Library Categories
Basic Beekeeping
- Beekeeping Video Series
- Online Education
- Regional
- Bee Biology
- Basic Beekeeping Information
- Hive Inspection
- Splits, Nucs and Packages
- Swarms
- Feeding
- Winter Management
Beehive Construction - Do it yourself plans for hives and beekeeping accessories
Honey Bee Diseases and Pests - Prevention, diagnosis and treatment of all pests and diseases
- Varroa Mites- Small Hive Beetle
- Bears
- Skunks
- Wasps
- Diseases
Advanced Beekeeping - From queen rearing to commercial beekeeping management
- Queen Rearing- Commercial Beekeeping
Natural Beekeeping - Treatment free beekeeping
- Top Bar Beekeeping - From construction to maintenance of primarily the Kenyan Top Bar Hive
General Interest - A wide variety of topics from science and history to cultural
- History- Eva Crane
- Hygienic Behaviour
- Pesticides and Bees
- Products from Beekeeping
- Honey Recipes
- Native Pollinators
- Planting for Pollinators
- Bee Lining
- Webinars
- Children's Books
Apicultura (Espanol) - Todo, desde la biología hasta el mantenimiento estacional de las abejas de miel
* To search for a
specific word on this page like Varroa or Nosema you can use crtl + f on your
keyboard to bring up word search on your
browser. A very useful tool.
Getting Started
Backyard Beekeeping (James E. Tew) This book by Dr. James Tew is a good overview of the basic steps to acquiring and management of a bee colony for the beginner beekeeper. Some of the things that are covered are the cost, races of honey bees, bee life cycle, hive design, equipment, swarms, hive site, seasonal management, pesticides, diseases and harvesting of honey and wax. Most of the information in this library comes from beekeeping organizations, government publications and publications from universites and science institutes. I have found through many years of compiling this library that the best sources of freely available information on beekeeping are the Australian government and U.S. Universities. At the forefront of the U.S. source has been Dr. James Tew, through years of publications, webinars, video series and power points all freely available to the public. Thank you Dr. Tew. 
Beekeeping Basics This Penn State University publication provides a fairly comprehensive and detailed book for the backyard beekeeper. "This manual is all about beekeeping—understanding honey bee biology, getting started, managing bee colonies for fun and/or profit and is designed to help you become a successful beekeeper. Welcome to the world of beekeeping." It covers topics like bee castes, beekeeping equipment, clothing, packages and nucs, apiary location, seasonal management, diseases and pests, honey production and processing, rendering bees wax and pollen trapping ... A very good resource for the beginning beekeeper.
Handbook on Beekeeping: (Europe) A good, complete guide to sustainable beekeeping from the European Union Bees project. "BEES is a Transfer of Innovation project aiming at further developing a module from the Leonardo da Vinci ENSA project on organic and biodynamic agriculture education. The main objective of the project is to create completely updated teaching materials on bee behaviours and relevant importance as indicators of agriculture sustainability. Biodiversity is directly linked to this approach. The main targets of the handbook are farmers' associations, environmental associations, agriculture professional schools, agriculture and veterinary medicine universities, bee keepers associations, policy makers, institutions at European, national and local level, elementary and secondary schools."
Australian Beekeeping Guide A great beginner's guide to beekeeping from the Australian government. It covers everything from bee castes and life-cycle to seasonal management, diseases and pests. "This book provides basic information to assist beginner and sideline beekeepers. It draws on the knowledge and experience of apiculture scientists, various state and territory apiary inspectors and apiary officers, and most importantly, the many beekeepers who enjoy keeping bees." It covers most everything except treatment of varroa mites which are not present in Australia.
Starting Beekeeping in Ireland by Thomas Carroll
"This book is as much a guide to sources of additional information as it is a how to beekeeping guide. There is a lot of bee related information available and I have compiled an impressive list of
sources of additional information from an Irish centric perspective. Why did I write this eBook? The need for this book came to me when I searched for as simple and straightforward text on how to start beekeeping in Ireland. I was restarting my beekeeping here in 2015. I wanted a plain and straight to the point book which was up to date and appropriate in the Irish context. I wanted a book at a sensible price which was available in electronic format (an eBook) which I could easily and quickly download and start reading. I could not find or easily access a suitable publication to assist me and therefore decided to write the book my self to assist others who may be trying to start beekeeping... I have spent over two years researching and writing this eBook. I hope that you find it useful and helpful. I would be delighted to hear from you and to get your feedback." Tom Carroll PHD, Killenure Nursery, Ballybrittas, Co Laois. Website - Apiconsult
Beekeeping in California "This publication describes the fundamentals of keeping bees in California (1987) and discusses the differences between commercial and non commercial approaches. Persons considering keeping bees can learn through self education and experience. Classes and short courses in beekeeping are also helpful, and many good books and other literature are available (see References). However, no amount of reading can substitute for actual experience with colonies. Local beekeeping clubs often willingly share information, and many will show beginners how to manage a colony and what to expect through the year."Canadian Best Management Practices for Honey Bee Health (Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada) - "Best Management Practices (BMPs) for the honey bee industry are developed by different levels and divisions of government, various organizations, institutions and stakeholders. Content ranging from regulations for pest and disease treatment thresholds to management of colonies during pollination services are included. While in many cases these recommendations are readily available, their authors are varied and the publications are provided by diverse sources. Some recommendations will apply to the Canadian nation as a whole, while others will only relate to specific areas of the country. The BMPs discussed in this document refer to those that pertain to honey bee health. Traceability aspects like food safety, beekeeper safety and environmental safety are not included within this BMP document."
4 H Beekeeping Manuals The 4-H Beekeeping Project from Purdue University is divided into three divisions. Division I, Understanding the Honey Bee, covers information on the basic facts of beekeeping: the types of bees, the honey and wax they produce, the plants that attract bees, and the equipment a beekeeper needs. In the first year, youth are not required to have any bees, but prepare to take care of a honey bee colony of their own. In Division II, Working with Honey Bees, youth acquire a colony of bees and learn how to care for their beehive throughout the year. This will include basic beekeeping operations that result in the production of extracted, chunk, or cut comb honey. When the youth are experienced and knowledgeable in the basic care of a beehive, they should move on to Division III, Advanced Beekeeping Methods. The advanced topics include: increasing the number of your honey bee colonies, increasing honey production, producing special kinds of honey, learning more about the bee societies, and how to manage honey bee diseases and parasites. This is a good resource for beginning beekeepers of all ages. In addition here is a 4H Basic Beekeeping Manual from Malcolm Sanford (University of Florida) and from the Virginia Cooperative Extension 4H Honey Bee Youth Project Book 1 and 2 .
4 H Beekeeping Manual A good beginner beekeeper manual written by Brian Rowe of the 4 H organization that covers everything from hive components, types of bees, first year and seasonal management, honey, wax and diseases and pests. "Welcome to beekeeping. I hope you enjoy it as much as I have. The bees have been good to me, and I hope they will do the same for you." Brian Rowe.
The Basics of Beekeeping (Scotland) This is a good introductory Beekeeping guide written by M.M. Peterson on behalf of the Dunblane and Stirling Districts Beekeepers' Association in Scotland. The topics discussed include bee biology, beekeeping equipment, handling bees, swarm control, diseases and pests and harvesting. 
At the Hive Entrance This useful German handbook written by Prof. Storch in 1985 (pre varroa) explains the value of being able to calculate a hive health by observing the outside of the hive. "All year round it is through this little opening that the life of a colony pulses. Here it breathes and rejects all that it will not tolerate in its domain. Here it transmits its meaningful message for the person who can understand it. Here the colony's behaviour informs the beekeeper of its problems and state of health, and lets him know whether it needs his help. A keeper who can tell the condition of his bees by observing the hive entrance does not need to open his hives and disturb the bees' sanctuary, the brood nest. This never produces good results. A healthy colony must have peace if it is to perform its productive role. On principle a visit should only be made once the keeper has determined at the hive entrance that something is not in order. It is not always easy to know what is happening inside the hive by observing the hive entrance and this is only learnt after many years, especially when the keeper is alone and there is no-one to give advice. The aquisition of this knowledge can be facilitated by complementing observations at the hive entrance with those made at the rear window or at the building frame. A look beneath the frames is also very often instructive. As long as the beekeeper cannot understand the inter-nal condition of the hive by watching the outside, he can only lose money and will have to pay his appren-ticeship dearly. Therefore it is in the best interest of every beekeeper to learn this field as fast and as thoroughly as possible. It is not only the ears and eyes of the observer which must participate, but also his senses of smell and touch, and above all his heart, spirit and intelligence."
Beekeeping in the United States This beekeeping handbook from the U.S. Department of Agriculture provides readers with a better understanding of beekeeping in the United States from a l980 perspective (pre Varroa). Some topics discussed are the life history of the honey bee; bee behavior; breeding and genetics of honey bees; queens, packaged bees, and nuclei; managing colonies for high honey yield and crop pollination; dis- eases and pests of honey bees; and effects of pesticides on honey bee mortality. The handbook also lists beekeeping organizations and some statistics on bees and honey. Martin, E. C, E. Oertel, N. P. Nye, and others. 1980. Beekeeping in the United States. U.S. Department of Agriculture, Agriculture Handbook. 
L'Abbé Eloi François Émile Warré was born on 9 March 1867 at Grébault-Mesnil in the Somme département. He was ordained a priest on 19 September 1891 -- Amiens diocese -- and became the parish priest of Mérélessart (Somme) in 1897 then of Martainneville (Somme) in 1904. He disappeared from the records in 1916 subsequently to reappear at Saint-Symphorien (Indre-et-Loire) to devote himself exclusively to beekeeping. He died at Tours on 20 April 1951. Abbé Warré developed The People's Hive based on his studies of 350 hives of different systems that existed at his time as well as of the natural habits of the bee. To publish his findings, he wrote several books: La santé ou les Meilleurs traitements de toutes les maladies (Health or better treatments for all illnesses), Le Miel, ses propriétés et ses usages (Honey its properties and applications), La Santé, manuel-guide des malades et des bien-portants (Health, a manual for the ill and the well) --1912 -- and by far the most important L'Apiculture pour Tous (Beekeeping for All) whose twelfth and last edition is dated 1948.
"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.... "
Basic Beekeeping Manual (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.
A Beginner's Guide to Beekeeping in Kenya by Thomas Carroll, Msc. (Agr.)
"This book was written to assist beekeepers in Kenya and other African countries improve their beekeeping. It is written in simple language and is intended to be as practical as possible." Thomas Carroll. Reader's feedback on the guide. “It is a wonderful and easily understandable introduction to
beekeeping with all the important tips and advice……….it is by far the
most informative book (about Kenyan beekeeping)”. From the Organic Farmer Magazine, Nairobi, “Congratulations for your Beekeeping Guide that is very interesting,
complete and useful not only for the Scutellata beekeepers but for the
Adansonii ones in Central and West Africa where the problems are similar”.
Tropical and Sub-tropical Apiculture The book brings out the enormous untapped potential for the development of a dynamic apiculture industry in the developing countries. Most countries in these regions are blessed with abundant sunshine, and a rich flora which blooms all the year round. An integrated consideration of the problems and potential of the apiculture industry in the tropics and sub- tropics will therefore help in identifying the constraints responsible for the gap between potential and actual honey production. At the same time, it will help to monitor and regulate the movement ofbees and associated pathogens from temperate into tropical areas, where beekeeping is especially vulnerable to setbacks caused by new diseases. We urgently need a mechanism for disease monitoring, and for organizing an early warning system with reference to the spread of new pests and pathogens. Information on marketing opportunities will also be necessary for countries that are substantially increasing their apicultural production. Much of this book has been written by scientists who are authorities in their respective fields. The book, therefore, serves as an encyclopedia of information relating to the various aspects of apiculture.
The National Beekeeping Training Extension Manual (Uganda) This beekeeping training guide produced by the Ugandan Ministry of Agriculture is a manual that others in tropical and subtropical areas may find useful. "Over the years, several stakeholders including Government Ministries, Departments and Agencies have been carrying out training of farmers in their own ways without standard guide and uniformity. Some of the guides/manuals used by the stakeholders are substandard. This practice has for long undermined efforts to increase production and enforce compliance to standards. This manual has therefore been developed to provide the basic standards for training beekeepers all over Uganda."
This practical guide to Beekeeping in Africa is one volume in the programme of publications on apiculture in the Third World initiated early in 1986 by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. Previous volumes include Tropical and sub-tropical apiculture; Honeybee mites and their control: A selected annotated bibliography; Honey and beeswax control; Beekeeping in Asia, Honeybee diseases and enemies In Asia: A practical guide; and Beekeeping in Latin America. It is hoped that other topical works will follow. The present practical guide was written by Mr. Stephen O. Adjare, Research Fellow in charge of the Apiculture Promotion Unit of the Technology Consultancy Centre, University of Science and Technology, Kumasi, Ghana. While it draws on a wealth of information based on the experience of beekeepers around the world, and especially in the United States, it focuses on those problems, opportunities and resources which are peculiar to Africa. It stresses the potential that beekeeping offers to agriculture, rural development, nutrition and income generation in the continent, and the ways in which individual, small-scale and commercial beekeepers can improve the productivity of their hives. The use of local technology and materials, as well as the particular characteristics of the African honeybee, are treated in detail.
Both the experienced beekeeper and the novice will find a mine of useful information, guidance and suggestions in this guide, which FAO hopes will be a valuable contribution to food security and economic development in Africa.
Apiculture in Sub-Saharan Africa (A manual for trainers) This manual focuses on modern beekeeping in Sub-Saharan Africa. It attempts to upgrade and refine the knowledge of trainers/field workers within government departments or organizations/NGOs on the correct use of modern beekeeping techniques. The final aim is that competent services will be provided to farmers/beekeepers and appropriate transfer of know-how will be accomplished to the same. It is hoped that this will contribute to the creation of a new generation of beekeepers in the Region.
Small Scale Beekeeping (The Peace Corps) As part of the United States “whole of government” effrt to address food security in the developing world, the Peace Corps has edited and revised several existing technical manuals designed for use by Volunteers. Most of these materials were created in the late 1970s and early 1980s and were written by a number of diffrent subject-matter experts employed or contracted by the Peace Corps. They have been revised with funding provided to the Peace Corps by the U.S. Agency for International Development’s (USAID) Bureau of Food Security under a food security agreement, known as “Feed the Future.” The Small-Scale Beekeeping manual is written as a guide for Volunteers who are getting started with small-scale beekeeping projects. The intention is to provide an overview of beekeeping and its possibilities as a tool for development. The manual focuses on “intermediate levels” of beekeeping that can be self-sustaining, using only local resources.
A Manual for Trainers of Small-Scale Beekeeping Development Workers (The Peace Corps) A Manual for Trainers of Small-scale Beekeeping Development Workers [T0029] is useful for Volunteers and staff for training purposes. The content is adaptable to pre-service and inservice training events. It is also valuable to Volunteers interested in training community members. The training is designed to help participants develop the skills they will need to work and live as beekeeping extensionists. The emphasis of this training is on equipping future Volunteers, counterparts, and community members with the skills necessary to promote appropriate beekeeping development. This is a creative process that requires individuals to take an active role in identifying their own needs and finding appropriate and sustainable ways to meet them. The sessions outlined in this manual cover a range of skills needed to establish beekeeping projects. The approach to training used in this manual is based on the principles of non formal education and is designed to strike a balance between structured learning and independent discovery. By using the sessions, resources, and methods outlined here, participants will develop a working knowledge of beekeeping, as well as skills for applying that knowledge in a meaningful way.
