Beekeeping for Dummies (For Dummies)

Now updated — your guide to becoming a successful backyard beekeeper

Interested in raising honey bees? This friendly, practical guide presents a step-by-step approach to starting your own beehive, along with expert tips for maintaining a healthy colony. You get the latest on honey bee medication and treatments, harvesting and marketing your honey, and the impact the sudden disappearance of the honey bee has on our environment and economy.

• To bee or not to bee? — understand the benefits of beekeeping and whether it's right for you

• Build your first hive — gather the right equipment, obtain your bees, and transfer them safely to their new home

• Get up-close and personal — see how to open and close the hive, inspect your bees at the right times, and know what to look for

• Handle common problems — from swarming to robbing to pesticide poisoning, find simple solutions

• Understand Colony Collapse Syndrome — learn what you can do to help save the honey bees

• Gear up for the golden harvest — use the tools of the trade to extract honey, store it, and sell it

Praise for Beekeeping For Dummies

"The information a beginner needs to keep bees with confidence."

— Kim Flottum, Bee Culture Magazine

"A reader-friendly guide to beekeeping for novices or beginners."

— Dewey M. Caron, Professor of Entomology, University of Delaware

Open the book and find:

• The various types of honey bees and the role each plays in a colony

• Hands-on instruction in building a hive

• How to keep bees healthier and more productive

• Guidelines for all phases of honey production

• New information on raising your own queens

• Plenty of helpful, illustrative pictures to guide you

• The safest ways to inspect and enjoy your bees

• A Beekeeper's Calendar organized by climate zones

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Beekeeping For Dummies, 2^ndEdition reviews the tools of the trade, including complete instructions for building and maintaining beehives; offers detailed and easy-to-follow guidelines for all phases of honey production--including harvesting, bottling, packaging and marketing your honey; explores theories into the recent unexplained collapse of colonies and its environmental and economic impact on society; and provides new information on mites and diseases and recommend changes in bee medication and treatments.

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Foreward.

Introduction.

Part I: Falling in Love with a Bug.

Chapter 1: To Bee or Not to Bee?

Chapter 2: Life Inside the Honey Bee Hive.

Part II: Starting Your Adventure.

Chapter 3: Alleviating Apprehensions and Making Decisions.

Chapter 4: Basic Equipment for Beekeepers.

Chapter 5: Obtaining and Installing Your Bees.

Part III: Time for a Peek.

Chapter 6: Opening Your Hive.

Chapter 7: What to Expect when You’re Inspecting.

Chapter 8: Different Seasons, Different Activities.

Part IV: Common Problems and Simple Solutions.

Chapter 9: Anticipating and Preventing Potential Problems.

Chapter 10: Colony Collapse Disorder.

Chapter 11: Diseases and Remedies.

Chapter 12: Honey Bee Pests.

Chapter 13: Raising Your Own Queens.

Part V: Sweet Rewards.

Chapter 14: Getting Ready for the Golden Harvest.

Chapter 15: Honey Harvest Day.

Part VI: The Part of Tens.

Chapter 16: (Almost) Ten Fun Things to Do with Bees.

Chapter 17: Ten Frequently Asked Questions About Bee Behavior.

Chapter 18: My Ten Favorite Honey Recipes.

Appendix A: Helpful Resources.

Appendix B: Beekeeper’s Checklist.

Glossary.

Index.