This handbook from Cornell University Press provides step-by-step directions accompanied by more than 100 illustrations for setting up an apiary, handling bees, and working throughout the season to maintain a healthy colony of bees and a generous supply of honey. This book explains the various colony care options and techniques, noting advantages and disadvantages, so that beekeepers can make the best choices for their own hives. The book explains not only how but also why each step is part of the transformative process that results in the magnificent creation of honey. This essential guide is a beekeeper's most valuable resource.
Reviewed and approved by UC experts for inclusion in our catalog, we're pleased to make this resource available.
The Fifth Edition contains eight updated appendices filled with additional in-depth information on honey bee-related topics such as the anatomy of honey bees, the function of pheromones, the physiology of bee sting reactions, and pointers for urban beekeeping.
The Fifth Edition also contains vital new information about one of the most important problems facing beekeepers today: the current threat to honey bees presented by the parasitic varroa mite that is now known to play a major role in colony demise. Although there is no definitive solution to the nearly worldwide varroa problem, this new edition offers more effective ways on how to identify and control this pest in order to minimize colony mortality.
This edition has also been updated to deal with the arrival of other serious worldwide threats to honey bees, including the small hive beetle and bee viruses. For the growing number of beekeepers looking to set up hives for either a rewarding hobby or a profitable commercial enterprise, this updated and revised essential how-to guide includes:
This publication is exempt from discounting.