Beekeeping Training for Farmers in the Hymalayas This manual produced by the International Centre for Integrated Mountain Development covers the full range of basic topics related to beekeeping development, including the importance of beekeeping in modern agriculture and the use of bees for crop pollination; production of honey, wax and other hive products; honey quality standards; and using value chain and market management to increase the benefits accruing to beekeepers. The focus is on participatory hands-on training, with issues explained in simple language with many illustrations. The manual was prepared to meet formal training needs in Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, and Nepal, but it is suitable for use in ICIMOD's other member countries as well - Afghanistan, China, Myanmar, and Pakistan.
Beekeeping in Asia by Pongthep Akratanakul (Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations) - "In a continent as vast as Asia, differences in climate, levels of agricultural development, and bee races are so variable that no one book can cover all beekeeping situations. The author of this study draws heavily on his experiences with European honeybees introduced into northern Thailand, but he also discusses the principal features of beekeeping activities in the other zonal and socio-cultural contexts in Asia at different stages of development. Both the experienced beekeeper and the novice will find a mine of useful information, guidance and suggestions in the publication and it is for this reason that FAO hopes that it will be a useful contribution to the economic development of the most populous continent in the world."
Bees and their Role in Forest Livelihoods by Nicola Bradbear (Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations) - "The role of bees in sustaining forests and forest dependent livelihoods remains poorly known and appreciated. Bees are a fantastic world resource: they are essential for sustaining our environment because they pollinate flowering plants. Bees sustain our agriculture by pollinating crops and thereby increasing yields of seeds and fruits. Today, apiculture plays a valuable part in rural livelihoods worldwide, and this book aims to provide an insight into the many ways in which bees and beekeeping contribute to these livelihoods, and how to strengthen this contribution. While the rationale for the sustainable use of tree resources is widely appreciated, by contrast the sustainable use of bee resources is poorly promoted and appreciated. Rural people in every developing country are keeping bees or harvesting from them in one way or another. This book aims to help ensure that these people gain the most from these activities."
A Beekeeping Guide - A good beginners guide written by Harlan Attfield of VITA for beekeeping in the tropics and subtropics. "This guide provides an overview of beekeeping in the tropics and subtropics. It explains hive management techniques and offers insight into the life of the common honey bee, Apis Mellifera and the Asian Honey Bee, Apis Cerana. There are many races of these two honey bees and they often require very specific techniques and equipment to hive them successfully."
Beekeeping in the Tropics - A beginners beekeeping guide written by P. Segeren and published by Agrodok. "You can keep bees as an interesting hobby, or as a main or an extra source of income. This booklet mainly provides information on how to work with honey-bees that nest in cavities. In most of the world regions this will be the European bee Apis mellifera, but in large parts of (sub)tropical Asia the quite similar species A.cerana is mainly used. Although the composition of a honey-bee colony is basically the same all over the world, the management of bees must be adapted to the species and race, the climate and the vegetation." 
Beekeeping in India Beekeeping has been practiced in Indian since time immemorial. The earliest mention of it is in the Vedas and the Ramayana. Success in beekeeping is largely a question of the proper understanding of the biology and behaviour of the honey bees and their proper management including knowledge of their diseases and enemies and the latest equipment for handling them. This book is intended to serve as a handy reference and guide for students of agriculture, extension workers and all those who are interested in beekeeping either as a hobby or profession. 
Honeybees and Their Management in India by R.C. Mishra (Indian Council of Agricultural Research) - "The beekeeping practices for domesticated Indian honeybee, Apis cerana indica F. were adopted from the west with suitable modifications suiting to Indian honeybee. There is need to undertake intensive research for therefinement of management practices for improved honey yield and efficient pollination of crops. Production of other valuable hive products like royal jelly, beeswax and bee venom needs commercialization. There is a great diversity in regional agroclimatic conditions and flora. Therefore, for taking up beekeeping, there is a need to carry out some careful studies to explore the potential of each area. This is an attempt to present a world-wide picture of beekeeping, suitable for practical and class-room reference. The book is mainly focussed on Indian literature, though the contents also draw from the knowledge accumulated in more advanced countries. It is a comprehensive account on different aspects of beekeeping, and students, teachers and scientists will profit by studying it. I am sure, the book will generate awareness and catalyse action towards a more effective exploitation of honeybees for honey and other bee products as also for crop production through bee pollination."
This is a beginners beekeeping guide to beekeeping in the Central Western Ghats part of India which includes the keeping of Apis Cerana, Apis Florea, Apis Dorsata and the stingless Trigona. "Beekeeping is a forest and agro-based industry, which is beyond the ordinary realms of industry,in the sense that the humans derive benefits from interaction between two living things like plants and bees without affecting adversely both. On the contrary plants, including many crops,prosper with the abundance of bees (as pollinating agents) and the bees, sheltered both by nature and humans provide mainly honey and other by-products like beeswax, bee-pollen, propolis and royal jelly. Bee-keeping, systematically adopted as a supplement to farming, can bring prosperity to the villages of Uttara Kannada, a district endowed with species rich forests and cultivation of a high diversity crops. Unlike intensive farming or fishing that can corrode the natural resource base, abundance of honey bees in a natural environment benefits both crops and wild plants."
Beekeeping Manual for Farmers in Sikkim, India by Dr. Peter Gross
"Beekeeping has been a traditional household activity in Sikkim for centuries. Rural communities
throughout the state have adopted this activity as substantial part of their sustainable livelihoods. In
addition to providing income and honey, beekeeping supports other products and services such as wax, pollen, medicine and, of particular importance, pollination. The entire state of Sikkim represents an ideal situation to develop beekeeping as an important component of integrated development and sustainable livelihoods. The various bio physical conditions, such as varied natural heritage of rural communities make it an ideal activity for enterprise development. This beekeeping handbook has been compiled from various sources to provides a tool to farmers, governments, NGOs, universities, vocational training institutes, private sector organizations and individual beekeepers in the North Eastern Region to initiate and manage beekeeping activities, as well as facilitate the training of other farmers. It includes a wealth of information on a full range of topics related to beekeeping development. I am confident that the handbook will be one of the important resource materials for beekeeping development in Sikkim." Dr. Peter Gross
Beekeeping in the Phillipines (University of the Phillipines)
The Ancestral Domain and Natural Resource Management in Sagada, Mountain Province, Northern Philippines is an action research program of the Cordillera Studies Center, University of the Philippines College Baguio. In line with the Program’s objective “to test sustainable and equitable community-based natural resource management systems,” beekeeping was introduced to thecommunity. Today, there is a cooperative of beekeepers in Sagada that seeks to encourage individuals to take up beekeeping. This Kit covers the following aspects of beekeeping, including discussions
particular to Cordillera conditions, in four sections, as follows:
Section 1: An Introduction to Beekeeping
Section 2: The Bee Farm
Section 3: Operation and Maintenance of the Bee Farm
Section 4: Pests and Diseases of Honeybees
Beekeeper's Manual (Belize) - Management and Caring of Africanized Bees for the Production of Honey In the Vaca Forest Reserve in Belize. The primary aim of this Beekeeper’s Manual is to provide information to beekeepers on the integrated management of Africanized Bees. The manual describes the basic management of beekeeping from the formation of a new nucleus to the extraction and marketing of honey. Beekeepers in Belize should not only think that the only product in beekeeping ishoney. Pollen, propolis, wax, royal jelly and venom, the queen, the beehives and the apicultural materials are other products that capture a good market price. This manual takes into consideration climatic changes experienced over the past 5 years and the response of bees to this factor.
Beekeeping (22 page overview) written by Lance Gegner of ATTRA- "This publication is intended as a guide for anyone interested in beginning or expanding a beekeeping enterprise. Whether the bees are kept as pollinators for crops or for the income from their products, producers need to be aware of their states’ apiary laws concerning inspection, registration, and permits, as well as labeling and marketing standards. Producers also need to be aware of pesticide application laws and pesticide notification laws relative to bees. Both beginning and experienced beekeepers need to consider li-ability insurance; the possibility of Africanized hybrid bees taking over the hives; and all the pests and diseases that afflict bees and their colonies."
Introductory Beekeeping Powerpoint Presentations This is an informative 8 part introduction to beekeeping developed by master beekeeper Dana Stahlman from the Ohio State Beekeeping Association that includes topics like starting a colony, diseases and pests, seasonal management, queen production and management of nucs.
The first year of beekeeping (Powerpoint) - A fairly good picture based powerpoint from Dr. Deborah Delaney of the University of Delaware which provides a brief but comprehensive description of "Hive Mangement in the First Year of Beekeeping".
A Web-Based Introductory Beekeeping Training Program This online beekeeping program from the Ohio State Beekeepers' Association consists of 34 videos and 3 powerpoints and is made to accompany the book "Backyard Beekeeping" (above). Some of the video segments include assembling your hive and frames, branding, lighting a smoker, seasonal management, cross combing, evaluating a queen, package bees, swarms, laying workers, diseases and pests, moving hives, feeders and overwintering your colonies. This combination of information is a great starting point for the beginning beekeeper.
Honey Bees and Beekeeping: A Year in the Life of an Apiary This is a very useful 7 part, 25 video beekeeper series presented by Dr. Keith Delaplane of the University of Georgia and covers a wide range of topics like assembly and placement of hives, installing bees, bee biology, diseases and pests, seasonal management, harvesting and overwintering. It was created in l993 so does not include treatment for newer issues like Small Hive Beetle or Africanized bees.
1.1 Introduction: History, Langstroth equipment, hive placement (8:18 mins)
1.2 Hive and frame assembly and painting (9:29 mins)
1.3 Placement of hive, feeding and medications (9:29 mins)
2.1 Bee biology and equipment (7:38 mins)
2.2 Receiving and installing package bees (7:14 mins)
2.3 Releasing queens (6:43 mins)
2.4 Releasing queens and stings (7:05 mins)
3.1 Maturing hives and migrating hives (7:10 mins)
3.2 The brood nest (5 mins)
3.3 Our growing hives (5:49 mins)
3.4 Migrating our hives (9:18 mins)
4.1 Requeening (8 mins)
4.2 Queen Rearing (9:44 mins)
4.3 Package production beekeeping associations (9:27 mins)
5.1 Diseases and Pests (8:52 mins)
5.2 Chalkbrood, sacbrood, moths, tracheal mites (9:28 mins)
5.3 Varroa mites and queenlessness (8:35 mins)
6.1 Harvesting, processing, packaging and selling (6:45 mins)
6.2 Extracting honey (7:36 mins)
6.3 Packaging and selling honey (6:11 mins)
6.4 Commercial honey processing (6:32 mins)
7.1 Overwintering hives (6:06 mins)
7.2 Overwintering and one story hives (8:20 mins)
7.3 Second season spring management (5:30 mins)
7.4 Fall Management (4 mins)
The University of Guelph Honey Bee Research Centre's online beekeeping series is a great collection of 50 videos that cover beginner topics like hive location and setup, hive equipment, protective clothing, smoke use, stinging, comb building, inspections, colony management, pests and diseases to more advanced topics like making nucs, queen rearing and indoor overwintering. The University of Guelph is in the city of Guelph, Ontario, Canada so although much of the information is universal it is written from a northern perspective. You can access all of the videos from this University of Guelph Honey Bee Research Centre's video list. 
Beekeeping in Northern Climate Video Series from the University of Minnesota. This is a very useful collection of videos particularly for the northern, cold weather beekeeper. "The following videos were produced by the University of Minnesota’s Department of Entomology Bee Lab and UMN Extension. Starring lead UMN Bee Lab apiculture technician, Gary Reuter, they are intended to be instructive and entertaining vignettes on a variety of beekeeping topics. Each video covers a single topic, and you do not have to watch them in any special order. In their entirety, they are a lesson on how to keep bees in cold climates such as Minnesota. Videos produced by Deacon Warner: dwarner@myfilmnorth.org"
Stewart Spinks of the Norfolk Honey Company in the UK has produced and is continuing to produce an exhaustive series of over 200 videos that cover pretty much every topic you may encounter from your initial setup (hive construction, painting, installing bees, inspecting, diseases and parasites.....) to catching swarms, shook swarms, queen rearing, overwintering, poly hives etc... "Here you will find resources to help you get started in beekeeping, learn the basic essentials for a successful first year. Gain help and advice to take you through into your second year and beyond." You can access all of the videos from the Norfolk Honey Company youtube channel.
Hiveworld out of Edmonton, Alberta, Canada offers a large library of instructive videos based on season. "We've arranged our video gallery by seasons because we think that's the most logical way to do it! But note that our most recent Meet the Beekeeper sessions get their own section because they're so popular. Pretty well all of the YouTube videos we've produced can be viewed here. Tip: Once you've started running a video you can make it go full-screen by either clicking the four square corners icon in the bottom right corner of the video box, or pressing 'F' on your keyboard. Use the same controls to shrink it back down when done. We always get asked by new beekeepers, "Why do I need to split my hive?" Here Barry talks about why you need to do a split and few other options for those who don't want to make a split..."
Beekeeping Video Resources
B.C. Honey Producers Education Day Videos and Slides This is a large library of videos and slides covering every subject from overwintering 4 frame nucs to evaluating honey flavour.
Brushy Mt Bee Farm has a very large collection of educational videos on pretty much every topic of beekeeping.
Honey Bee Honey has a good selection of videos on a wide variety of topics like spring management, hive inspection and fall preparation for winter.
The folks at GardenFork have produced a series entitled Beekeeping 101 which covers a wide variety of subjects any new beekeepers should know.
A good collection of videos from David Burns at Long Lane Honey Bee Farms.
A selection of videos from the legendary Don the Fat Bee Man.
Free Online Beekeeping Course "Honey Bees and Colony Strength Evaluation" (You can log in as a guest) Recommended for beekeepers, inspectors and farmers hiring bee pollinators. This online course from the University of California is useful for all beekeepers from the beginner to the professional. "The objective in developing this course was to provide easily accessible information to improve the understanding of basic honey bee biology, recommended colony strength evaluation practices, and recognition of important diseases, pests, and parasites that impact honey bees. The course consists of individual modules that provide background information on honey bees as well as clear, consistent recommendations for apiary inspection. Individuals can take advantage of the training at their convenience. The modular approach requires short blocks of time for each section and the viewer can proceed at their own pace viewing modules in any order they wish. Modules covering basic information may not be necessary for more experienced beekeepers or apiary inspectors. However, for those less familiar with the process, training modules can be re-visited as necessary. The existing information will be updated when appropriate and additional topics may be added in the future. Within each module, there are short quizzes to test for understanding. A series of skills practice sets is also included in this online training to improve your understanding of brood, frame, and cluster count evaluation. Nothing can replace actual hands-on experience, so this course should be considered as an overview of the colony strength evaluation process with the aim to improve consistency of inspections." This course comes with a workbook that you can view or download, Honey Bee Colony Assessment Workbook .
10. Bee Frames
First Year Beekeeping is presented by biologist, Randy Oliver on his website Scientific Beekeeping which is one of the best sources of beekeeping information available. "I’ve attempted to distill 50 year’s of beekeeping experience into a short set of instructions for starting out with bees in the Sierra Foothills. This page provides some quick step-by-step notes for your first year of beekeeping, written specifically for those starting with a nucleus hive or package bees purchased from me, but generally applicable. Since the vast majority of colony failures are due to lack of varroa management, I’ve covered this subject more extensively. For a summary of treatment options, scroll to the end (Randy Johnson)." As mentioned this website contains a wealth of regularly updated information on most beekeeping subjects.
