The updated bestselling guide to laid-back beekeeping for all, naturally! Are you a beginner beekeeper curious about bees or a practicing beekeeper looking for natural alternatives that work? Then this book is for you! In the second edition of the bestselling beekeeping guide Keeping Bees with a Smile , Fedor Lazutin, one of Europe's most successful natural beekeepers, shares the bee-friendly approach to apiculture that is fun, healthful, rewarding, and accessible to all. This new edition includes dozens of color photographs, new hive management techniques, and an updated version of "Lazutin hive" plans. Additional coverage includes: Keeping bees naturally without interfering in their lives Starting an apiary for free by attracting local bee swarms Building low-maintenance hives that mimic how bees live in nature Keeping colonies healthy and strong without any drugs, sugar, or gimmickry Helping bees to overwinter successfully even in harsh climates Enhancing local nectar plant resources Producing truly natural honey without robbing the bees Reversing the global bee decline... right in your backyard! Keeping Bees with a Smile is an invaluable resource for apiculture beginners and professionals alike, complete with plans for making bee-friendly, well-insulated horizontal hives with extra-deep frames, plus other fascinating beekeeping advice you won't find anywhere else.

One of Europe's most successful natural beekeepers shares an approach that is fun, healthful, rewarding, and accessible to all. In this richly illustrated volume, he provides instruction in making bee-friendly, well-insulated horizontal hives.

Common Sense Natural Beekeeping teaches aspiring as well as experienced beekeepers how to keep their bees healthy and productive without depending on unnatural chemical or human intervention.

Bee populations are plummeting. The solution? Give them what they need to live naturally, and they’ll handle the rest. Susan Knilans and Jacqueline Freeman are in love with bees. So in love that they observe their bees—their work, communication, seasonal activity, and more—for hours each day. And with observation came realization: when bees are allowed to live as they would in nature (with smaller hives, no chemicals, freedom to swarm, and little-to-no human interference), they will thrive. Accordingly, Knilans and Freeman have spent decades perfecting the revolutionary practice of preservation beekeeping, guided by the simple question, “What do the bees want?” A surprising page-turner, this instructional book tells the story of their successes and failures, demonstrating what was learned along the way. Sharing preservation beekeeping’s key tenets, the authors provide concrete, simple ways to implement their approach, from finding the right hive location to honing observation skills. This preservation manifesto is a vital addition to any beekeeper’s library, imparting all the joys of a beekeeper's life.

Raise your own superior queens and you¿ll never have to buy bees again! ¿I was told this is the best queen-rearing book in the world, so I spent two years preparing the English edition, and it turned out awesome. I was able to triple the size of my apiaries in one season by following Fert¿s invaluable guidance.¿ - Dr. Leo Sharashkin, Editor. Detailed, easy to understand practical advice. Simple techniques clearly explained and illustrated. Multiple methods to choose from, whether you raise one queen or a thousand. Successful breeding, mating, and introduction. Multiply your honeybee colonies and overwinter them successfully in any climate. Make bee packages, and produce royal jelly. Over 150 full-color photos, drawings, and diagrams. Internationally renowned author with over 30 years experience. Your beekeeping will never be the same after reading this book.

Top-Bar Beekeeping is an offering designed to encourage beekeepers around the world to keep bees naturally by providing beekeeping basics, hive management and the utilization of top-bar hives. In recent years, beekeepers have had to face tremendous challenges, from pests, such as varroa and tracheal mites, to the mysterious but even more devastating phenomenon known as Colony Collapse Disorder (CCD). Yet in backyards and on rooftops all over the world, bees are being raised successfully, even without antibiotics, miticides, or other chemical inputs. More and more organically-minded beekeepers are now using top-bar hives, in which the shape of the interior resembles a hollow log. Long lasting and completely biodegradable, a top-bar hive made of untreated wood allows bees to build comb naturally rather than simply filling prefabricated foundation frames in a typical box hive with added supers. Top-bar hives yield slightly less honey but produce more beeswax than a typical Langstroth box hive. Regular hive inspection and the removal of old combs helps to keep bees healthier and naturally disease-free. Top-Bar Beekeeping provides complete information on hive management and other aspects of using these innovative hives. All home and hobbyist beekeepers who have the time and interest in keeping bees intensively should consider the natural, low-stress methods outlined in this book. It will also appeal to home orchardists, gardeners, and permaculture practitioners who look to bees for pollination as well as honey or beeswax.