Keep your own bees and enjoy delicious golden honey from your own backyard. With his respect and admiration for bees evident on every page, Richard E. Bonney describes how to acquire bees, manage a hive, prevent and treat diseases, and extract a crop of honey. Enthusiastic beekeepers of every stripe and experience level will benefit from Bonney’s astonishing knowledge of the craft — from beekeeping history and honeybee biology to the complex social structure of the hive.

A Beekeeper's Year follows the progress of three novice beekeepers with three different types of hive, as they navigate their way through their first year of beekeeping. Follow their journey as they set up and manage their Top Bar, Warré and Flow hives - from obtaining bees to inspecting their hives, extracting honey and closing down the hive for the winter. A Beekeeper's Year is an ideal introduction to backyard beekeeping, with everything you need to know about what equipment is required, managing your hives, keeping your bees healthy and pest and disease control. It is packed with stunning yet practical photographs to help you understand these fascinating creatures that are essential to the production of our food.

The crucial role that bees play in the Earth’s ecosystem is well known. Over the last decades a dramatic decrease in bee health has been seen on a global scale. This deterioration is seen on a global scale in both domestic and wild bees, precipitating a wider ecological impact. Veterinarians, animal scientists and bee husbandry specialists increasingly need to be provided with the skills to investigate and understand the situation; Managing Bee Health aims to provide an overview of the health of bees at individual and hive level, covering common and emerging diseases and preventive measures. Beginning with an overall analysis of bee anatomy and physiology, then deals with the main diseases and pathogens of bees and colonies and how to treat and control their clinical impact. Providing insights on bee nutrition, insect interaction with flowering plants, and presenting helpful points of contact to report suspected conditions, such as the World Organisation for Animal Health (OIE). The book looks at the global pathogen status of bees, including not only the honeybee (Apis mellifera) but also other members of the Apis family. Managing Bee Health is a most useful guide for beekeepers, advisors, veterinarians and beekeeping enthusiasts, showing practical ways to understand bee health, treat sick or compromised hives and enhance the wellbeing and welfare of these wonderful creatures. 5m Books

The crucial role that bees play in the Earth's ecosystem is well known. Over the last decades a dramatic decrease in bee health has been seen on a global scale. This deterioration is seen on a global scale in both domestic and wild bees, precipitating a wider ecological impact. Veterinarians, animal scientists and bee husbandry specialists increasingly need to be provided with the skills to investigate and understand the situation. This book provides an overview of the health of bees at individual and hive level, covering common and emerging diseases and preventive measures. Author Carr begins with an overall analysis of bee anatomy and physiology, then moves to discuss the main diseases and pathogens of bees and colonies and how to treat and control their clinical impact. Also provided are insights on bee nutrition, insect interaction with flowering plants, and helpful points of contact to report suspected conditions, such as the World Organisation for Animal Health (OIE). Managing Bee Health is a most useful guide for beekeepers, advisors, veterinarians and beekeeping enthusiasts, showing practical ways to understand bee health, treat sick or compromised hives and enhance the well-being and welfare of these wonderful creatures. John Carr is a specialised population medicine veterinary surgeon. He has taught production medicine and bee medicine at several universities around the world. [Subject: Apiology, Veterinary Medicine]

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.

Practical Beekeeping is the complete guide to the bee and its management. Topics covered include the bee and its environment; hives and other equipment; management of the apiary; and control of pests and diseases. Profusely illustrated with photographs and specially commissioned line illustrations, this book will be an invaluable addition to the bookshelf of anyone involved in beekeeping.

Offers concise, up-to-date information on beekeeping tasks, including how to prevent, capture, and control swarms, when and how to harvest honey, and dealing successfully with queens.