Ohio State University has created a free honey bee biology and beekeeping course based on Dr. Reed Johnson's for-credit OSU Beekeeping Course. The free course consists of video lectures, handouts and readings presented on iTunes which is a free download. Unfortunately it's only available to those with apple devices which means most people can not access it. The course is in the testing phase, is extensive and consists of 138 segments covering every aspect of bees and beekeeping including: Packages and Nucs; Package Installation; Pheremones; Mites; Swarming; Vitellogenin; Queen rearing and development; Foraging; Planting; Pesticides; Phenology; Nest Architecture; Honey Extraction; IPM; Honey Flow; Honey Laundering; Commercial Pollination; Drone Congregation; Dance Language; Feeding and Wintering; Honey Crystalization; Apiary Sites; Nutrition; Pests and Diseases; Broodmapper; Bee Races; and Bee Biology. O.S.U. is asking for volunteer beekeepers to review the course and offer suggestions. The only suggestions I would give of this great course are that a few of the videos are repeated and that they be presented in order of learning. To access this course and assist in it's development go to "Beekeeping and Honey Bee Biology on iTunes. 
The University of California Cooperative Extension-San Diego County has developed this self-paced online training course for beginning beekeepers and as a refresher annual training for experienced beekeepers with hives located in unincorporated areas of San Diego County. The course consists of three modules and a 10-question quiz survey, which may be taken separately. The entire course is approximately 30 minutes long. To begin the course, click the button below and wait a moment for the course to load in your Internet browser. If you are using Internet Explorer®, use the 'Direct Links,' below. Once started, you will be able to move through the training using the forward or back arrows located at the bottom left and right of your screen. You may also move back and forth through the course using the slide navigation panel on the left. Note, module 2 includes videos. Depending on your Internet connection, you may need to wait a few moments for each video to load on-screen.
At the end of the training, you will be provided a link to the quiz survey. You may also access the quiz, directly, by clicking the button or direct link below. To begin the survey, you will be required to enter your first and last names and email address. Your information and quiz results will be recorded.1 A summary of your quiz results will be provided at the end. To keep a copy of your quiz results for your own records, you may print using your computer's print-screen function.
The BeeMD is a diagnostic tool to help beekeepers identify honey bee health issues. The BeeMD will be used in multiple modalities including computers and handheld devices such as tablets and smart phones. The information on The BeeMD will be continually evolving and updated as science and technology add new information to the ability to diagnose and understand hive health. The BeeMD originated as a project of the North American Pollinator Protection Campaign (NAPPC) with funding from the USDA APHIS, the Rust Foundation, the Pollinator Partnership and the University of Delaware. The founding team included the University of Maryland, Jamie Ellis from The University of Florida, the American Beekeeping Federation, and the Pollinator Partnership. The BeeMD welcomes comments and photographs to expand the effectiveness of this free service.Begin at the Beeginning:
Certificate in Beekeeping:
Beginner Beekeeping Course:
This is a beginner beekeeping course from Amazing Bees in Australia which includes bee biology, rules, regulations and registration, hive inspection, honey extraction, swarming, queen replacement, winter prep and feeding. It covers most everything a new beekeeper in Australia needs to know.
Beginner Beekeeping Short Course from the Virginia Cooperative Extension.
Beekeeping Tests
The legendary master beekeeper Dana Stahlman has an online course which is being worked on at present but he has a test for the beginner, advanced and master beekeeper which are useful tools. Check it out at Gobeekeeping.
Beekeeping in West Virginia Beekeeping in West Virginia began with individuals keeping bees in log hives often called gums. Some bees were managed in hives made out of rough sawed lumber and they were called box hives. Records show that these honeybee colonies produced from 14 to 24 pounds of honey on average each year.Best Management Practices for Beekeeping (Australian Government)
Asian Honey Bee Manual (Australian Government)
Easy Beekeeping for Hobbyists in New Zealand by Tudor Caradoc-Davies
This is the first of a 9 part video series, Understanding Bee Anatomy by Dr. Ian Stell
The multifunctional glands of the honey bees's head
The honey bees's eyes and vision
The remarkable brain of the bee
The honey bees's eyes and vision
Anatomy of the bee antennae
Bee metamorphosis: Remarkable internal changes
How do bees bite and suck?
The mandibles of the honey bee
The multifunctional glands of the honey bees's head
The honey bees's eyes and vision
The remarkable brain of the bee
The honey bees's eyes and vision
Anatomy of the bee antennae
Bee metamorphosis: Remarkable internal changes
How do bees bite and suck?
The mandibles of the honey bee
Internal Anatomy of the Honey Bee (Texas A and M University)
1. Digestive and excretory systems.
2. Circulatory, respiratory, and nervous systems.
3. Endocrine system.
4. Reproductive organs.
A Microscope Atlas of the Honey Bee (U.S.D.A.)
Basic Bee Biology and Identification (The Xerces Society)
Basic Bee Biology for Beekeepers (MAAREC)
Honey Bee Biology by Dr. Debbie Delaney (University of Delaware)
Honey Bee Biology by Rick Fell (Virginia Tech)
Biology and Anatomy of the Honey Bee by D. Lesco and T. Lulec
Biology of Bees - Hymenoptera Apoidea (Russian Academy of Sciences)
Biology of the Honey Bee (CIHEAM)
This video, "Biology of the Honey Bee" is presented by Dr. Jamie Ellis, Professor of Entomology from the University of Florida.
Videos
Bee Biology with Larrry Connor from Wicas Press
The Biology of Wintering Bees by Medhat Nasr, Provincial Apiarist, Alberta, Canada
Western Honey Bee Subspecies The European Honey bee or Western Honey Bee (Apis Mellifera) is a species of honey bee. The genus Apis is Latin for "Bee" and mellifera comes from the Latin meli meaning "honey" and ferre meaning "to bear". Hence the scientific name means "honey-bearing bee". The name was coined in 1758 by Carolus Linnaeus who, realizing that bees do not bear honey, but nectar, tried later to correct it to Apis Mellifica (honey-making bee) in a subsequent publication. However, according to the rules of synonymy in zoological nomenclature the older name has precedence. Useful Beekeeping Websites
Beekeeping Glossary
Glossary of terms use in Beekeeping
Flow Frame Instructional Manual
Keeping a hive at someone's home written agreement
Honey and Infant Botulism by John Durkacz (S.B.A.)
Honey Bee Sting Pain Study by Michael Smith (Cornell University)
Normal and allergic reactions to insect stings
Odds of death by stings
Informative Beekeeping Websites:
Dave Cushman's website
Scientific Beekeeping (Randy Oliver)
Michael Bush's website
Bee Informed
Ohio State Beekeepers
Cooperative Extension
Virginia Cooperative Extension
Beesource
Pollinator Partnership
Xerces Society
Project Apis m.
MAAREC
Bee Culture
American Bee Journal
The BeeMD
Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations
It's important to have a purpose/s when inspecting a hive. Why are you inspecting and what are you looking for? An argument can be made that new beekeepers can only improve their skills by regular weekly inspections but the disruption to the colony is real and should be minimized. A beekeeper can learn a great deal by observing the entrance to the hive. The book "At the Hive Entrance" explains the value of being able to calculate a hive health by observing the outside of the hive. In this video Paul Kelly, research and apiary manager (University of Guelph, Canada), shows how to open a bee hive and in the following video he will describe what you are looking for.
A list of frequently asked questions on the University of Guelph Honey Bee Research Centre website. These videos are from University of Guelph's video series which can be found in the video series section of our Library.
The Hive Inspection - What are you looking for
and what do you see?
"OUTSIDE OF THE HIVE • What is the level of activity of the colony at the entrance of the hive? • How does the activity compare to that of other colonies in the bee yard? • Are the bees “bearding” (festooning) and what does that behavior mean? • Is there any indication of robbing behavior? • Are the bees bringing in pollen? What does that mean? FESTOONING Hanging out on the front of a hive. Just cooling off on the front porch on a hot summer day. Don’t confuse this with swarming or robbing behavior. ROBBING BEHAVIOR Bees are all over a hive and can be on all sides. Flight patterns are erratic and frenzied. Installing entrance reducers may help to mitigate robbing behavior.... " INSIDE THE HIVE Checking for adequate stores, queenright, pests, parasites and diseases. Prepared and presented by Bill Evans, Master Beekeeper, Rose Hill Farm, LLC, Jemison, Alabama. 
Hive Inspection Guide and Checklist "To have healthy, strong, honey producing hives, beekeepers must make inspections to know the conditions inside the hive. Hive inspection is simply a term to describe: Taking the hive apart and making observations, then deciding what needs to be done, based upon those observations. There are a number of things we need to look for when we inspect a bee hive. An inspection sheet helps keep things organized and allows easy comparison from one inspection to the next. Experienced beekeepers may find this check list too detailed, but that’s really the point. It helps keep beginners and forgetful old folks like me from overlooking something important.
of flight. The rule of thumb is to smoke the bees a little and smoke them often. Give them 2 or 3
puffs of smoke in the entrance and under the lid before opening the hive. After that, giving them
1 or 2 puffs of smoke across the frames before you remove each frame will usually keep them
calm. Smoke under each box before removing it. If the bees get aggressive, put a LOT of smoke
in the air. This will mask the alarm scent and some of the bees will seek shelter inside the hive..."
Jerry Freeman, Ashley County Beekeepers Association, Arkansas.
September Inspection, Menifee County, Kentucky.
An inspection sheet helps keep things organized and allows easy comparison from one inspection to the next. It helps keep new beginners from overlooking something important. I encourage you to use one of these or one of the many available apps. As you become more experienced you will make up your own checklist that suits your needs. There are many apps and software programs for tracking your hives like Hive Tracks, BeeCloud and Beetight.
The BeeMD is a useful tool to help identify issues a beekeeper may find during an inspection. "The BeeMD is a diagnostic tool to help beekeepers identify honey bee health issues. The BeeMD will be used in multiple modalities including computers and handheld devices such as tablets and smart phones. The information on The BeeMD will be continually evolving and updated as science and technology add new information to the ability to diagnose and understand hive health." The BeeMD originated as a project of the North American Pollinator Protection Campaign (NAPPC) with funding from the USDA APHIS, the Rust Foundation, the Pollinator Partnership and the University of Delaware. The founding team included the University of Maryland, Jamie Ellis from The University of Florida, the American Beekeeping Federation, and the Pollinator Partnership.
The advantages of using Nucs (University of Florida) Nucleus colonies, commonly called “nucs”, are smaller versions of full-size Langstroth colonies. They usu-ally have the same length and depth dimensions as full-size colonies, but nucs are not as wide. As such, nucs may hold 3-5 frames compared to the 8-10 frames typically held by a full size colony. A second type of nuc, commonly called a “baby nuc” or “queen mating nuc”, exists but is smaller than full-size colonies in every dimension and is used primarily for queen bee production. Queen mating nucs will not be discussed in this document. Rather, we will focus on five-frame nucs exclusively, although three- and four-frame nucs can be used and managed almost identically.Swarm Control
Swarm Intelligence with Tom Seeley
Swarm Control: University of Guelph Honey Bee Research Centre
The main thrust of Checkerboarding is to break up the overhead band of capped honey maintained by the colony through the swarm preparation season. (The literature refers to the band of honey or nectar as causing a “honey bound” condition.) In the undisturbed colony, it is capped honey. In the colony reversed in the early season, the band is rebuilt with nectar. Maintenance of the band is deliberate addition of empty comb above the band is often ignored, and swarm preparations continue below the band – which Walt calls the “reserve”. He says that the reserve is maintained through the swarm prep period to offset forage drop – outs or bad weather during swarm preps.
Swarm Catching
Swarm Traps: What you need to know to be successful (Brown's Beef and Bees)
(Beaverlodge Research Farm, Alberta, Canada) In nature bees have two general methods for maintaining colony temperatures in winter: 1) selecting a protected and well-suited cavity (Tab. 1) and 2) clustering. Clusters have a two-part structure (Fig. 1): 1) a dense outer mantle in which bees jam together, orienting their heads towards the center of the cluster and 2) a loose inner core where bees are free to move. The mantle insulates and, at its tightest, approaches the insulation of bird feathers or mammal fur (0.1 W/kg/ºC). Clusters move slowly from empty combs to ones full of honey. This movement is typically upwards and sideways, never downwards. Before we go on, here are four critical temperatures you should know: 1) brood nest = 32-36ºC, 2) minimum thorax temperature needed for flight = 27ºC, 3) minimum temperature needed to pump flight muscles and warm up (analogous to mammal “shivering”) = 18ºCand 4) below which bees go into a “chill coma” = 6ºC.
The "Biology of Wintering Bees" by Medhat Nasr, Provincial Apiarist, Alberta, Canada.
Winter Management Webinars
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Hives
Beehive construction (B.C. Government) - Most beekeepers will assemble pre-cut beehive equipment at some time. Others go farther by manufacturing their own equipment. In either case, it is important to use standard dimensions and assembly methods to ensure that the equipment will be interchangeable, strong and durable. This publication offers dimensions and designs of individual hive parts, and a few assembly hints. In Canada, the Langstroth movable-frame hive has been adopted as the hive standard. This hive design provides simplicity of construction and ease of manipulation, permitting rapid inspection and interchange of frames. Well-constructed equipment pays off in ease of management, and retains its resale value.
Observation Hives
Parts
Hive bodies take a lot of abuse and need to be con-structed accordingly. Not only do they have to bear a lot of weight (up to 70 pounds, or more) for a super, but the bee-keeper will use their hive tool to twist and pry apart hive bodies after the bees glue everything together with propolis. Of all the hive components, hive bodies have the most differences in size. There are four standard heights (referred to as “depth”) for hive bodes: deep, medium, shallow and comb honey. In addition there are three common widths: 10-frame, 8-frame and 5-frame. We typically recommend to beekeepers just starting out to decide on one size hive body and then stick with it. That way, all equipment is interchangeable. Because a 10-frame deep super can be very heavy (70+ pounds), we suggest using 10-frame mediums (which usually top out around 35 pounds when full of honey). The plans presented in this article are for 10-frame medium hive bodies, though tables on the cut list page provide dimensions for the other sizes.
All Season Ventilation/Insulation Box (in place of inner cover) by Tim Arheit (Honeyrunapiaries.com)
Nucs
1. #8 Hardware cloth should be placed over the middle section of the bottom of the hive for ventilation. It is easiest to install if it is stapled on after the front, back and sides are assembled but before the bottom is attached. 2. A 9 3/4 x 9'' piece of corrugated plastic can be slid in the dados in the bottom pieces to block off the ventilation in cold weather. 3. The feet may be made of treated wood or other wood that resists rot to extend life. 4. To enable feeding the nuc a hole may be cut in the top to fit a quart jar or other suitable feeder. Screen may be placed on the inner side of the hole to prevent the bees from coming out when the feeder is replaced and a square of heavy plastic may be placed over the hole and attached by one screw or nail. This piece of plastic can be moved aside when feeding and moved over the hole when not feeding.
5. When moving the nuc you need only close off the entrance with duct tape. The bees will have plenty of ventilation from the bottom screen.
Frames
Bottom Boards and Racks
Feeders
Give entire inside of feeder two coats of polyurethane or marine varnish. Pour molten wax onto all inside seams. Attach hardware cloth to top of boards "A" with staples (Beesource.com).
Pollen Traps
Queens
Vacuum
Parts for Pests
Insulated Moisture Quilt
Ventilation/Insulation Box
Transporting
English translation: The large bicycle tires (57-406, 20 x 2, 125) give the sack barrow a particularly good ride suitability in uneven terrain. The wide wheelbase provides a good grip against slip of the Hives. The Prey truck for hives to max. 46 cm width. If your hives be wider than 46 cm, is only an adaptation of Pos. 1 and 2 (see Plan A) to the desired width make. The construction of the prey truck based on both a comfortable posture and on the great usability with secure stand against overturning.
