Strathcona Beekeepers' Library

An Introduction to Natural Beekeeping by Philip Chandler (biobees.com)

We have to acknowledge the difficulty inherent in the phrase 'natural beekeeping': as soon as you consider 'keeping' bees, you begin to stray from what is truely 'natural'. In nature, only bees keep bees. So what do we mean by 'natural' beekeeping, and what is 'unnatural' about conventional beekeeping. To be considered 'natural' our beekeeping must take into account: 1. the natural impulses and behaviour or bees, inlcuding - foraging, swarming, storing food and defending their nest 2. how hive design effects bees 3. the suitability of hive materials used, including considerations of sustainability 4. the nature and frequency of our interventions 5. the local impact of a big increase in honey bee population on other species of pollinators 6. the balance between honey harvesting and the bees' own needs 7. the nature of added inputs - medications and feeding. Sustainability Our overall goal in natural beekeeping is to achieve a state of sustainability: balancing inputs and outputs such that our activities enhance rather than damage the health of our bees, other species and the planet.

An Introduction to Natural Beekeeping by Philip Chandler (biobees.com)

An Introduction to Sustainable Beekeeping by Robin Morris

Natural Beekeeping by Ross Conrad

Beekeeping Natural Simple and Ecological by Johann Thur

Darwinian Beekeeping by Thomas Seeley

The Darwin Cure for Apiculture - Natural Selection and Honey Bee Health

Collapse and Recovery the gateway to natural treatment free beekeeping by Kirk Webster
Healthy Beekeeping by Kirk Webster
The best kept secret revisited by Kirk Webster

The Way Back to Biological Beekeeping by Dee Lusby

Towards Natural Beekeeping with Warre Hives (Mamaki Apiary)

Scientific Papers related to Natural Beekeeping compiled by David Heaf

Towards Sustainable Beekeeping by David Heaf

Sustainable Bee-Friendly Beekeeping by David Heaf

Nine Lectures on Bees by Rudolf Steiner (1923)

Biodynamic Beekeeping Questions and Answers by Michael Weiler

Towards Sustainable Beekeeping by David Heaf

Long Live the Bee (Natural Beekeeping articles from an agricultural conference)

Natural Beekeeping Treatment Recipes

A practical plan for removing all treatment from commercial apiaries by Kirk Webster

Commercial Beekeeping without Treatments Part 1 by Kirk Webster

Commercial Beekeeping without Treatments Part 2 by Kirk Webster

Some thoughts on bee breeding in the north by Kirk Webster

Nature has all the answers so what's your question by Kirk Webster

Honey Bees of the Arnot Forest (feral) by Thomas Seeley

Bait Hives for Honey Bees by Thomas Seeley

Do small cells hellp bees cope with varroa? by David Heaf

Natural Cell Size by David Heaf

The influence of small-cell brood combs on the morphometry of honey bees (Trinity College, Dublin)

Three studies on small cell foundation and varroa mites by Jennifer Berry

Small cell foundation does not impede Varroa growth (University of Georgia)

Natural Cell Size of European Honey Bees - Fatal error or historical distortion (IBRA)

Natural Cell Size by Eric Zeissloff

World Map of Honey Bee Thermology/Cell size zones by Dee Lusby

Small cell size comb use winter survival comparison (2010-11 beeinformed.org)

Life span of small cell worker bees (University of Life Sciences, Poland)

Natural Hives by Gareth John

The Sun Hive Book Preview by Gunther Mancke

Natural Beekeeping with the Horizontal Top Bar Hive

Treatment Free Beekeeping in Poland

Harvesting Honey from a Log Hive

Natural Bee Husbandry Journal April 2017

Natural Bee Husbandry Journal October 2016

Long term exposure to antibiotics has caused resistance in honey bees (Yale University)

Handbook for Natural Beekeeping Standards by Certified Natural Grown

Guidelines for EU Beekeeping Natureland Certification

Natureland Standards for Organic Beekeeping

A list of publications by Professor Thomas Seeley since the l970's.

