Here, we’ve included some original materials that may be of interest to you for beekeeping tips or other useful information to share.
Queens, Nucs and Package Sources from member, Bruce Shriver: This is a list of resources that Bruce has either used or contacted personally and has a lot of information for you to consider several different suppliers of honey bees, both locally and throughout the country. Thank you, Bruce!
Reputable Varroa Sensitive Hygiene Queen Breeders: Take a look at this list, from Cornell University’s Dyce Labs, of breeders of VSH queens for your hives if you are considering replacing your queens with those especially bred to resist mites. Let us know your experience with them, please, so we can keep as up-to-date as possible.
Varroa_Mite_Management-HBHC-Guide: This is a great resource that contains information on varroa mites, testing for them in your hives, treatment options and other integrated pest management tools.
HVNB Mentor Mentee Guidelines: Please refer to this document for the expectations and understandings related to our Mentor/Mentee program.
Protecting Your Apiary from Bears: We have three new items provided via co-founder Rosemary Lee to help you protect your apiary from bears — through prevention, as well as through fencing. There are three new pieces available: Bears_BEELINES May 2010 Bears_Electric Fence Info – FL Bears_DEC Electric Fence Specs
10 Things You Can Do to Help Bees: Share this with your friends who want to help bees and pollinators — there’s so much to do without even being a beekeeper!
Honeybee_tea_4lbs: Spring feeding recipe from Honeybeelives.org, adjusted for the ‘new’ 4-pound bags of sugar!
Package_Installation_Instructions: Step-by-step instructions for installing a bee package
Fondant_for_Winter_Feeding: Modified from several on-line recipes, the consistency is very reliable.
Protect Our Pollinators – 05-21-17: See what’s happening at the May 2017 meeting.
Reading List — Excellent Books for Beekeepers:
- Blackiston, H. 2009. Beekeeping for Dummies. 2nd Edition. Wiley Publishing, Hoboken, NJ. 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 and much more.
- Conrad, Ross. 2007. Natural Beekeeping. Organic Approaches to Modern Apiculture. Chelsea Green Publishing, White River Junction, Vermont. This is a thorough book that promotes sound management practices, not too different from our own.
- Graham, J.M. (ed.) 1992. The Hive and the Honey Bee. Dadant and Sons, Inc. 1324 pp. Each chapter is written by a specialist. The book was completely revised in 1992. It has value both as a text and a reference book. The chapters on anatomy and physiology are pretty heavy reading for the layman. Old editions are out of date in control of bee diseases. However, if one would want a single book that provides widely usable information, this may be the best available. Look for updated version in future years.
- Hubbell, Sue. 1988. A Book of Bees. Random House, New York. 193 pp. This book has inspired many people to become beekeepers. Hubbell’s wonderful narrative is educational and entertaining. This is a book you hand to your friends and neighbors when they ask about your bees.
- Langstroth, L.L. 1878. Langstroth’s Hive and the Honey-Bee: The Classic Beekeeper’s Manual. Dover Publications. The first descriptive treatise of modern bee management. 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.
- Nordhaus, H. 2010. The Beekeeper’s Lament. How One Man and Half a Billion Honey Bees Help Feed America. Harper, New York. Highly recommended for an in-depth, funny, and poignant view of commercial beekeeping in the U.S. A must read.
- Root, A. C. 1972. ABC and XYZ of Bee Culture. The A. C.. Root Co. 712 pp. ABC’s is a compendium of information arranged in alphabetical order for quick reference. It is a little difficult to use if one is interested in management only. However, it is literally a treasure box of old and historical information about beekeeping. This should be considered as a second text where one wishes a compact reference on historic information.
- Sammataro, D, and Avitabile, A. 2011. The Beekeeper’s Handbook. 4th Ed. Comstock Publishing Associates, Cornell University Press, Ithaca, NY. Lots of good and user-friendly information that will be most useful to experienced beekeepers.
- Seeley T.D. 2010. Honeybee Democracy. Princeton University Press, Princeton. An amazing read about how honey bee colonies make collective decisions with no central authority. A must read.