Beekeeping: A Primer on Starting & Keeping a Hive
Dominique De Vito
Language: English
Pages: 224
ISBN: 1402770065
Format: PDF / Kindle (mobi) / ePub
Due to the recent and alarming effects of CCD, colony collapse disorder, bees around the world have been receiving much attention. Although beekeeping may seem like a daunting, even dangerous task, it doesn't have to be! Regardless of whether you just want a pet, start a honey-making business or are simply looking for a new hobby, Dominique De Vito dissects everything you need to know about bees and beekeeping in this complete, authoritative how-to guide. Learning how to tell the difference from queen, drone and worker bees, the tools and supplies needed to build your own hive, the secrets behind maintaining a happy bee colony and what each season requires to care for a hive are just a few of the topics De Vito thoroughly explains. In addition, delicious and healthy honey recipes are included that can be made from your own beehive!
ripening honey. JULY: Harvest early honey, extract and return supers for later harvest. Make up splits and nucs for next season. Observe the increased yield of vegetables in your garden as your bees pollinate them. AUGUST: Take off late honey harvest. Plan for fall disease or parasite management as needed. Do not collect any honey in supers while applying any medication. SEPTEMBER: Heavy nectar flow from goldenrod and asters may be harvested if no medication is used or else leave on hive for
obtained from clover but it is easier gathered; it is in shallow cups while that of the clover is in deep tubes. The bees are up and at it before sunrise, and it takes a brisk shower to drive them in. But the clover blooms later and blooms everywhere, and is the staple source of supply of the finest quality of honey. The red clover yields up its stores only to the longer proboscis of the bumble-bee, else the bee pasturage of our agricultural districts would be unequaled. I do not know from what
Treatment There are several methods available for treating your honey bees for varroa mites. Again, it is so helpful to be involved with a local beekeeping club, as its members will certainly have had experience with the mites and with different treatment methods. There may be some preferences among members and you can avail yourself of their experience. APISTAN STRIPS: The miticide used in the Apistan anti-varroa strips is fluvalinate. The strips look like bookmarks, and per the
numbers without known reason. By February 2007, the syndrome, which is characterized by the disappearance of all adult honey bees in a hive while immature bees and honey remain, had been christened “colony collapse disorder” (CCD). Some beekeepers reported losses of 30 to 90 percent of their hives during the 2006 winter. While colony losses are not unexpected during winter weather, the magnitude of loss suffered by these beekeepers was highly unusual. Because honey bees are critical for
class Insecta. A (BRIEF) HISTORY of the HONEY BEE The history of honey bees is as old as that of humankind. They are an ancient insect, for sure. A fossilized piece of pine sap dating 30–40 million years ago contains a bee preserved for the ages and looking remarkably similar to the honey bee we know today. A Spanish cave painting dating to around 6000 BC portrays a man harvesting wild honey as the bees buzz around him. Honey bees are native to Europe, Asia, and Africa, and most ancient