Ventilation/Insulation Box
English translation: The large bicycle tires (57-406, 20 x 2, 125) give the sack barrow a particularly good ride suitability in uneven terrain. The wide wheelbase provides a good grip against slip of the Hives. The Prey truck for hives to max. 46 cm width. If your hives be wider than 46 cm, is only an adaptation of Pos. 1 and 2 (see Plan A) to the desired width make. The construction of the prey truck based on both a comfortable posture and on the great usability with secure stand against overturning.
Heating and Ventilating
Elephants
Bears
A Starter's Guide for using Electric Fencing to Deter Bears by K. Annis (M.F.W.P Bear Specialist)
A properly constructed electric fence is safe for people and pets and has proven to be effective at deterring bears from apiaries (beehives), fruit trees, gardens, livestock pens, rabbit hutches, garbage containers, dog kennels, chicken coups, compost piles, storage sheds, along with numerous other uses. There is an abundant variety of applications and effective fencing designs for deterring bears. Design, construction and proper maintenance will determine the effectiveness of your electric fence. Safety is always a concern when using electrified equipment. Modern electric fence energizers have been shown to be safe for humans, animals and vegetation. The pulse rate of a modern energizer is so quick that they cannot generate enough heat to start vegetation on fire. While touching an electrified fence is unpleasant, modern energizers are safe to use around pets and children.
Honey Extraction
The bicycle wheel extractor begins with a bike. The frame
cage is made of the bicycle rims, with the spokes serving to hold the frames in
place. Which bike you want is based on your drum and your frames. Not all
bike wheels are created equal, primarily because of the spoke design. For the
western supers I use, I discovered that the front wheels of some sixteen inch
bicycles would fit nicely, while the rear wheel and some other spoke patterns
wouldn’t allow western frames (but did allow true shallow frames). The way
that I discovered this involved my daughter’s bike. “You don’t need a wrench
to put on streamers,” she said. Her bike wasn’t right anyway. I didn’t want
to buy two bikes just to sacrifice the front wheel, so tape measure in hand I
descended on yard sales and thrift shops, carrying a western frame along for a
“test fit”...
Hive Care
Beehive Construction Resource Websites
- A great collection of plans and videos from Steve Tilmann and the Michigan Beekeepers Association. Michigan Beekeepers Association Beekeepers Workshop Videos
- Dave Cushman's drawings of National Bee Hive Component Parts. (UK)
- DIY Hive Construction Plans and Tools from UK Beekeeping Forum.
- Plans for bee hive components from FreeWoodworkingPlan.com.
Diseases and Pests
A Field Guide to Honey Bees and their Maladies (Penn State University) - The key to protecting honey bee colonies from diseases, parasites, and other harm-ful conditions is the ability to identify and deal with problems early. This publication is designed to assist beekeepers in recog-nizing the symptoms of common honey bee maladies. Some simple cultural controls are included here; however, for a complete list and discussion of manage-ment tactics and currently registered chemicals approved for the control of honey bee maladies, see the MAAREC Web site, maarec.psu.edu.
Pests
Introduction to Varroa Mites and Integrated Pest Management from the Honey Bee Health Coalition
Varroa Population Dynamics from the UoG Honey Bee Research Centre
Tools for Varroa Management: A guide to effective varroa sampling and control
Every honey bee colony in the continental United States and Canada either has Varroa mites today or will have them within several months. Varroa mite infestation represents one of the greatest threats to honey bee health, honey production, and pollination services. When honey bee colonies are untreated
or treated ineffectively colonies can fail and beekeepers can incur major economic losses, and, ultimately, agricultural food production may be impacted. In addition, colonies with Varroa are a source of mites that can spread to other colonies, even in other apiaries, through drifting, robbing, and absconding activity of bees. All beekeepers should remain vigilant to detect high Varroa mite levels and be prepared to take timely action in order to reduce mite loads. Effective mite control will reduce colony losses and avoid potential spread of infectious disease among colonies. This Guide will explain practical, effective methods that beekeepers can use to measure Varroa mite infestations in their hives and select appropriate control methods. This guide is produced by the Honey Bee Health Coalition.Scientific Beekeeping (Randy Oliver) Varroa Management
Biology and Control of Varroa Destructor (University of Hohenheim)
Alternative Strategies for Control of Varroa Mites in Europe (Apimondia)
Aspects of Varroa Reproduction as possible new control method by D. Anderson (Australian Government)
Varroa Management Decision Tool. This tool will walk you through the decisions you need to make to determine how best to manage varroa mites. The guide is produced by the Honey Bee Health Coalition. "We’ve formed the Honey Bee Health Coalition to bring together beekeepers, growers, researchers, government agencies, agribusinesses, conservation groups, manufacturers, and consumer brands to improve the health of honey bees in general and specifically around production agriculture. We’re taking collaborative action to improve honey bee health by addressing multiple factors influencing bee health, including hive pests and disease, forage and nutrition, and exposure to crop pesticides." Click here to access the tool.
Mite-A-Thon "Mite-A-Thon is a tri-national effort to collect mite infestation data and to visualize Varroa infestations in honey bee colonies across North America within a two week window. All beekeepers can participate, creating a rich distribution of sampling sites in Canada, the United States, and Mexico. Their Varroa monitoring data will be uploaded to www.mitecheck.com." (from the Pollinator Partnership)
Varroa Mite Management Videos
Testing
Powdered Sugar Shake and Alcohol Wash (Honey Bee Health Coalition)
Varroa Sticky Boards (UoG Honey Bee Research Centre)
4 minute alcohol wash mite test by Randy Oliver
Randy Oliver's Varroa Model for determining mite population dynamics to help in creating a mite management strategy.
Treatment
How to use Apivar (HBHC)
How to use Formic Acid (HBHC)
How to use HopGuard (HBHC)
How to use Oxalic Acid (HBHC)
Drone Brood Removal (HBHC)
Honey Bee Health Coalition bee club presentation (powerpoint)
*HBHC = Honey Bee Health Coalition
James Ellis at the National Honey Show
The beetle is indigenous to Africa, where it is
considered a minor pest of honey bees, and
until recently was thought to be restricted to
that continent. However, in 1998 it was
detected in Florida and it is now widespread
in the USA. It is called the small hive beetle
to distinguish it from other minor pests of bee
hives in Africa, known as large hive beetles.
At the time of writing, the SHB is not
thought to be present in the UK.
The beetle can multiply to huge numbers
within infested colonies where it eats brood,
destroys combs and if uncontrolled ultimately
destroys them.
The resulting economic impact on the
beekeeping industry in the USA has been
severe. Within two years of its discovery, at
least 20,000 colonies were destroyed by the
beetle, costing many millions of dollars. It
has also been found in Manitoba, Canada
where it arrived with beeswax imported from
the USA.
In October 2002, it was found in New South
Wales and Queensland, Australia. The
economic consequences to the beekeeping
industry in Australia are likely to be extremely
serious, jeopardising bee exports, pollination
services and honey production. Normally they move down into the hive
to get away from the light
It is not known how the beetle reached either
the USA or Australia, although in the USA
shipping is considered the most likely route.
By the time the beetle was detected in both
countries it was already well established.
The potential implications for European
apiculture are enormous, as we must now
assume that the SHB could spread to Europe
and that it is likely to prove as harmful here
as in Australia and the USA.
Package bees and honey bee colonies are
the principal means of spread, but it could
also be transmitted inadvertently and
unnoticed through swarms in shipping or air
cargo, or in consignments of fruit, unrefined
wax and used beekeeping equipment.
Beekeeper vigilance must be heightened
following the discovery of the SHB in
Australia. In the future, keeping an eye out
for the beetle needs to become a routine part
of colony management in the UK.
Small Hive Beetle Videos
Small Hive Beetle Tips and Tricks with Jason Chrisman
Tracheal Mites
Wax Moth
Wax Moth and it's Control (Australian Government)Protection of Honey Combs from Moth Damage (Swiss Bee Research Centre)
Florid Fly
Mosquitoes
The heavy-duty straps and the heavy rocks were no match for the bear. This time he got the queen too and so many bees that there's nothing left. The bees did give a good fight as seen in the video and the bear had to retreat a few times, but it is all done. (Avner Skolnik)
A properly constructed electric fence is safe for people and pets and has proven to be effective at deterring bears from apiaries (beehives), fruit trees, gardens, livestock pens, rabbit hutches, garbage containers, dog kennels, chicken coups, compost piles, storage sheds, along with numerous other uses. There is an abundant variety of applications and effective fencing designs for deterring bears. Design, construction and proper maintenance will determine the effectiveness of your electric fence. Safety is always a concern when using electrified equipment. Modern electric fence energizers have been shown to be safe for humans, animals and vegetation. The pulse rate of a modern energizer is so quick that they cannot generate enough heat to start vegetation on fire. While touching an electrified fence is unpleasant, modern energizers are safe to use around pets and children.
How to install an electric fence (Defenders of Wildlife)
Bear Fence Test (NOLS)
*For us in North America the best control of Wasps is to catch the overwintered Queens in spring. The newly mated queens are the only members of the wasp colony to survive the winter. You can also, dressed in your beekeeping protective gear, drown an in-ground nest or bag a hanging nest early in the morning (when most of the wasps are in the nest) and submerge it in water. No toxins are required in these means of disposing of the nests or in traps described below. When using traps our wasps tend to be more attracted to protein early in the season (they are feeding their brood) and sugar from late summer to fall. Add vinegar to the sugar solution in your traps to deter the bees. To help protect our hives we reduce our entrances in late summer when the wasps leave their nests to forage so that the hive is easier to defend. If the wasps gain entrance to the hive a robber screen is a useful defense.
"Yellowjackets are usually considered beneficial insects because they kill many pest insects and feed them to their larvae. However, some species, such as the western yellowjacket (Paravespula pensylvanica), the common yellowjacket (P. vulgaris), and the German yellowjacket (P. germanica), can attack honeybee adults and larvae. A typical yellowjacket worker is about 1 / 2 -inch long. Coloration is yellow and black or white and black. Yellowjackets have annual colonies. Inseminated queens overwinter in protected locations. They emerge from late March through May, select a nest site, and build a small paper nest in which they lay their eggs.
Yellowjacket species build nests below the soil in mouse burrows or in similar sites, also between walls or in the attics of houses. Worker yellowjackets rear and feed the brood and also forage for food. The queen remains inside the nest laying eggs. Colonies expand rapidly and may total up to 5,000 workers when maximum size is attained in August or September. In the fall, inseminated queens seek sheltered spots for overwintering. Yellowjackets eat bee brood, rob honey, and sometimes kill the queen or the colony. Weak colonies are especially susceptible. In general, yellowjackets become pests of honeybees in late summer through fall and are more serious pests in dry years."
The easiest DIY wasp trap to make is to cut the top off of a plastic bottle or jug and place the inverted top into the bottom (A picture of the trap to the right). You can secure the union with tape and hang away from the hives. You should clean and replace the bait at least once per week. The bait receptacle is not necessary. This DIY project is described in detail in the video below.
Skunks
Skunks can be a problem for beekeepers though they are usually not a major threat and fairly easy to deter (like most issues a bigger threat to weaker colonies). They are nocturnal visitors and evidence of their presence can be detected in ground scraping in front of the entrance, scraping on the bottom board or lower super, agitated bees, shrinking population, holes (they like to dig for grubs) and scat containing bee carcasses (Evidence of skunks in the beeyard - Ian Steppler) . The skunks may be a benefit to you and your bees by digging up and preying on wasp nests and rodents (that may winter in the hive). Their M.O. (modus operandi) is to scratch on the hive to bring bees out to investigate which they eat as they exit the hive. A small percentage of skunks will scratch on the hive and eat the bees as they settle on the ground unable to navigate in the dark (lower bee fatality - Skunk feeding on ground bees (Frederick Dunn)).
There are several methods of skunk defense. Raising the hive (12 inches or more) forces the skunk to stand leaving their belly exposed to stinging. This method is effective. In the video above Ian Steppler found placing the hives on pallets effective. If possible raising it high enough makes the hive inaccessible. Raising a hive that high is not a practical solution for most. Another method is placing a 2-4 inch wide board over the hive entrance. This method prevents the skunk eating all the bees exiting the hive. The bees not caught will commence stinging. Chicken wire (rolled or surrounding) around the entrance prevents the skunk eating them as they exit. A carpet tack board or bear board under the hive entrance makes for an uncomfortable stance. If you have an electric fence lowering the bottom wire (or adding) is effective and if you have few hives a fence buried at least a foot deep can be effective (they love to dig). Solar powered motion detectors may work if you have the money, the sun and are not annoyed by the sound or flashing light. I have found store bought animal repellent works on squirrels and rats for me. It is supposed to work on skunks. The concept is that it replicates the smell of a predator (i.e. coyote urine). There are several d.i.y recipes for deterrent sprays using pepper, urine, vinegar and ammonia and citrus (D.I.Y Recipes). While they can be a nuisance and washing a skunked dog is a pain a mother skunk followed by a string of baby skunks is pretty cute.
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| Connecticut Wildlife Rehabilitators Association |
Skunk Behavior in the Bee Yard (Mark Headings, Ohio State University)
Nosema
Foulbroods
Chalkbrood
Deformed Wing Virus
Dysentery
CCD
Pathogen Webs in Collapsing Honey Bee Colonies (N.C. State, U. of Maryland, U.S.D.A)
"On-site" Replication of CCD (Harvard, Worcester County B.A.)
"Hygienic honeybee colonies are those in which dead and diseased brood is
rapidly removed from the
colony, thereby reducing the amount of inoculum present. Hygienic
behaviour is a trait present in
about 20% of Australian honeybee colonies. Some researchers claim that
highly hygienic colonies are
strongly resistant to the major diseases of honeybees including American
and European foul brood,
Chalk brood and Sac brood. Hygienic bees are also claimed to be
resistant to the parasitic mite
Varroa. Hygienic behaviour is usually measured by using liquid nitrogen
to freeze-kill a small patch
of brood. Hygienic colonies uncap and remove the dead brood within 24
hours whereas this process
takes several days with non-hygienic colonies. The first studies of hygienic behaviour were conducted in the 1960s.
Walter Rothenbuhler crossed a
strongly hygienic line with a strongly non-hygienic line. The resulting
F1 colonies were not hygienic.
Rothenbuhler then raised daughters off an F1 queen backcrossed these to
drones of the hygienic
parent. He then evaluated these colonies for hygienic behaviour. The
pattern of expression of hygienic
behaviour among these backcross colonies suggested that the trait was
controlled by two separate
genes, one that controlled uncapping behaviour, the other which
controlled removal behaviour."
Medications and Stress
Essential Oils
Brief Beekeeping guide to Essential Oils (Wikibooks)
The Use of Essential Oils to Control Varroa Jacobsoni (Swiss Apiculture Institute)
Essential Oils and the Beekeeping Industry's Survival by Ross Conrad
Feeding Essential Oils in Syrup and Liquid Protein to Control Varroa (IBRA)
The Use of Essential Oils to Control Varroa Jacobsoni (Swiss Apiculture Institute)
Essential Oils and the Beekeeping Industry's Survival by Ross Conrad
Feeding Essential Oils in Syrup and Liquid Protein to Control Varroa (IBRA)
General
Why should parasite resistance be costly? (U.C. Santa Barbara and U. of Vermont)
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| Hygienic bees removing infested larvae |
Comparative study of the hygienic behavior of Carniolan and Africanized honey bees (U. of Sao Paulo)
Honey Bee Nutrition by Eric Mussen (UC Davis)
Honey Bee Nutrition by Zachery Huang (Michigan State U.)