Natural Beekeeping Videos

Michael Bush Treatment-free Beekeeping (8 mins)
Dee Lusby Organic Beekeeping (27 mins)
Thomas Seeley Following Wild Bees (50 mins)
The Warre Hive David Heaf (27 mins)
Natural Beekeeping (Preventing CCD) Jacqueline Freeman (10:20 mins)
Revealing the inside of the Sun Hive Heidi Herrmann (11 mins)
The Sun Hive (Haengekorb) Sun Hive (10:01 mins)
Perone Hive Natural Beekeeping (12 mins)

Natural Beekeeping Websites:

Michael Bush's website has a wealth of information on natural beekeeping including a page of powerpoint presentations on topics like the history of beekeeping, beginning beekeeping, foundationless beekeeping, natural cell size, queen rearing, races of bees, spring management, wintering bees and more.

Here is a list of writings on natural beekeeping by Kirk Webster over the last 20 years and a number of the videos he has created on natural beekeeping.

Philip Chandler's Top Bar website, Biobees and Warre Biobees is a good source of information including his youtube channel which includes topics like top bar hive setup, spring check, converting frames to topbars, top bar feeders, ecofloors and more.

Mike Palmer of French Hill Apiaries has a lot of good videos on natural beekeeping including natural, commercial beekeeping. Here is his video web page and a Michael Palmer video web page by the Two Little Ladies Apiary.

Backyardhive.com has a wealth of information on top bar beekeeping on their education page, "Managing Your Top Bar Hive". They also have a youtube channel, Bee Guardian that covers topics from installing and seasonal management to harvesting.

The Warre Store has a lot of information relating to Warre beekeeping. There is a new beekeeper page, a Warre beekeeping information page and a Warre hive video tutorial page.

Kirk Webster
Natural Beekeeping Trust
Ed and Dee Lusby
Resistant Bees
David Heaf's Warre Beekeeping Pages and a list of published papers on the science behind natural beekeeping provided by David Heaf in the Natural Beekeeping Trust.
Natural Beekeeping Forum
Organic Beekeepers Forum

Top Bar Beekeeping

Top Bar Hives

Standard Top Bars for the Beekeeper (TJ Carr and John Bradford)
Keeping Bees in Top Bar Hives (Les Crowder and Heather Harrell)
An analysis of the KTB Hive in Calgary, Alberta (Calgary Beekeepers Association)

The Top Bar Hive in Commercial Beekeeping and Research (Dr. W.A. Mangum)
Comparison of TBH vs Langstroth Hives (Chantal Forster)
Beekeeping with Top Bar Hives (Wikibooks)
Top Bar Hives Questions and Answers
The Kenyan Top Bar Hive Explained
Comparison- Vertical to Horizontal Top Bar Hive
The Vertical Top Bar Hive (Warre Hive)
Building a Better Beehive with Les Crowder by Robert Gerard
Sustainable Beekeeping with Top Bar Hives (Robin Morris)
Top Bar Hive in East Senegal (B.F.D.)
Using local style and Top Bar Hives in Uganda (BFD)
17th Century Ceramic Top Bar Hives (H. Harissis and G. Mavrofridis)

Kenyan Top Bar Hive Management

The Appropriate Beehive: An Introduction to Top Bar Beekeeping by Marty Hardison

This hive is called by a number of names: the David hive, the Kenya hive, or simply the frameless movable comb topbar hive. These hives were designed for use in Third World development projects. The David hive was developed by an Israeli apiculturalist, 1. Linder, for use in Senegal, Africa. The Kenya hive was developed by two English beekeepers, E. J. Tredwell and P. Paterson. It was designed for use in Kenya, Africa. (Sperling:1980, p. 285.) Both of these situations lack the kind of material and monetary resources that facilitate Langstroth
beekeeping. But I believe that their necessity has been mother to a great invention. The topbar hive is an appropriate technology tool for beekeeping. It's not an inefficient primitive instrument nor is it a high cost convenience. It lies somewhere in the middle. It operates by the same discovery that enabled the Langstroth hive - the bee space. In this hive independent movable combs are suspended from carefully sized topbars. The topbars are the precise width that once a comb is build on one· the bee space between that comb and the next is preserved. The combs are built entirely by the bees.

