></b> <ul> <li>Understand the amazing behaviour of your honey bees</li> <li>Obtain and hive your first colony</li> <li>Deal with pests and diseases that may harm your bees</li> <li>Harvest your own honey</li> </ul> <p><b>A honey of a guide to getting started in beekeeping – from sourcing your bees to harvesting your sweet reward</b> <p>Your complete guide to beekeeping in virtually any setting – city, town or country – <i>Beekeeping For Dummies, UK Edition</i> gives you step-by-step instructions on all practical aspects of starting and maintaining a beehive and reaping the many rewards. <ul> <li> <b>To bee or not to bee</b> – discover the many benefits of beekeeping, while learning about bee anatomy, language, habits, complex social organisation, and a typical day in the life of a bee</li> <li> <b>The adventure begins</b> – everything you need to know about starting a hive, including locating the hive, buying equipment, choosing and sourcing the right kind of honey bees, and more</li> <li> <b>Up close and personal</b> – find out how to open your beehive and get to know your bees and their world from the inside, as well as the different tasks involved with keeping the hive buzzing along</li> <li> <b>A healthy bee is a happy bee</b> – anticipate, diagnose and solve problems that can beset a hive, including common illnesses and pesky pests such as mites and insects</li> <li> <b>Sweet rewards</b> – get the lowdown on the equipment you need to reap your golden harvest along with step-by-step directions to harvesting and bottling your honey</li> <li> <b>Fun stuff</b> – learn to brew mead, bake the best honey cake, plant flowers for your bees, make beeswax candles, and make two hives from one</li> </ul> <p><b>Open the book and find:</b> <ul> <li>Explanations of bee anatomy and physiology</li> <li>Tips on safely extracting honey</li> <li>The benefits of beekeeping</li> <li>The best ways of buying and hiving your bees</li> <li>Beekeeping tasks throughout the year</li> <li>Bee diseases and threats</li> <li>How to keep your neighbours happy</li> <li>Lists of regional associations and equipment suppliers</li> </ul>

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