Honey Bee Nutrition - Review of Research and Practices by J. Black (Australian Government)
Honey (not sugar) constituents up-regulate immunity and detoxification genes in Honey Bees (University of Illinois)
The Benefits of Pollen to Honey Bees (University of Florida)
Considerations in Selecting Sugars for feeding to Honey Bees by R. Barker (U.S.D.A)
Feeding Bees Pollen Substitute by Dr. E. Mussen (UC Davis)
Honey Substitution Chart for Feeding Bees (National Honey Board)
Nutrition Section of Scientific Beekeeping (Randy Oliver) which includes studies on a variety of topics like light or heavy syrup?; probiotics; beebread; pollen substitutes and more.
Bee Feeding Recipes by Cass Cohenour
Recipe for a Pollen Substitute (Scottish Beekeepers Association)
Pollen Substitute Patties by DC Honeybees
Adding Sugar Bricks to Beehives from Mud Songs.
Feeders
Feeder Types from Brushy Mt Bee Farm.
Give entire inside of feeder two coats of polyurethane or marine varnish. Pour molten wax onto all inside seams. Attach hardware cloth to top of boards "A" with staples (Beesource.com).
Pollinators
An Introduction to Native Bees (U.S.D.A and Pollinator Partnership) Native bees are a hidden treasure. From alpine meadows in the national forests of the Rocky Mountains to the Sonoran Desert in the Coronado National Forest in Arizona and from the boreal forests of the Tongass National Forest in Alaska to the Ocala National Forest in Florida, bees can be found anywhere in North America, where flowers bloom. From forests to farms, from cities to wildlands, there are 4,000 native bee species in the United States, from the tiny Perdita minima to large carpenter bees. Most people do not realize that there were no honey bees in America before European settlers brought hives from Europe. These resourceful animals promptly managed to escape from domestication. As they had done for millennia in Europe and Asia, honey bees formed swarms and set up nests in hollow trees. Native pollinators, especially bees other than honey bees, have been pollinating the continent’s flowering plants since long before the arrival of honey bees. Even in today’s vastly altered landscapes, they continue to do the yeomen’s share of pollination, especially when it comes to native plants.
Native Bee Identification
Humble (Bumble) Bees
Conserving
Bumble Bees: Guidelines for creating and managing habitat (The Xerces Society)
Mason Bees
Stingless Bees
The Stingless Bees of the Yucatan: Preserving Mayan Meliponiculture by Diana Cohn
Making Native Bee Homes
Farming with Native Bees
Quality of commercially reared bees in Eastern Australia by J. W. Rhodes
Managing Honey Bee Populations for Greater Honey Yield by Morris Ostrofsky
The Release of ARS Russian Honey Bees in the U.S.
The age of grafted larvae plays a major part in the quality of resulting queens. The younger the larvae the better the queens. Select the smallest larvae possible, preferably larvae just hatched from the egg. A larvae 0 to 24 hrs old is the same length as an egg. Grafting of eggs themselves is extremely difficult and not recommended. Introducing plastic queen cell cups into strong colonies about one day before grafting allows the bees to clean, polish and warm the cells. Place the frame containing the larva onto a support board at an angle of about 30 degrees, with a cool light shining into the cells so that each larva can be seen. Place the nib or needle of the grafting tool under the royal jelly under the middle of the larva.... Queens for Pennies by Randy Oliver (scientificbeekeeping.com)
This video is from Ian Steppler of Steppler Farms in Miami (the colder version), Manitoba. Check out "A Canadian Beekeeper's Blog" for more videos on commercial beekeeping.
Tom Repas of Canyon Rim Honey Bees demonstrates Queen Bee Raising from grafting to mating.
Basic Microscopy for Beekeepers by Christina Wahl (Cornell College)
Crop Pollination Exposure to Pesticides increases Nosema Ceranae (U.S.D.A)
Crop Pollination Exposure to Pesticides increases Nosema Ceranae (U.S.D.A)
Economics
Pollination and Cut-Out Contracts
Websites
Contacts:
Morphometrics - A system of measuring morphological characteristics to determine honey bee type. The CHBRC laboratory analyzes samples nationwide in an effort to provide vital information on the migration of Africanized honey bees.
Software:
BK-Economics - BK-Economics is a software package that was developed by a team of scientists at the Carl Hayden Bee Research Center in Tucson, Arizona to assist commercial beekeepers in streamling their business practices. This software allows beekeepers to simulate years of business, taking into account factors like equipment purchases, labor force, transportation, marketing strategies, loans, honey flow, and other hive products without taking the usual risks. This software, when used in combination with the marketing strategy information in publication, can help beekeepers formulate a successful business plan when making financial decisions, expanding an operation or just starting out.
Varroa Pop - Varroa Pop simulates the growth of Varroa mite population in honey bee colonies. The program demonstratres how Varroa mites influence colony population growth throughout the year. You can change many factors through the menus in the model such as the initial population size, queen egg laying potential, and mite reproduction rates, so you can see how these factors influence both colony and mite population growth. We hope that the model will help you understand the interactions between the honey bee and mite populations and provide insights on how best to control Varroa in colonies.
Redapol - Developed by Gloria DeGrandi-Hoffman et al. A computer-based model simulating the interactions of weather, bloom and honey bee foraging activity that culminate in 'Delicious' apple fruit-set. The model predicts the percentage of blossoms setting fruit based upon weather conditions, orchard design, tree characteistics, and honey bee colonies per hectare. Now available in a complete archive (.ZIP file).
Almopol - ALMOPOL is a web-based model that is used to investigate the relationship between the many variables encountered in pollinating almonds by using Honeybees or Osmia. This program gives you full control over your model of your orchards, your scenarios, your weather, and your model parameters. When you first get started, you will define your orchards and then you can start running scenarios.
WebBeePop - A honey bee population dynamics simulation model.
Honey Money - Honey cost of production calculator produced by the Australian Government to assist beekeepers to assess the cost of production and profitability in a honeybee enterprise.
Mini Honey Money - Produced by the Australian Government to monitor cost of production and profitability.
Bees in Decline: Factors that put European Pollinators and Agriculture at risk (Greenpeace)
Bees in the Green Movement by Dr. James Tew (Auburn University)
The Honey Bee - Interesting Facts
Honey Bees in House Walls (Ohio State University)
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| Beekeeping shown in the tomb of Pabasa (Egypt c. 650 BC) |
The value of bees in ancient Egypt
The World History of Beekeeping and Honey Hunting by Eva Crane
"This book is the first book to explore in detail the world history of man’s use of bees from prehistoric times to the present day. It gathers together a vast amount of information in an eminently readable text. From archaelogical evidence about bee hives in Ancient Egypt to the Maya people of Mesoamerica who kept stingless bees, Dr Crane recognieses the variations in methods and yet there are some uncanny similarities. It wasn't until the 1600 that beekeeping techniques started to change in Europe, which culminated in 1851 with L L Langstroth's moveable frame hives being produced in the USA. The subsequent changes in beekeeping, based on scientific knowledge, brings the history up to date. There are over 500 illustrations and extensive bibliographies and appendices." IBRA Here is a preview of this amazing book. The World History of Beekeeping and Honey Hunting.
Historical Beekeeping Videos
Beekeeping and Honey Production 1920's (5 mins)
Magical Beehive Story (Dance) from the early 1900's (2:30 mins)
1925 - Bijenmarkt (Bee Market) Veenendaal, Netherlands Hand slapping and dogs (3 mins)
1927 - New York - Girl tends to her Langstroth Bee Hive (2 mins)
1931 - Bee Market, Tilburg, Netherlands Pipe smokers (1 min)
1930's - Dutch Bee Market Skeps (10 mins)
1933 - The Keeper of the Bees Commercial (2 mins)
Thirties Beekeeping Part 1 Oldies but goodies (6:27 mins)
Thirties Beekeeping Part 2 Oldies but goodies (5:52 mins)
Thirties Beekeeping Part 3 Oldies but goodies (6:59 mins)
Thirties Beekeeping Part 4 Oldies but goodies (4:28 mins)
Thirties Beekeeping Part 5 Oldies but goodies (7:43 mins)
Het Bijenvolk The Bee Community (Dutch) (25 mins)
Beekeeping on the Move 1947 Australia (10 mins)
1948- British Transparent Bee Hive Observation (1 min)
1956 - Lassie - The Bee Hive (24 mins)
1961 Bee Research Foraging (3 mins)
1965 - Bees for Export British (1 min)
Origins and Evolutionary History of the Honey Bee (58 mins)
Women in Beekeeping History (5 mins)
Bee Smokers Smokers (36:49 mins)
Het Bijenvolk The Bee Community (Dutch) (25 mins)
Beekeeping on the Move 1947 Australia (10 mins)
1948- British Transparent Bee Hive Observation (1 min)
1956 - Lassie - The Bee Hive (24 mins)
1961 Bee Research Foraging (3 mins)
1965 - Bees for Export British (1 min)
Origins and Evolutionary History of the Honey Bee (58 mins)
Women in Beekeeping History (5 mins)
Bee Smokers Smokers (36:49 mins)
Africanized Honey Bees
Bees of the World
The Pollinator Elements of the Sikkim Himalayan Region by K. Singh, K. Gaira and L. Rai
Bee Science
Predator Effects Shape Honey Bee Dancing (University of Calilfornia)The Main Driver in Aging in Long-Lived Winter Honey Bees
Altered Physiology of Honey Bees Infested with Varroa
Alternative Strategies in Central Europe for Control of Varroa
Methods for Characterising subspecies of Apis Mellifera (IBRA)
Ecological Adaptations of Diverse Honey Bee populations (U.B.C. and Agr-Food Canada)
Mating between Apis Cerana and Apis Mellifera in Australia (Australian Government)
Polyandry (multiple mates) in Honey Bees (H. Laidlaw and R. Page)
The Impact of Polyandry and Drifting on Honey Bee Genetics (P. Neumann)
Drifting Behavior of Honey Bees and the effect of AFB
Factors influencing Honey Bee Queen Drifting (Apidologie.org)
Honey Bee Ability to Identify Colors White and Blue (Alexander Komissar)
Bee Science Websites
USDA Research Centre
Phys Org bee related studies
USDA Research Centre
Bats (a bees friend)
A Thomas Seeley lecture on Bee Hunting
"In his new book, Following the Wild Bees (Princeton University Press), biologist Thomas Seeley, a world authority on honey bees, vividly describes the history and science behind a lost pastime: bee hunting. Once practiced widely but little known today, the tradition involves capturing and feeding honey bees, then releasing and following them back to their secret residences in hollow trees, old buildings or abandoned hives. Providing both practical tips and new insights into the remarkable behavior of bees living in the wild, Dr. Seeley’s book also offers a unique meditation on the pleasures of the natural world. As more people become aware of the essential role that honeybees play in our global agroecosystem, in Following the Wild Bees readers will find an excellent guide for learning an old craft and experiencing the rich insights gleaned from close observation of the teeming activity found in our everyday environment outdoors." From the Albert R. Mann Library
Thomas Seeley is the Horace White Professor in Biology in the Department of Neurobiology and Behavior at Cornell and the author of three previous books: Honeybee Ecology (1985, Princeton), The Wisdom of the Hive (1995, Harvard), and Honeybee Democracy (2010, Princeton).
Bee Hunting by John Lockard (1908)
Beehunting - A selection of 4 bee hunting videos that accompany the book "Follow the Wild Bees" by Thomas Seeley (1. Finding wild honey bees 2. Capturing bees 3. Marking 4. Following).
An Introduction to Bee Lining by D. Banks and D. Waterhouse
Bee-Lining as a Research Technique in Ecological Study of Honey Bees by Thomas Seeley
Bees in the Forest, Still by Tom Seeley
The Bee Hunter by George Edgell (l949)
Bee lining - from the University of Arkansas
A series of 8 videos on Bee Lining (including building a bee box)
Thomas Seeley demonstrating bee hunting in the field.
Bee Hunting: Finding a Wild Colony of Honey Bees (from Charles Walcott)
"One method of locating a colony of wild bees is called bee lining. In this video, we will join Prof. Tom Seeley as he tries to locate a wild colony of bees. He catches bees foraging on goldenrod and aster, feeds them concentrated sugar solution and determines the direction that they fly as they return to their colony. By painting identifying marks on some bees, he is able to measure their round trip time to get an estimate of the distance to the colony. With direction and distance established, he moves closer. Then, watching the bees, sees that they are living in a dead tree."
Her writing culminated in two mighty, encyclopedic tomes, Bees and Beekeeping: science, practice and world resources (1990; at 614 pages) and The World History of Beekeeping and Honey Hunting (1999; 682 pages). These distilled a lifetime's knowledge and experience and are regarded as seminal textbooks throughout the beekeeping world."Along with writing many books and articles, Crane also helped create a beekeeping library, which held many books on bees and beekeeping, and turned the small journal Bee World into a well-known scientific magazine. Without doubt she became one of the greatest writers on bees and beekeeping in the 20th century. In January 1949 she established the Bee Research Association (BRA). From the beginning this organization was international in its aims and outlook but only became IBRA in 1976. "IBRA is internationally recognised as the world’s primary source and foremost provider of information on bees. Its database and information services, including journals, teaching aids and other publications, embrace all bee species whether managed by man for pollination or their products, or truly wild. IBRA has one of the largest databases of scientific information on bees and bee related interests in the world." For more information on Eva Crane go to the Eva Crane Trust.Amerindian honey hunting and hive beekeeping by Eva Crane
Amerindian uses of honey, wax and brood from stingless bees by Eva Crane
Ancient Apiculture by Eva Crane
Bee Hives of the Ancient World Part 1 by Eva Crane
Bee Hives of the Ancient World Part 2 by Eva Crane
Bee shelters and bee boles in Cumbria by Eva Crane
Charles Darwin and bees by Eva Crane
Early English Beekeeping up to the end of the Norman period 1135 AD by Eva Crane
English beekeeping 1200-1850 by Eva Crane
A Survey of English beekeeping in 1086 by Eva Crane
History of beekeeping in English gardens Part 1 by Eva Crane
History of beekeeping in English gardens Part 2 by Eva Crane
Honey past, present and future by Eva Crane
Honeydew sources and their honeys by Eva Crane
Owen Thomas beekeeper and skep maker in the eighteenth century by Eva Crane
Physical properties, flavour and aroma of some honeys by Eva Crane and Penelope Walker
The shape, construction and identification of traditional hives by Eva Crane
The world's beekeeping past and present by Eva Crane
Traditional Bee Management as a basis for beekeeping development in the Tropics by Eva Crane et al
Traditional beekeeping in Vietnam by Eva Crane
Winter bee houses and cellars (history) by Eva Crane and Penelope Walker
The World History of Beekeeping and Honey Hunting by Eva Crane
"This book is the first book to explore in detail the world history of man’s use of bees from prehistoric times to the present day. It gathers together a vast amount of information in an eminently readable text. From archaelogical evidence about bee hives in Ancient Egypt to the Maya people of Mesoamerica who kept stingless bees, Dr Crane recognieses the variations in methods and yet there are some uncanny similarities. It wasn't until the 1600 that beekeeping techniques started to change in Europe, which culminated in 1851 with L L Langstroth's moveable frame hives being produced in the USA. The subsequent changes in beekeeping, based on scientific knowledge, brings the history up to date. There are over 500 illustrations and extensive bibliographies and appendices." IBRA Here is a preview of this amazing book. The World History of Beekeeping and Honey Hunting.