Basic Beekeeping Manual by Pam Gregory - Top Bar Hives (Africa)

This is a 2 volume publication written by Pam Gregory with assistance of Gay Marris of the U.K. National Bee Unit (FERA) that concentrates on top bar hive beekeeping, but many of the techniques and ideas can also be used by traditional and frame hive beekeepers. "This field manual is designed for use by field-based trainers in sub Saharan Africa. It is based on colour pictures with few words. The manual covers basic techniques needed to start a beekeeping business. It also offers some new ideas to help beekeepers to become independent by making their own equipment from local materials. I hope that this will help people to start beekeeping at an affordable cost, and maybe to experiment with new materials. The pictures show some of the many different ways that people keep bees. This is intended to promote discussion and shared experiences to help people to solve problems locally. The manual concentrates on top bar hive beekeeping but many of the techniques and ideas can also be used by traditional and frame hive beekeepers." The Advanced Beekeeping Manual covers more advanced management techniques and problem solving and offers some ideas about how to tackle them. The Swahili language version of this manual.

Top Bar Beekeeping in New Zealand - When talking to professional bee keepers about Top Bar hive's don't be put off if they look at you blankly. Most bee keepers have not heard of this way of keeping bees and indeed Top Bar hives are not an option for a professional bee keeper as the honey production is not as high as with a conventional hive. These hives are becoming more and more popular in the UK and America, where people are looking for a more natural and cheaper way of keeping bees. A great website to start your research is Phillip Chandlers Biobees (www.biobees.com). You can also buy his book The Barefoot Beekeeper which describes the management and care of a Top Bar hive based on his U.K. Experience.

Top Bar Hive Management (Tanya Philips - beefriendlyaustin.com)
Top Bar Beekeeping in Alaska (Stephen Petersen, toklatapiaries.weebly.com)
Beekeeping with Top Bar Hives (Nicola Bradbear and Gladstone Solomon BFD)
Top Bar Hive - Essential Management (sparkybeegirl.com)
Beekeeping Training Manual (Top Bar, Zambia, W.C.S.)
Better Beekeeping in Top Bar Hives by Pam Gregory (B.F.D.)
Things that can go wrong with Top Bar Hives by Pam Gregory (B.F.D.)
Top Bar entrances and roofs by Pam Gregory (B.F.D.)
Sample simple 32 bar Top Bar Hive Inspection Form (beepods.com)
Simple 32 bar Top Bar Inspection Form (beepods.com)
Top Bar Hive Inspection Diagram (Christy Hemenway)
How to introduce bees to a Top Bar Hive by Phil, Norm and Gary at biobees.com
How to install a package of bees into a Top Bar Hive (goldstarhoneybees.com)
Video - Installing a Package of Bees in a KTBH (Wyatt Mangum)
Video - Inspecting the installed package of bees on the third day (Wyatt Mangum)
Moving Bees from a frame to a Top Bar Hive (Philip Chandler)
Installing a Langstroth Nuc into a Top Bar Hive
Choosing a site, making a hive stand and attracting bees (BFD)
Video - Top Bar Hive Inspection (honeybeesonline.com)
Video - Comb Management Part 1 (learningbeekeeping.com)
Video - Comb Management Part 2 (learningbeekeeping.com)
Top Bar Hive Ventilation (T.J Carr and John Bradford)
Video - How to Make a KTBH Feeder (Philip Chandler biobees.com)
Mite Management of Top Bar Hives by Randy Oliver (scientificbeekeeping.com)
Harvesting honey from a Top Bar Hive (Howland Blackiston)
How to Harvest Honey from a Top Bar Hive (Pam Gregory)
A trapezoidal frame adapted for centrifugal extraction (B.F.D.)
Winterizing your Top Bar Hive (backyardhive.com)
Winter in a Top Bar Hive (Christy Hemenway)
Video - Winterize your Top Bar Hive (goldstarhoneybees.com)
Video - Minnesota Cold Winterizing your KTBH (Pine City Apiary)
Dividing Top Bar Hives in Ethiopia (BFD)
Facts about a frame for the Kenyan Top Bar Hive (Stanley Mboboa, Kenya)

*BFD = Bees For Development (beesfordevelopment.org)

Top Bar Hive Construction

The Calgary Top Bar Hive: For Northern Climates (Calgary Beekeepers Association)

The CTBH features an IPM screened bottom, and is partitionable for the purpose of running a 2 queen colony, queen rearing or hiving a swarm. It is also interoperable with Langstroth equipment and can be expanded using Langstroth honey supers. This hive is an indirect result of my analysis of using Top Bar Hives in Calgary. This hive improves upon current offerings by being specifically designed for a northern climate, while still acknowledging the simplicity of design fundamental to the original Kenyan Top Bar Hive.

