Beekeeping For Dummies

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

Introduction 1 Part I: Getting Hooked on Honey Bees 7 Chapter 1: To Bee or Not to Bee? 9 Chapter 2: Life Inside the Honey Bee Hive 21 Part II: Starting Your Adventure 41 Chapter 3: Locating Your Hive 43 Chapter 4: Stocking Up on Basic Beekeeping Equipment 51 Chapter 5: Obtaining and Hiving Your Bees 81 Part III: Looking Inside Your Hive 97 Chapter 6: Opening Your Hive 99 Chapter 7: What to Look for when You’re Inspecting 109 Chapter 8: Your Work throughout the Seasons 129 Part IV: Common Problems and Simple Solutions 145 Chapter 9: Heading Off Potential Problems 147 Chapter 10: Treating Diseases and Considering Colony Collapse Disorder 169 Chapter 11: Buzz Off! Dealing with Honey Bee Pests 183 Chapter 12: Raising Your Own Queens 201 Part V: Sweet Rewards 223 Chapter 13: Getting Ready for the Golden Harvest 225 Chapter 14: Honey, I’m Home: Harvest Time 239 Part VI: The Part of Tens 253 Chapter 15: Ten Fun Things to Do with Bees 255 Chapter 16: Ten Frequently Asked Questions about Bee Behaviour 267 Chapter 17: Ten Delicious Honey Recipes 271 Appendix A: Helpful Resources 279 Appendix B: Glossary 291 Index 297

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