Bee Hives of the Ancient World Part 2 by Eva Crane
Bee shelters and bee boles in Cumbria by Eva Crane
Charles Darwin and bees by Eva Crane
Early English Beekeeping up to the end of the Norman period 1135 AD by Eva Crane
English beekeeping 1200-1850 by Eva Crane
A Survey of English beekeeping in 1086 by Eva Crane
History of beekeeping in English gardens Part 1 by Eva Crane
History of beekeeping in English gardens Part 2 by Eva Crane
Honey past, present and future by Eva Crane
Honeydew sources and their honeys by Eva Crane
Owen Thomas beekeeper and skep maker in the eighteenth century by Eva Crane
Physical properties, flavour and aroma of some honeys by Eva Crane and Penelope Walker
The shape, construction and identification of traditional hives by Eva Crane
The world's beekeeping past and present by Eva Crane
Traditional Bee Management as a basis for beekeeping development in the Tropics by Eva Crane et al
Traditional beekeeping in Vietnam by Eva Crane
Winter bee houses and cellars (history) by Eva Crane and Penelope Walker
The World History of Beekeeping and Honey Hunting by Eva Crane
"This book is the first book to explore in detail the world history of man’s use of bees from prehistoric times to the present day. It gathers together a vast amount of information in an eminently readable text. From archaelogical evidence about bee hives in Ancient Egypt to the Maya people of Mesoamerica who kept stingless bees, Dr Crane recognieses the variations in methods and yet there are some uncanny similarities. It wasn't until the 1600 that beekeeping techniques started to change in Europe, which culminated in 1851 with L L Langstroth's moveable frame hives being produced in the USA. The subsequent changes in beekeeping, based on scientific knowledge, brings the history up to date. There are over 500 illustrations and extensive bibliographies and appendices." IBRA Here is a preview of this amazing book. The World History of Beekeeping and Honey Hunting.
"Apart from her authoritative and well-researched books, Eva Crane wrote many articles and texts for lectures. She kept a numbered list of all her publications, in chronological order, adding a letter for late additions, e.g. 004a, but the list does not include her many signed/unsigned editorials and short features in Bee World. She also filed a paper copy of each published article and unpublished typescript (many amended by hand).
The list below, which is based on this collection, contains 375 entries. Many of these have been scanned and wherever possible they will be uploaded and accessible via this web site. The following (marked * in the list) were not scanned: non-beekeeping articles (pre-1945, labelled A-O); books; very long chapters in books; and a few articles missing from the collection. All pre-1989 publications are believed to be out of copyright, but we have attempted to contact publishers for permission to upload the scans available to view, whatever the date."
Individual Studies
Pesticides and Their Involvement in Colony Collapse Disorder (Penn State University) - For honey bees low levels of pesticides have been shown to reduce associative learning of individual bees in laboratory studies using the proboscis extension response (Decourtye et al, 2004), altering maze learning performance in free-flying bees (Decourtye, et al. 2010) and the loss of foraging efficiency in radio tagged bees, (Decourtye, et al. 2011). The precocious foraging of nurse bees from IGR insecticides is also documented (Thompson et al. 2007). These changes in learning and behavior can potentially alter normal colony level functions, yet colony-level impacts remain to be verified. Honey bee larvae reared in cells contaminated with the miticides fluvalenate or coumaphos show a reduced developmental rate and delayed adult emergence along with reduced adult longevity (Wu et al, 2011). These effects can have multiple consequences for the colony including increased developmental time for Varroa mites, reduced colony population dynamics and build up, as well as potential shifts in worker division of labor. Whether or not the pesticides associated with wax in the CART study (aboce) have similar impacts on larvae remains to be determined. Fungicides have long been known to synergize with some pesticides in laboratory toxicity bioassays (Iwasi et al, 2004). More recently, we have determined that combinations of formulated pesticides and fungicides fed to either adult worker bees or to larvae can have synergistic effects on mortality. What happens when 3 or 4 or 5 different pesticide mixtures are ingested by honey bee larvae or adults for substantial periods of time?
The Bees Burden (University of Exeter (England)) - This study reports concentrations of pesticides found in pollen brought back to hives by foraging bees, and sampled using pollen traps (trapped pollen) or direct from the comb (comb pollen, beebread). Twenty-five samples of comb pollen stored over winter from the 2012 foraging season were obtained from locations in seven European countries, and subsequently 107 samples of trapped pollen from the 2013 foraging season were obtained from locations in 12 European countries and analysed at an accredited laboratory. In terms of the geographical areas covered, and the numbers of samples taken simultaneously, this is one of the most extensive studies of pesticides in bee-collected pollen carried out to date. Residues of at least one of 53 pesticides (including 22 insecticides/acaricides, 29fungicides and two herbicides) were identified in 72 of the 107 trapped pollen samples, while residues of at least one of 17 pesticides (including nine insecticides / acaricides and eight fungicides) were identified in 17 of the 25 samples of comb pollen (beebread).
Implications of High Levels of Miticides and Pesticides in North American Apiaries (Penn State University and the U.S.D.A.) - "Honey bees across North America are extensively exposed to multiple pesticides. Brood nest wax and foundations, beebread and trapped pollen, and adult bees and brood comprising 749 samples contained 118 different pesticides and metabolites, 4894 total residues of which 748 were systemics, and averaged 6.5 detections per sample. In the 259 wax samples (Table 1) 87 pesticides and metabolites were found with up to 39 different detections in a single sample, averaging 8 different pesticide residues each. In the 350 pollen samples analyzed (Table 2), 98 pesticides and degradates were identified, with up to 31 different pesticides found in a single sample, and samples averaged 7.1 different pesticide residues each. The analysis of bees resulted in fewer detections (Table 3), and
averaged 2.5 residues per each of the 140 samples, with a maximum of 25 in one sample. Only one of the wax, three pollen and 12 bee samples had no detectable pesticides."
4 Common Pesticides highly toxic to Honey Bee Larvae (Penn State University and University of Florida) - Four Common Pesticides, Their Mixtures and a Formulation Solvent in the Hive Environment Have High Oral Toxicity to Honey Bee Larvae. "The current study demonstrates the chronic oral and mixture toxicity of common pesticides at hive levels to honey bees at the larval stage. Most notable are the chronic larval toxicities of the fungicide chlorothalonil and its synergistic combinations with frequently used in-hive miticides, and the unexpected high toxicity of the formulation ingredient N-methyl-2-pyrrolidone."
Impact of Neonicotinoid exposure on colony performance and Queen Supersedure (University of Zurich, Swiss Bee Research Centre, University of Berne and the University of Reading) - Impact of Chronic Neonicotinoid Exposure on Honeybee Colony Performance and Queen Supersedure. "In line with a recent meta-analysis [44], our results clearly indicate that neonicotinoids negatively impact on honeybee colony performance after chronic sublethal exposure throughout two brood cycles."
Pesticide Exposure Increases susceptibility to Nosema (U.S.D.A., University of Maryland and the University of California) - Crop Pollination Exposes Honey Bees to Pesticides Which Alters Their Susceptibility to the Gut Pathogen Nosema ceranae. "Our results combined with several recent studies of specific pesticides’ effects on Nosema infection dynamics [13–15] indicate that a detrimental interaction occurs when honey bees are exposed to both pesticides and Nosema."
Interactions between Nosema and neonicotinoids weakens honey bees (INRA - Europe's top agricultural research institute) - "We demonstrated that the interaction between the microsporidia Nosema and a neonicotinoid (imidacloprid) significantly weak-ened honeybees."
Exposure to Neonicotinoids effects learning and memory in Honey Bees (Newcastle University, UK) - "The experiments reported here show that prolonged exposure to field-realistic concentrations of the neonicotinoid imidacloprid and the organophosphate acetylcholinesterase inhibitor coumaphos and their combination impairs olfactory learning and memory formation in the honeybee."
Parasite-Insecticide interaction (Clermont University and CNRS)
In this study, we used a multi-residue method based on LC-MS/MS to analyze samples of puddle water taken in the field during the planting of treated corn and one month later. If honey bees were to collect and drink water from these puddles, our results showed that they would be exposed to various agricultural pesticides. All water samples collected from corn fields were contaminated with at least one neonicotinoid compound, although most contained more than one systemic insecticide. Concentrations of neonicotinoids were higher in early spring, indicating that emission and drifting of contaminated dust during sowing raises contamination levels of puddles. Although the overall average acute risk of drinking water from puddles was relatively low, concentrations of neonicotinoids ranged from 0.01 to 63 mg/L and were sufficient to potentially elicit a wide array of sublethal effects in individuals and colony alike. Our results also suggest that risk assessment of honey bee water resources underestimates the foragers’ exposure and consequently miscalculates the risk. In fact, our data shows that honey bees and native pollinators are facing unprecedented cumulative exposure to these insecticides from combined residues in pollen, nectar and water.
Videos
Third generation Ontario beekeeper's story
Conclusions drawn from multiple studies
Worldwide assessment of systemic pesticides - The Task Force on Systemic Pesticides is an independent group of scientists from all over the globe, who came together to work on the Worldwide Integrated Assessment of the Impact of Systemic Pesticides on Biodiversity and Ecosystems. The mandate of the Task Force on Systemic Pesticides (TFSP) has been “to carry out a comprehensive, objective, scientific review and assessment of the impact of systemic pesticides on biodiversity, and on the basis of the results of this review to make any recommendations that might be needed with regard to risk management procedures, governmental approval of new pesticides, and any other relevant issues that should be brought to the attention of decision makers, policy developers and society in general.” To this end a highly multidisciplinary team of 30 scientists from all over the globe jointly made a synthesis of 1,121 published peer-reviewed studies spanning the last five years, including industry-sponsored ones. "The present scale of use, combined with the properties of these compounds, has resulted in widespread contamination of ag-ricultural soils, freshwater resources, wetlands, non-target vegetation and estuarine and coastal marine systems, which means that many organisms inhabiting these habitats are being repeatedly and chronically exposed to effective concentrations of these insecticides." (175 pages)
Clothianidin adversely effects insect immunity - Neonicotinoid clothianidin adversely affects insect immunity and promotes replication of a viral pathogen in honey bees.
Pesticide Exposure reduces foraging success and survival in Honey Bees - "As Henry et al.’s experiments so elegantly demonstrate, there is no question that dietary thiamethoxam harms honey bee colonies by ele-vating the mortality of adult foragers through navigation failure, at least when the entire daily intake of a forager is consumed in a single dose."
Sublethal doses of a neonicotinoid pesticide and pathogens interact to elevate honey bee mortality - "Through fully crossed experiments in which treatments were administered singly or in combination, we found an additive interaction between BQCV and thiacloprid on host larval survival, likely because the pesticide significantly elevated viral loads."
Combined Pesticide Exposure severely effects Bees - "Here we show that chronic exposure of bumblebees to two pesticides (neonicotinoid and pyrethroid) at concentrations that could approximate field-level exposure impairs natural fora-ging behaviour and increases worker mortality leading to signi-ficant reductions in brood development and colony success."
Low dose pesticides effects on Bees - "At the end of the experiment, the hives with the bees that had eaten the imidacloprid in the lab weighed 8% to 12% less than the 25 untreated hives—an indication that the bees had gathered less food and produced fewer workers."
Neonicotinoids - Our Toxic Countryside - "How was all of this allowed to happen? How did the pesticide companies manage to poison most of the world’s arable landscapes and kill close to 10 million bee colonies as well as countless myriads of other insects and birds? The answer is their profits buy ‘influence’. More than $1 billion a year from Imidacloprid alone – and possibly $20 billion since 1992 – has enabled them, it is believed, to bully, bribe, coerce, co-opt and persuade the governments, regulators and universities of the developed world as well as national beekeeping associations including our own BBKA."
Neonic effect on Honey bees - "So the disruption to the neurological signalling of honey bees by Neonicotinoids means that they become disorientated. The chemicals impair their communication, homing and foraging ability, flight activity, olfactory discrimination (smell is also vital to bees communication systems), and learning, and a weakened immune system."
Pesticides and honey bees (State of the Science 2012 PAN) - “The weight of evidence demonstrates that pesticides are indeed key in explaining honey bee declines, both directly and in tandem with the other two leading factors, pathogens and poor nutrition.”
Are Neonicotinoids killing Bees? (Xerces) - A Review of Research into the Effects of Neonicotinoid Insecticides on Bees, with Recommendations for Action.
Bee Health The Role of Pesticides (Congress) - "The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) reports that overwinter colony losses from 2006 to 2011 averaged more than 32% annually. This report provides a listing of the range of possible factors thought to be negatively affecting managed and wild bee populations. In addition to pesticides, other identified factors include bee pests and diseases, diet and nutrition, genetics, habitat loss and other environmental stressors, and beekeeping management issues, as well as the possibility that bees are being negatively affected by cumulative, multiple exposures and/or the interactive effects of each of these factors. Briefly summarizes readily available scientific research and analysis regarding the potential role of pesticides among the factors affecting the health and well-being of bees, as well as the statutory authority and related regulatory activities of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) related to pesticide use."
This is the first investigation of neonicotinoid insecticide concentrations in “bee-friendly” nursery plants sold to consumers at garden centers in cities across America. The findings indicate that bee-friendly nursery plants sold at U.S. retailers may contain systemic pesticides at levels that are high enough to cause adverse effects on bees and other pollinators — with no warning to consumers. Neonicotinoid residues were detected in seven out of thirteen samples (54 percent) of commercial nursery plants. In the samples with detections, concentrations ranged from 11 to 1,500 micrograms per kilogram (µg/kg or parts per billion) of plant material. 
The 2008 food crisis was an important catalyst for realizing the need for a fundamental transformation and questioning some of the assumptions that had driven food, agricultural and trade policy in recent decades. The world currently produces sufficient calories per head to feed a global population of 12-14 billion. Around 1 billion people chronically suffer from starvation and another billion are mal-nurished. Therefore hunger and malnutrition are not a product of insufficient supply but results of prevailing poverty and above all access to food. The world needs a paradigm shift in agricultural development: from a “green revolution” to an “ecological intensification” approach. This implies a rapid and significant shift from conventional, monoculture-based industrial production towards mosaics of sustainable, regenerative production systems that also considerably improve the productivity of small-scale farmers.
Roundup (Glyphosate)
GMO's
General Planting Guides
Bee Friendly Planting Guide - This planting guide from the Australian Government is particularly timely as there is increasing public concern for the well being and survival of global honeybee populations following the reported colony collapse disorder in the United States and Europe, and the threat to the Australian industry of the destructive varroa mite. This guide to planting choices from the backyard to the bush, right across the nation, will assist with increasing the available bee food. Although this planting guide is written from an Australian perspective most of the plants are grown around the world.
Bee Protective Habitat Guide - This guide from "Beyond Pesticides" is designed to provide information on pollinators with resources on pollinator-friendly habitat, as well as pesticide use that contributes to declines in pollinator health. To that end, the wildflower section contains perennial species that are known to nurture bee populations in the U.S. The guide is divided into several sections and is arranged by season to encourage gardeners and land managers to plant flowers that will bloom all year round. Within each season, plants are arranged in alphabetical order by common name. Bloom months have been provided and are rated based on when they commonly begin to bloom in the Midwest. Some species may continue blooming later into the season depending on the location. Note that plant hardiness should be referenced with the Plant Hardiness Zone Map.
*Your ability to grow a specific plant is not based on the country you live in but on the plant hardiness. The world is divided into plant hardiness zones which can be seen on the maps below. Though you should be able to grow any plants from your hardiness zone you are encouraged to grow native plants.
