Healthy Bees Are Happy Bees

Written by two of the UK's most well-known and respected experts in the beekeeping community, this is the definitive, and most authoritative, guide to keeping bees in a city environment. Straightforward, up-to-date, and systematically organized, this book covers everything you might need, whether you're already an urban beekeeper or just starting out. It gives practical and clear information on the essentials that all apiarists need (whether in or out of the city), while covering in detail the particular requirements of urban bees. Specifically designed to be interactive, and easy to use, this at a glance title also features write-in checklists, interactive boxes in which you can record key information and dates, and a calendar that tells you what to do when and reminds you to carry out regular beekeeping tasks.

Bee Keeping with ZEST by Bill Summers This is a book like no other on the subject of honey bees. It addresses the author s belief and that of his colleague (Dave Durrant) that the welfare of honey bees in a traditional hive fails to provide for their needs as biological systems. This realisation led to the design of the ZEST hive which does do so. It deploys a longitudinal external envelope, with top bee entry and trickle ventilation, made from lightweight insulated building blocks and plastic lattice frames within which the bees draw out their wild honeycomb. The former is DIY from builders merchants and the latter available in boxes of 12. The external envelope is not just a lightweight insulated one, but is sufficiently heavy to provide the bees with a thermal lag of an envelope that is easily thermo-regulated to 35deg, the fundamental requirement of their brood. From the honey bee perspective the ZEST hive overcomes all the problems of other hive designs and frame types. An unintended consequence of the ZEST hive design has been to eliminate varroa. The ZEST is functionally free of it. This is witnessed by the hive debris. The cause seems to be the smaller natural cell size and natural warmth of the hive envelope, both of which speed the biological process of honey bee pupation. The time available for the varroa to mature in the pupating cells is reduced. Their numbers fall to zero rather than rises exponentially. This book and its thesis will prove to be seminal in the drive to solve the problems of honey bee health in all its aspects and manifestations. There has been a recent doubling of beekeepers in the country caused by the ecologically minded seeking to assist honey bees in a better environment. This can be applauded. This book is to assist them and their bees. The ZEST hive is democratic. Anyone can have one. It is cheap, appropriate and amenable to a more self-sufficient way of life. It is a living sustainable system, not a product. It can be entirely D.I.Y. No one owns it. It can be free. Take it. Use it. Have fun. The ZEST hive does a great deal more with a great deal less.

Dear reader, in front of you, is the second edition of the book. It is not like any other beekeeping book. This is not a textbook or a practical guide in the usual interpretation. In this little book, I have outlined only the most important findings based on my learnings and experiences. The ones that, in my opinion, helped my bees and me find happiness in life.The information contained in the book will be useful for both experienced and novice beekeepers. Everyone will discover for themselves interesting "goodies". For instance: the way I have changed the quality of bees life, the way I have protected them from exposure to electrical fields, and what methods of Varroa mite fight I applied to. Among other things, you will learn my completely new method of dividing the family of bees into two equal parts without losing the bees flying for a nectar (flight bees). You will learn how I harvest honey, how I brew a tasty and useful feed for bees, how and where I place hives and a lot of other practical information, which is important not only for bees but also can become a business springboard for the enterprising reader...Besides all this, I suggest an unusual idea, an unusual reason for conducting beekeeping. This idea is fundamentally changing the relationship between beekeeper and bee, filling their relationship with mutual love and respect. Gives the beekeeper an opportunity to feel involved in bee magic. Fills beekeeper heart with meaning and the joy of being alive. This feeling warms the heart and pleases the soul. And this wonderful sensation can settle in your heart as well. This is beautiful, isn't it?!I believe that when this idea prevails among beekeepers, our world, our Earth as a whole will be happier and kinder.I will be elated if my practical findings prove to be useful and will bring prosperity to you and your bees. The more cheerful bees are, the more harmony and love occur in our World. Make your bees glad and join with them in a Song of Love and a Song of Joy.Welcome to my Happy Bees.What's new in this edition?Two new chapters were added in the book: about my new method of splitting the bees' family and about my method the fight against Varroa Mite. In addition, the presentation of the actual material has been significantly expanded and improved. The book has become more detailed and better understandable. Corrected and reworked the translation of the book.I invite you to read my book.Best regards, Peter Grayman.

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.

Phil Lester's first book, The Vulgar Wasp, was about one of the world's most hated insects. His second is about just the opposite &– the honey bee, arguably one of our best-loved six-legged creatures. People have revered honey bees for centuries. Today we celebrate them with toys, postage stamps and campaigns to raise awareness; we dress up in large bee suits to protest the use of pesticides; we've even sent bees into space and watched as they adjusted to microgravity.Bees are one of the world's most efficient pollinators. Their work is vital to the success of many food crops, and hence to the world's economy. So we need to take seriously any threats to their health &– including parasites, pathogens, predators and pesticides &– and, guided by evidence at every turn, find a way to minimise harm and keep bees thriving. As Healthy Bee, Sick Bee shows, this is no small task.In this book, entomologist Phil Lester explores the wonderfully complex and sometimes brutally efficient life history of honey bees, and the problems they face in New Zealand and around the globe. What causes a beehive to collapse? Are pesticides as big a problem as they appear? What can we do to improve the health