Beekeeping For Dummies, UK Edition

ISBN-13: 9781119972501 / Angielski / Miękka / 2011 / 336 str.

Howland Blackiston

Opis

This is a practical, step-by-step guide to beekeeping. It gives plain-English guidance on everything you need to know to start your own beehive, from buying the right equipment, sourcing bees and locating your hive to maintaining a healthy colony and harvesting honey.

Spis treści

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

O autorze

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.

Blurb

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

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