Pollinator Planting for Farms
United Nations Report on Small Scale, Organic Farming - The 2008 food crisis was an important catalyst for realizing the need for a fundamental transformation and questioning some of the assumptions that had driven food, agricultural and trade policy in recent decades. The fundamental transformation of agriculture may well turn out to be one of the biggest challenges, including for international security, of the 21st century. The world needs a paradigm shift in agricultural development: from a “green revolution” to an “ecological intensification” approach. The required transformation is much more profound than simply tweaking the existing industrial agricultural system.
Planting for Pollinators in the U.S.
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Wildflowers of Texas: Part 1 (Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center) - The annual sunflower is very useful and Native Americans greatly valued it. They used for it medicines, fiber, cordage, and as a highly nutritious food for both humans and cattle. The seeds could be ground up and used to make bread. The shells were used to brew a pseudo-coffee. The Incas believed that the sunflower was the physical manifestation of the Sun God on Earth. The plant is an important part of the Iroquois creation myth. Iroquois Creation Myth (from: http://www.cs.williams.edu/~lindsey/myths/myths_12.html) Long before the world was created there was an island, floating in the sky, upon which the Sky People lived. They lived quietly and happily. No one ever died, or was born, or experienced sadness. However, one day one of the Sky Women realized she was going to give birth to twins. She told her husband, who flew into a rage. In the center of the island there was a tree that gave light to the entire island, since the sun hadn't been created yet. He tore up this tree, creating a huge hole in the middle of the island. Curiously, the woman peered into the hole. Far below she could see the waters that covered the Earth. At that moment her husband pushed her. She fell through the hole, tumbling towards the waters below...
Planting for Pollinators in Canada
Gardening with native plants on Vancouver Island - The three essentials: food, shelter and water. Seed and berry producing shrubs feed and shelter birds. Provide a variety of food sources through the seasons by leaving seed heads on plants. A water feature (protected from cats and hawks) will attract many types of birds and animals. Butterflies boycott pesticides. Feeding adults prefer certain plant species, but missing plants for caterpillars often restricts butterfly abundance. Plant poplar and willow, maintain areas of natural meadow, create a mud puddle, and tolerate some chewed leaves. Swallowtail caterpillars eat herbs with umbrella-like flowers including Spring Gold, Lomatiums, & Cow Parsnip. Some butterflies overwinter in the leaf litter that renews the soil. Plant tall sticks in sunny quiet spots for butterflies and dragonflies to rest.
Planting for Pollinators throughout the World
Planting Guide for Honey and Australian Native Bees - The Australian honeybee industry provides essential benefits to the agricultural and horticultural sector through managed and incidental pollination services. Urban environments also benefit from the activities of honeybees. Planting bee forage for honeybee nutrition can offer major benefits to the industry and to society. However, listed weeds should not be planted. Local nurseries will provide advice about which plants are listed as weeds in your area. This planting guide for bee forage is particularly timely as there is increasing public concern for the well being and survival of global honeybee populations following the reported colony collapse disorder in the United States and Europe, and the threat to the Australian industry of the destructive varroa mite. This guide to planting choices from the backyard to the bush, right across the nation, will assist with increasing the available bee food.
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. Healthy Beekeeping by Kirk Webster
The best kept secret revisited by Kirk Webster
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)
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)
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 Langstrothbeekeeping. 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)
Top Bar Hives Videos
Top Bar Hive Inspection (Long Lane Honey Bee Farms -12 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
"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.... "
Top Bar Hive Websites:
Products from Beekeeping
accessible market or the lack of knowledge about production and further use are of major importance. While production methods of other primary products can be adapted from common beekeeping texts, the further elaboration and use of the same products can rarely be found. If so, descriptions range from highly specific scientific results to self-proclaimed experts fraudulently exploiting consumer ignorance. In order to present a comprehensive and practical review this bulletin tries to synthesize available information from scientific literature and practical, technical literature including the few in-depth reviews available on some of the primary bee products such as honey, Wax and propolis. Worldwide the usage of such primary products as propolis, royal jelly and bee venom have increased mostly due to inclusion in cosmetic preparations. Medicinal use will increase once better and more detailed studies are completed, which however may not yet be in the very near future. The use of honey and other products has also increased in many countries because of the increasing health awareness and the high esteem of bee products in various processed and unprocessed forms..."
"Keeping bees requires knowledge and experience if it is to be done well. This knowledge and experience can be obtained by observing and learning from an experienced beekeeper or through study and practice. Once this has been achieved, a well-qualified beekeeper can produce bee products.Even if someone knows exactly how to keep bees, the products he or she produces may not meet market demands and thus may not be able to provide a sufficient income. It is important to realise that the products have to be bought by others, who determine what demands must be met in order for the products to be worth a certain selling price. One of the most important market demands is quality. A product has to be consistently good. It also has to be free of impurities and additives. It also has to look good. The authors of this booklet are all experts in their areas of beekeeping and are members of NECTAR. But this booklet is not a scientific publication. Its aim is only to show how it is possible to make good products with limited resources."
"While there are many ways to assess the quality of fresh produce—aroma, firmness, texture—your customers can detect only the color of the honey. Therefore your packaging—jar and label—is important. It should convey the honey within is special and high quality. The section below outlines
Value-Added Products from Beekeeping (United Nations, l996)
"Many of the beekeeping activities in developing countries in the past have been oriented towards
honey production. Wax usually was a by-product and other possible products have rarely found
consideration. Such neglect of other products has a variety of reasons among which an easily
accessible market or the lack of knowledge about production and further use are of major importance. While production methods of other primary products can be adapted from common beekeeping texts, the further elaboration and use of the same products can rarely be found. If so, descriptions range from highly specific scientific results to self-proclaimed experts fraudulently exploiting consumer ignorance. In order to present a comprehensive and practical review this bulletin tries to synthesize available information from scientific literature and practical, technical literature including the few in-depth reviews available on some of the primary bee products such as honey, Wax and propolis. Worldwide the usage of such primary products as propolis, royal jelly and bee venom have increased mostly due to inclusion in cosmetic preparations. Medicinal use will increase once better and more detailed studies are completed, which however may not yet be in the very near future. The use of honey and other products has also increased in many countries because of the increasing health awareness and the high esteem of bee products in various processed and unprocessed forms..."
Bee Products - Properties, Processing and Marketing (N.E.C.T.A.R)
"Keeping bees requires knowledge and experience if it is to be done well. This knowledge and experience can be obtained by observing and learning from an experienced beekeeper or through study and practice. Once this has been achieved, a well-qualified beekeeper can produce bee products.Even if someone knows exactly how to keep bees, the products he or she produces may not meet market demands and thus may not be able to provide a sufficient income. It is important to realise that the products have to be bought by others, who determine what demands must be met in order for the products to be worth a certain selling price. One of the most important market demands is quality. A product has to be consistently good. It also has to be free of impurities and additives. It also has to look good. The authors of this booklet are all experts in their areas of beekeeping and are members of NECTAR. But this booklet is not a scientific publication. Its aim is only to show how it is possible to make good products with limited resources."
Help the Honey Speak (Certified Naturally Grown) - A Marketing Guide for Beekeepers with Naturally-Managed Apiaries
"While there are many ways to assess the quality of fresh produce—aroma, firmness, texture—your customers can detect only the color of the honey. Therefore your packaging—jar and label—is important. It should convey the honey within is special and high quality. The section below outlines
your packaging options. Similarly you (or your representatives) have an important role to play educating customers. Many people think “honey is honey” and see no reason to pay a beekeeper $8 for something that costs $5 in the supermarket. Yet once they encounter an enthusiastic natural beekeeper, many customers are delighted to connect the taste of a varietal to its floral source, learn about how natural beekeeping helps the bees, and do their part by purchasing honey from natural beekeepers. You’ll need to decide whether to use glass or plastic, or some combination. Plastic containers include various squeeze containers and the new, inverted jar. They are lightweight and unbreakable, but generally do not communicate the high-quality image you may favor for
your honey. Glass jars come in a variety of shapes and convey the “artisanal” nature of your honey. And glass jars are preferred by customers who avoid storing food in plastic. They are, however, heavy, so in settings where customers will need to carry the honey some distance, a plastic option or smaller jars might be desirable. By offering a variety of sizes you accommodate the different needs of your customers. Smaller sizes, including small sample-sizes, are very popular, make great gifts, and tempt new customers to try your honey. Larger sizes offer your regular customers a more economical and convenient option..."
Honey
Honey (Reference Guide - NHB) - "Honey has the capacity to serve as a natural food preservative. Research has demonstrated the potential for honey to reduce enzymatic browning in fruits and vegetables and prevent lipid oxidation in meats. Most of the antibacterial activity of the honeys occurs due to hydrogen peroxide generation. Other researchers have identified the flavonoids in honey, particularly caffeic acid and ferulic acid, as the most likely contributors. Honey is composed primarily of the sugars glucose and fructose; its third greatest component is water. Honey also contains numerous other types of sugars, as well as acids, proteins and minerals.4,5 Carbohydrates are described by the number of sub-units they contain. Fructose and glucose are monosac-charides, that is, simple sugars. Sucrose, which is composed of fructose and glucose linked together, is a disaccharide; it comprises a little over 1 percent of the composition of honey."
How do bees make honey? (Khalil Hamdan)
How do bees make honey? It's not just bee barf. (Matt Shipman)
Honey and It's Uses (Malcolm T. Sanford)
Infant Botulism and Honey (University of Florida)
Honey (Reference Guide - NHB) - "Honey has the capacity to serve as a natural food preservative. Research has demonstrated the potential for honey to reduce enzymatic browning in fruits and vegetables and prevent lipid oxidation in meats. Most of the antibacterial activity of the honeys occurs due to hydrogen peroxide generation. Other researchers have identified the flavonoids in honey, particularly caffeic acid and ferulic acid, as the most likely contributors. Honey is composed primarily of the sugars glucose and fructose; its third greatest component is water. Honey also contains numerous other types of sugars, as well as acids, proteins and minerals.4,5 Carbohydrates are described by the number of sub-units they contain. Fructose and glucose are monosac-charides, that is, simple sugars. Sucrose, which is composed of fructose and glucose linked together, is a disaccharide; it comprises a little over 1 percent of the composition of honey."How do bees make honey? (Khalil Hamdan)
How do bees make honey? It's not just bee barf. (Matt Shipman)
Honey and It's Uses (Malcolm T. Sanford)
Infant Botulism and Honey (University of Florida)
Determination of Botannical Origin of Honey (Inframiel.ch)
Honey Floral Source Guide (NHB)
Judging Liquid Honey (J. Ambrose)
Honey Floral Source Guide (NHB)
Judging Liquid Honey (J. Ambrose)
Apitherapy
Wax
Propolis
Propolis - Composition, Health, Medicine (Stefan Bogdanov)
The Benefits of Propolis (Dr. Marla Spivak)
The Benefits of Propolis (Dr. Marla Spivak)
Honey Reference Guide (National Honey Board) - Honey has the capacity to serve as a natural food preservative. Research has demonstrated the potential for honey to reduce enzymatic browning in fruits and vegetables and prevent lipid oxidation in meats. Most of the antibacterial activity of the honeys occurs due to hydrogen peroxide generation. Other researchers have identified the flavonoids in honey, particularly caffeic acid and ferulic acid, as the most likely contributors. Honey is composed primarily of the sugars glucose and fructose; its third greatest component is water. Honey also contains numerous other types of sugars, as well as acids, proteins and minerals.4,5 Carbohydrates are described by the number of sub-units they contain. Fructose and glucose are monosac-charides, that is, simple sugars. Sucrose, which is composed of fructose and glucose linked together, is a disaccharide; it comprises a little over 1 percent of the composition of honey.
Education
(for parents and teachers)
*The epub book format can be read using the free ebook reader Calibre.
*Some of the instructional material is appropriate for children and adults (All)
Teaching (Lesson Plans and aids)
Bees
Act For Bees - This is a great curriculum brought to you by the good folks at "Act for Bees" and "Cool Australia". "We have partnered with ‘Cool Australia- Learn for Life’ to create an exciting ‘Love Food?Love Bees!‘ curriculum for years 5/6 that can be downloaded from the Cool Australia website and taken straight into the classroom & also practically outside in the garden!" Cool Australia has a wide range of good curriculum topics connected to sustainability such as "Biodiversity", "Climate Change", "Nature of Mindfulness", "Outdoor Learning", "Sustainability" and "Indigenous Education". I highly recommend this as an amazing curriculum resource for educators and students of all ages. 
Beekeeping Projects K-3 (Stephen Bambara, N.C. State University) - This beekeeping project for K-3rd grade youth offers learning activities that encourage and strengthen positive interactions between parents (mentors or teachers) and children. It uses the 1993 Experiential Learning Model by Deen and Newman and Iowa State Univ. Extension Targeting Life Skills models as a foundation. This project book is divided into two levels. Step I is for children 5 and 6 years in age (with little required reading). Step II is for children 7 and 8 years in age and uses more reading skills and is for children who may have completed Step I and seek more activities. They are best performed as a joint activity between adult and children. The benefit of this subject is to introduce honey bees and beekeeping to our youngest in a responsible way that will help them realize the importance of honey bees and reduce potential fear of the insect.
Honey Bee Education Program (K-5) The following four lessons are designed to help you teach students in grades K-5 many interesting facts about honey bees including Lesson A - What are honey bees and why are they so important? Students will learn what a honey bee is, the social structure of honey bees and their role in the hive, and about the behavior of insects that are similar to honey bees. Lesson B - How do honey bees make honey? What’s inside a honey bee, a hive, and a flower? Students will learn what pollination is, how bees behave, how beehives are constructed, what products are found inside the hive, the parts of a honey bee, and the parts of a flower. Lesson C - What keeps a beekeeper busy? Students will learn the difference between feral and managed bee colonies, the basic structure of a beehive, what beekeepers do and the equipment they use, and how beehives are moved around to help pollinate crops. Lesson D - what are Africanized honey bees, and why should You, “Bee Aware, Look, Listen, and Run”? Students will learn the importance of managed honey bees, how to describe the differences between Africanized and European honey bees, how to prevent Africanized bees from establishing nests in and around their homes and schools, how to prevent potential stinging incidents, and what to do if they are attacked by bees or other stinging insects.
An Adventure with Bees created by Behany Swartz, Oakland University (8 lesson Grades 4-5) "Being in an elementary self-contained classroom setting, I chose to integrate this curriculum by using the common theme of honeybees and pulling the identified GLCEs and applying them to this unit. By using the KNOW/DO/BE framework (Drake & Burns, 2004) as my main model, the major goals of this unit are listed below.KNOW: “Bees are a life lesson. We have much to learn about and from them” (Caron, 1999, p. I.9). Students should broaden their knowledge of honey bees. They will move from basic facts up through larger concepts and make generalizations about the impacts of honeybees on our environment. DO: Eight focused lessons provide visual, auditory, and kinesthetic (hands-on) learning with extensions to provide students exposure to several aspects of honey bees. Thisintergrated unit incorporates the subjects of science, math, language arts, and technology.BE: Bees and wasps have gotten a “bad rap” and negative image because of their ability to sting and cause fear in many children. Caron remarks that, “…a lot of people know something about honey bees. Bees have been admired, studied, cultured, feared and valued, but not always understood” (p. I.3). At the conclusion of this unit, I hope that students will view the honey bee not as an enemy, but instead as a friend and advocate.I also kept in mind the aspects of backwards design when creating my pre/post test and what I wanted the students to achieve. After that, I designed my lessons to help me reach my goal." 
A Bee's Life Teaching Guide (National Honey Board Grades 4-6) A fairly extensive teaching guide which includes the subjects, honey bee biology, society, the hive, pollination, honey and beekeeping.