How to Build a Top Bar Hive (Philip Chandler - biobees.com)
Building a Top Bar Hive (beekeepingnaturally.com)
Crowder Top Bar Hive Plans (Les Crowder)
Crowder style Top Bar Mating Nuc
Drawings for a Top Bar Hive with Window (T.J Carr and John Bradford)
How to Make a Movable Comb Top Bar Hive (Pam Gregory, Kenya)
Video - How to Build a Top Bar Beehive NMBKA
Making a Top Bar Hive (BFD - Bees for Development)
The importance of Top Bar Hive dimensions by Pam Gregory (B.F.D.)
Colorado Top Bar Hive (osbeehives.net)
Kenyan Top Bar Hive Plans (Peace Corps)

Yemen Top Bar Hive Plans (Dimensions by Abdullah)

How to build a Top Bar Hive (in German)

The Golden Mean Proportion Top Bar Hive Plans (Carlos Steybe)

Making wax starter strips for Top Bar Hives (Polly Eaton, BFD)

Adding frames to Top Bar or Warre Hives (Deanna Corbett NBA - no longer mandatory in New Zealand)

Top Bar Honey Straining Rack Plans (T.J Carr)

A T-shaped frame for Queen Rearing in Top Bar Hives (J. Woyke)

Constructing a Top Bar Hive (A. Noah, E. Champion, W. Randall, A. Sauls))

Top Bar Hives from non-timber materials (Nuru Adgaba)

Concrete Top Bar Hives in Gambia (Kristen Lassen and Ebrima Jammeh)

The Gorongosa Top Bar Hive (Marty Hardison BFD)

Top Bar Hives Videos

Top Bar Hive Inspection (Long Lane Honey Bee Farms -12 mins)

How to Build a Top Bar Hive (Plans from Jon Peters - 29 mins)

Build a Top Bar Hive for under $50 (from Wranglestar - 24 mins)

Top Bar Hive Glass Window (from Wranglestar - 9 mins)

Top Bar Hive Lead Roof (from Wranglestar - 6 mins)

Swarm Catching 101 (Top bar hive) (from Phil Chandler and Biobees - 10:39 mins)

Moving bees from frames to a top bar hive (from Phil Chandler and Biobees - 12:19 mins)

Kenyan Top Bar Hives (from Phil Chandler and Biobees - 27 mins)

The Warre Hive

Beekeeping for All by Abbe Warre

"Before leaving, I would like, dear bees, to carve my name on these leaves, blessed shrub that has taken all its sap from around your dwelling place. In its shade, I have rested from my weariness, have healed my wounds. Its horizon satisfies my desires for there I can see the heavens. Its solitude is more gentle than deep. Your friends are visiting it. You enliven it with your singing. And because you do not die, dear bees, you will sing again and for ever, in the surrounding foliage, where my spirit will rest. Thank you.
E.Warré" "... At a convenient time we raised queens and supplied swarms. But one evening, an order for 12 swarms was cancelled. I had empty hives to put them in, but I had only enough foundation for two hives. I settled for putting starters in the others as raw wax at the top of the frames, helped greatly by my knife in putting these starters in order. And I noticed that on these starters the bees constructed their combs as quickly as those on foundation and that these combs were more regular. I thus decided to continue to use only starters of raw wax and I have never come to regret it. The People's Hive was thus designed. And if small hives with frames economise on winter stores and facilitate the development of brood in spring, a hive with fixed comb will do it better because its volume is smaller: 36 litres instead of 44. We therefore designed the People's Hive with fixed comb. Now we noticed that the People's Hive with fixed combs saved an extra 3 kg of stores compared with the People's Hive with frames. We thus had two hives: the People's Hive with fixed comb, a perfect hive, but not convenient on a commercial scale because it does not allow the extractor to be used, and the People's Hive with frames, very superior to modern hives, inferior however to the People's Hive with fixed combs, but convenient for commercial use.... "

A Guide to Natural Beekeeping with the Warre Hive (Nick Hampshire)

Warre Beekeeping for the beginner (biobees.com)

A Guide to Warre Beekeeping (biobees.com)

Sustainable Bee-Friendly Beekeeping with the Warre Hive by David Heaf (B.F.D.)