The revolutionary beekeeping method that is providing a radical return to healthy bee hives in the U.S. and around the world today is explained in detail in A Lively Hive. Author, Alex Tuchman, the director of Spikenard Farm Honeybee Sanctuary in Floyd, Virginia, walks the reader through both the philosophy and practical applications that have shown remarkable success rates. In the past five years, the catastrophic loss of 45% of U.S. honeybee colonies has been well documented. By contrast, in that same time period Spikenard Farm Honeybee Sanctuary has shown an astonishing low loss of only 12%. Tuchman shares the significant difference between beekeeping methods that exploit the honeybee for human agribusiness and alternative methods to beekeeping that are in line with the instincts and wisdom of the honeybees themselves. The amazing results, as it turns out, are found at heart in the relationship and communication between the honeybee and the human-that when we listen to what the bees are telling us, only then are we guided to best provide for the bees' needs in the physical world.

The Real Buzz on Bees What a promise! Actually, promises. First, here’s a book that teaches kids all about the fascinating world of bees. Second, fun exercises, activities, and illustrations engage the imagination and offer a deeper understanding of bee life and bee behavior. Third, by following a few simple steps including removing the book’s cover and taping it together, readers can transform the book into an actual living home for backyard bees. Fourth, added all together, Turn This Book Into a Beehive! lets kids make a difference in the world—building a home where bees can thrive is one small but critical step in reversing the alarming trend of dwindling bee populations. Written by Lynn Brunelle, author of Pop Bottle Science, whose gift for making science fun earned her four Emmy Awards as a writer for Bill Nye the Science Guy, Turn This Book Into a Beehive! introduces kids to the amazing mason bee, a non-aggressive, non-stinging super-pollinator that does the work of over 100 honeybees. Mason bees usually live in hollow reeds or holes in wood, but here’s how to make a home just for them: Tear out the perforated paper—each illustrated as a different room in a house—roll the sheets into tubes, enclose the tubes using the book’s cover, and hang the structure outside. The bees will arrive, pack mud into the tubes, and begin pollinating all the plants in your backyard. Twenty experiments and activities reveal even more about bees—how to smell like a bee, understand the role of flowers and pollen, learn how bees communicate with each other through “dance,” and more. It’s the real buzz on bees, delivered in the most ingenious and interactive way.

The easy way to build your own beehives and beekeeping equipment Building Beehives For Dummies is the follow-up book to the bestselling Beekeeping For Dummies. It provides everything you need to learn how to build some of the world's most popular hives and beekeeping accessories. For each design the book includes a detailed materials list (what lumber, hardware and fasteners you'll need), step-by-step building instructions, and illustrative drawings that show how the components all fit together. There are over a dozen plans in all, including the traditional Langstroth hive, the eight frame garden hive, designs for elevated hive stands, the Warre hive, screened bottom board, the Kenya top-bar hive, four-frame observation hive, hive top feeders, and more. The book contains introductory chapters that teach you the basic carpentry skills necessary to build any of the plans in the book. Whether you are a new beekeeper or a seasoned ol’timer, Building Beehives for Dummies provides you with the information you need to plan and succeed at building beehives (and other cool accessories). You'll discover what type of hive to build, hints on how to maintain your equipment, what bees need to stay happy and healthy, where to locate your hive, and much more. Covers "bee space," the critical technical measurement within a beehive that's crucial for easy inspection of your colonies Offers guidance on keeping both urban and suburban neighbors happy, getting proper permissions, and understanding regional laws and regulations Provides creative ideas for dressing up hives for fun and profit In today’s world of self-sufficiency, back-to-basics and sustainability, building beehives is a fun hobby that both you and your bees will appreciate and benefit from.

"Learn all about bees! Kids will learn to appreciate these crucial pollinators, and respect them instead of fear them."--

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.

This influential guide by "the father of modern beekeeping," originally published in 1853, constitutes the first descriptive treatise of modern bee management. Its innovations allowed people to engage in actual beekeeping, rather than simply handling bee domiciles and extracting the honey. The techniques it explains and illustrates are still employed 150 years later--including the author's patented invention, a movable frame hive. In a reader-friendly, enthusiastic style, Langstroth addresses every aspect of beekeeping: bee physiology; diseases and enemies of bees; the life-cycles of the queen, drone, and worker; bee-hives; the handling of bees; and many other topics. Unabridged republication of the classic 1878 (fourth) edition.--Publisher description.