The Buzz About Bees Book 1 (4H Project - Virginia Cooperative Extension) The beekeeping project (Books 1 - 4) will teach you the basic biology and behavior of honey bees and give you hands-on management skills. The honey bee project books begin with basic honey bee and insect information (junior level) and advance to instruction on how to rear honey bee colonies and extract honey (senior level). These project books are intended to provide in-depth information related to honey bee management, yet they are written for the amateur beekeeper, whether or not you have previous experience in rearing honey bees.
4H Honey Bee Youth Project Book II (Virginia Cooperative Extension Grades 4-6) Equipment of Beekeepers.
Pollinator Gardens Habitat Program Curriculum and Activities Pre K - Gr. 12 (Pollinator Partnership - pollinator.org) Pollinator Partnership is pleased to provide this supplemental curriculum packet as one way to enrich classroom education through a butterfly and pollinator garden. It includes exercises to expand on and enforce what students have learned about butterfly and pollinator gardens, pollinators, other insects, their relatives and biodiversity. Included are: • Lesson plans for activities relating to insects, ready to integrate into subject areas across the elementary and middle school curriculum, including language arts, math and science • Extension ideas for home • Background information for the teacher • California State Content Standards correlation.
Bee World Project Education Pack (IBRA) The Beeworld Project aims to promote the value of bees in schools and communities. This education pack has been produced to help teachers and other educators introduce bees, their activities and their relationship with humans. It provides basic information for the study and understanding of bees, and offers ideas for bee-related activities across the curriculum and in support of Education for Sustainable Development and Global Citizenship (ESDGC). Using this resource is an effective way to get children interested in bees and pollination, and help them discover how important these are to our daily lives. More detailed information about bees and additional educational resources are available on the IBRA Beeworld Project website.
Honey (B.C. Agriculture) This unit on Honey has been designed for use in a Grade 11 or 12 Foods and Nutrition class but could also be modified for junior grades. The teaching activities explore a range of topics including fun facts about honey, how honey is gathered and processed, the types of and uses for honey, cooking with honey, and finally, the problems currently faced by beekeepers across the world. Lessons also explore honey as a sustainable food source and encourage the student to compare and evaluate the product with sugar in terms of its health benefits and ecological impact. The topic of Colony Collapse Disorder is important especially as bees are so essential to fertilization of food crops, and it is necessary that they feel empowered to affect change. Each activity is self-contained and suggestions for extending the lesson are given at the end of each.
The Honey Bee: A Teacher's Companion - (L.Johnson, Antioch University) This is an extensive exploration of honey bees for the benefit of the class teacher. The text and appendices provide material - poetry, music, fables, biographics, class projects and further resources - to draw Apis Mellifera into the life of a teacher and a class.
Busy Bees - Education Activity Book K-3 (Agriculture Canada) - Learning Objectives:
• learn terminology related to honeybees and beekeeping • learn about honeybees, their life cycle and how honey is produced • understand what pollination is, and how plants produce seeds and fruit • discover the role of bees and the wind in pollinating plants • learn about the tasks and responsibilities of beekeepers, and how honey is harvested • learn about the products and by-products of beekeeping. Visit the "Bees A Honey of an Idea" virtual museum from the Canadian Agriculture and Food
Museum. This is a great online interactive experience that is fun and educational for children of all ages.
School Resource Kit K1-6 (The Canadian Honey Council) - The activities presented in this course relate to honey production. Although a fascinating subject in itself, the resource does not restrict itself to providing facts and information of honey bees and how honey is made. Instead honey production is used as a vehicle to develop skills that will make students better learners. The activities also help foster positive attitudes towards self, others and our world.
Smithonian Pollinator Lesson Plans (Gr. 4-9) Smithsonian in Your Classroom’s purpose is to help you use the educational power of museums and other community resources. Smithsonian in Your Classroom draws on the Institution’s hundreds of exhibitions and programs—from art, history, and science to aviation and folk life—to create classroom-ready materials for grades four through nine. Each of the four annual issues explores a single topic through an interdisciplinary, multicultural approach. The Smithsonian invites teachers to duplicate materials from this publication for educational use.
Kids Discover Bees - Reading Comprehension Skills (Kidsdiscoverteachers.com) Power Vocabulary is a systematic and individualized approach to vocabulary development that enables teachers to assist students to improve their reading comprehension skills. Power Vocabulary consists of two word groups—specialized and general-usage words.
Environmental Learning Program (Pollinators) K-6 This is a single lesson plan with the objective to observe the interaction between flowers and pollinators.
Environmental Learning Program (Bees as Pollinators) K-6 This is a single lesson plan with the objective to observe the interaction between flowers and honey bees as pollinators.
Environmental Learning Program (Pollinator Field Guides) K-6 The objective of this lesson plan is using various colors of pressed flowers, create a field guide to pollinators to various colors of flower.
Africanized Honey Bee Activity Program (Children) This is a single lesson plan providing information on identifying Africanized Honey Bees and their potential nesting sites.
Pollinator Activity Book (U.S.D.A. Gr. 4-7) Information and activities on bees and pollination.
Bees Visit Flowers (Teaching Guide) Bees visit flowers is a concept cartoon activity that evaluates competing ideas using discussion of alternative explanations about observable facts. Children decide which of the alternatives presented represents the whole answer. They need to support or add to the statements in the cartoon and to link these with their own observations.
Honey Bee Lapbook - Adaptable to different ages (Homeschoolshare.com) - Educational Information and activities on honey bees. Designed to assist home schooling.
Bees and Flowers - Partners in Pollination (Oregon State University) - 6 lesson plans (Grades 6-8). The Rural Science Education Program is a partnership between Oregon State University and local rural K-12 schools for enrichment of the science curriculum with hands-on science activities that encourage critical thinking in K-12 students about the impacts of agriculture on the environment and the implications of advanced scientific research on human lives.
The Bee Book (Haagen Dazs) An assortment of honey bee education and activities covering the subjects of science, math, reading, writing and art (Grades 6-8).
What's The Buzz About (HobbyFarms.com) Single page honey bee educational information (all ages).
What Is Pollination (Pollinator.ca) (All ages)
Why Manage Pollination? (Pollinator.ca) (All ages)
Wild pollinators (Pollinator.ca) (All ages)
Powdered Sugar Sampling to monitor Varroa Powerpoint Presentation (University of Delaware) (All ages)
The Environment
Environmental Education Story Book (Centre for Eco-Cultural Studies, Sri Lanka - Ages 4-9) Stories are a perfect way to reach a young child’s attention as they mix real issues and a fantasy world where everything is possible and imagination is the only limit. They are a different way to create a genuine interest in learning while also allowing children to become aware of the different threats to the environment they live in. A mixture of these three ingredients, school, English learning and storytelling has proven effective in other places around the world, where entire conservationist movements have been created around characters like the Easter Bilby in Australia. This and other successes inspired the creation of this book. I hope it can of use to facilitate English learning in Sri Lanka and in other regions where these stories fit the biodiversity conservation context.
Books
The Travelling Beehive by Elena Garcia and Manuel Angel Rosado, Illustrated by Juan Hernez from APOLO - "The Travelling Beehive" is an amazing book for children of all ages. I highly recommend it for every beekeeper, their children and grandchildren. This book is wonderfully written by Elena Garcia and Manuel Angel Rosado and beautifully illustrated by Juan Hernaz. It is published by Apolo which is an organization dedicated to the preservation of pollinators and their habitat. You can follow Polli the honey bee and her friend Dipter the hover fly as they face the challenges of a disappearing green space. They are joined in their struggle by Bazumba the wild bee, Missus Bombus the bumblebee, Lepi the butterfly, her majesty the queen, Dorian the farmer and Ramon the beekeeper. Sit back and enjoy the The Travelling Beehive .
The Adventures of Beatrice the Bee created by USGS Kids
The Adventures of Maya the Bee by Waldemar Bonsels
The adventures of Maya the Bee (Epub book format)
The adventures of Maya the Bee (Epub book format)
Videos
Activities and Projects
Education Resource Websites
Brushy Mtn Bee Farm
Caring for a new colony (143 mins)
Installing a package of bees (39 mins)
6 weeks as a beekeeper now what? (108 mins)
Preparing for Fall with Kim Flottum
Getting ready for winter (91 mins)
Preparing for Fall with Kim Flottum
Getting ready for winter (91 mins)
Harvesting and extracting (103 mins)
Making colonies from the ones you have (90 mins)
Basic Mead making (75 mins)
Candle making (65 mins)
IPM techniques (95 mins)
Processing your wax (75 mins)
Queen maladies (117 mins)
Year 2 build up your hives! (89 mins)
Brushy Mtn Farm Youtube channel has webinars and videos of virtually every topic related to beekeeping.
Hive Health Diagnostics (Barb Bloetsher) 56 mins - Play
Pesticides in and around the hive (Dr. Reed Johnson) - 58 mins Play
Questions from the hive (Dr. Reed Johnson) - 55 mins Play
Marketing Bee Products (Dr. Julie Fox - 54 mins) Play
is respectfully submitted by the Author, to the candid consideration of those who are interested in the culture of the most useful as well as wonderful Insect,in all the range of Animated Nature. The information which it contains will be found to be greatly in advance of anything which has yet been presented to the English Reader; and, as far as facilities for practical management are concerned, it is believed to be a very material advance over anything which has hitherto been communicated to the Apiarian Public. Debarred, by the state of his health, from the more appropriate duties of his Office, and compelled to seek an employment which would call him, as much as possible, into the open air, the Author indulges the hope that the result of his studies and observations, in an important branch of Natural History, will be found of service to the Community as well as to himself. The satisfaction which he has taken in his researches has been such that he has felt exceedingly desirous of interesting others, in a pursuit which, (without any reference to its pecuniary profits,) is capable of exciting the delight and enthusiasm of all intelligent observers.
Plants and Beekeeping - F.N. Howes (1945)
Practical Beekeeping - Ralph Benton (1907)
Some of the essentials of Beekeeping - Burton Gates (1912)
American Honey Plants (1920 Book)
The Bee-Keepers Guide (A.J. Cook 1883)
Practical Beekeeping - Ralph Benton (1907)
Some of the essentials of Beekeeping - Burton Gates (1912)
American Honey Plants (1920 Book)
The Bee-Keepers Guide (A.J. Cook 1883)
* A few great sources of classical books are Cornell University's "The Hive the Honey Bee Collection", Michael Bush's classic bee book collection and The Biodiversity Heritage Library.
The Travelling Beehive - Children's - "The Travelling Beehive" is an amazing book for children of all ages. I highly recommend it for every beekeeper, their children and grandchildren. This book is wonderfully written by Elena Garcia and Manuel Angel Rosado and beautifully illustrated by Juan Hernaz. It is published by Apolo which is an organization dedicated to the preservation of pollinators and their habitat. You can follow Polli the honey bee and her friend Dipter the hover fly as they face the challenges of a disappearing green space. They are joined in their struggle by Bazumba the wild bee, Missus Bombus the bumblebee, Lepi the butterfly, her majesty the queen, Dorian the farmer and Ramon the beekeeper. Sit back and enjoy the The Travelling Beehive .
The Adventures of Maya the Bee (Children's story) - Waldemar Bonsels
Why the Bee Buzzes (Young children) - Ryan Struhl
Why the Bee Buzzes (Young children) - Ryan Struhl
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| Bee Crossing |
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| No Trespassing Honeybee Yard |
Practicas de Apicultura - Con la publicación de este libro se pretende apoyarla impartición de módulos prácticos asociados a losprogramas de incorporación a la empresa agraria, a lavez que constituye un material didáctico de gran utilidad en los diversos tipos de formación impartidos enlas Escuelas. Se trata de un libro de atractiva presentación y cuyocontenido, de gran detalle y especialización, responde auna marcada orientación práctica. Esperamos sea degran utilidad y contribuya a mejorar la cualificación denuestros apicultores y la tecnificación del sector apícola regional.
Curso de Apicultura (para emprendedores y productores) for entrepeneurs and producers
Apicultura y medios de Vida Sostenibles (Beekeeping for sustainable livelihoods)
Apicultura de pequeña escala - (small scale beekeeping) Gentry 1982
La Vida De Las Abejas (Maurice Maeterlinck 1901)
Thanks so much for this library. I'm interested in the Native bees and am going to make use of your links.
ReplyDeleteI'm glad you are enjoying it. I add material to the library every week. Don't forget the Busy Bumblebee song in the Children's section. It's my favourite.
ReplyDeleteVery very nice work of you , big help for us , thank you.
ReplyDeleteI am glad you find it useful. I add about 100 new articles or books every few months. I wish there was an easier way to quickly translate the PDF pages into any language without having to download them but at least there is google translate. Thank you for your kind words. Enjoy!
Deletewhat a wonderful library, thank you so much. can you find anything about eastern European bee sheds? they look like they would work here in Alberta. I kept a hive in an old shed here for 7 years succesfully until they got agressive and chased an old person and I had to put then down. They were very productive. I am not haveing much luck finding plans for the bee shed designs though they have been used for many many years.
DeleteThanks, I'm glad you are enjoying the library. I've also looked for Eastern European bee shed plans for years with no success which is strange because they are so popular. There are lots of free shed plans available on the internet (http://shedplanslists.com/free-shed-plans-pdf/) so what I would do is choose the plan I like and design one south facing wall to fit the hives based on bee shed photos (https://goo.gl/sT00g2). Good luck and let me know if you find any bee shed plans.
Deletethank you my friend!!!!!!!!!!! very nice work!
ReplyDeleteYou are very welcome. Enjoy!
ReplyDeleteThank you very much for this amazing library. I put a link on my website http://buckfastimker.wordpress.com for the Dutch beekeepers.
ReplyDeleteI'm glad you are enjoying it. You have a great website. Unfortunately we have no Buckfast bees in Canada. Bee imports are very restricted (we can't even get bees from the U.S.). I hope you and your family are happy and healthy and that your bees are resistant to disease and mites and produce buckets of honey.
ReplyDeleteExcellent...for anyone going into or rearing bees
ReplyDeleteI'm glad you find it useful. As Michael Bush says you can buy my book but all the information is available on his website. There are many great free sources of information on the internet and this is just a collection of those we found most useful. Thanks.
ReplyDeleteMy website is also available in Spanish: http://www.bushfarms.com/es_bees.htm as is my book: https://www.amazon.com/Apicultor-Practico-Volumenes-Natural-Spanish/dp/1614760942/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1472146315&sr=8-1&keywords=El+Apicultor+Pr%C3%A1ctico It would be better if the links to my powerpoints went to my website. I try to continually improve them and the latest ones will be there: http://www.bushfarms.com/beespresentations.htm
Delete--Michael Bush
Good to know. I didn't realize your site was also available in Spanish. I will change the powerpoints to link to your website.
DeleteThis site is really helpful. Thanks for your effort. I'm a beekeeper from Nigeria.
ReplyDeleteI am so glad you have found this website helpful and I hope that you, your family and your bees in Nigeria are happy and healthy and that your bees give you buckets of honey.
ReplyDeleteThank You for the Web Library. I have downloaded all what I wanted to know more on Beekeeping to become a an advance beekeeper soon.
ReplyDeleteYou are most welcome Gabriel. Good luck in your beekeeping adventures.
DeleteThis is a great website for becoming a great beekeeper. I find it so helpful. Thanks. I'm a beekeeper from Nigeria.
ReplyDeleteThank you Olajuwon. There is great potential for growth of the beekeeping industry in Nigeria for increased crop production and honey yield. Good luck to you, your family and your bees.
Delete