Introduction viii
Chapter 1 Life history of the honey bee 4
- Castes of the honey bee 4
- The Western honey bee and its subspecies 6
- Lifecycle of the honey bee 8
- Mating and drone congregation areas 15
- Life as a young adult bee 16
- Collecting nectar and pollen 19
- Communications and navigation 20
- Honey bees as superorganisms 24
Chapter 2 Basic equipment and protective clothing 28
- Equipment 28
- Protective clothing 36
Chapter 3 Constructing hives 46
- Constructing a hive 46
- Other parts of a hive 63
Chapter 4 Frames and how to build them 66
- Frames 66
- Cleaning used frames 71
- Attaching foundation to the frame 71
- Using wax or plastic foundation 74
- Using plastic sides for frames 74
Chapter 5 Your first bees 76
- Obtaining your first bees 77
- What kind of bees should I keep? 78
- Should I buy an established hive or catch a swarm? 79
- Swarms and swarm catching 80
- Transferring an established colony 84
- Moving hives 88
- General maintenance and inspections during the first year 91
Chapter 6 Locating your bees 98
- Locating hives on your property 98
- Hive position in summer and winter 102
- Urban beekeeping 102
- Feeding bees water 105
Chapter 7 Spring and summer management 108
- Inspections 111
- Managing the build-up of bees in your hive to maximise
honey production 117
- Managing the honey flow 118
- Merging colonies 119
- Feeding syrup 120
- Sugar candy 123
- Feeding pollen or pollen substitute 123
- Swarms 124
- Providing hives for pollination 128
- Collecting pollen 131
Chapter 8 Autumn and winter management 132
- Autumn 132
- The winter shutdown 135
- Winter 141
Chapter 9 Extracting 144
- Using a sieve to harvest honey 144
- Use of an extractor to harvest honey 146
- Choosing an extractor 150
- Type of extractor to buy 153
- Comb honey 155
- Reuse of wax foundation 156
- Colour of wax 160
Chapter 10 Preparing honey for sale and competitions 162
- Preparing honey for sale 162
- Preparing honey for competitions 165
Chapter 11 Rearing queens 178
- The three reasons for a colony to produce a new queen 180
- Hive splitting 181
- Queen candy 187
Chapter 12 Sustainable beekeeping 188
- Natural beekeeping hives 193
Chapter 13 The bee-friendly garden 204
- Bee-friendly flowering plants 204
- Further considerations for the bee-friendly garden 215
- A garden is a work in progress 223
Chapter 14 Native bees 228
- Social bees 228
- Solitary bees 234
Chapter 15 Diseases of the honey bee 248
- Diseases of brood 248
- Good management practices to minimise disease in the colony 249
- American Foul Brood (AFB) 249
- European Foul Brood (EFB) 253
- Sacbrood virus (SBV) 255
- Chalkbrood 256
- Adult bee diseases 258
Chapter 16 Parasites of the honey bee 262
- Varroa 262
- Tropilaelaps mites — the Asian mite 270
Chapter 17 Pests of the honey bee 274
- Wax Moth 274
- Small Hive Beetle (SHB) 277
- Braula fly 285
Chapter 18 Other problems of the honey bee 288
- Pesticide and fungicide poisoning 288
- Chilled brood 290
- Overheating of the hive 291
- Damp hives 292
- Cane toads 293
- Ants 294
- Mice 295
- Colony Collapse Disorder (CCD) 296
Chapter 19 Other types of bees and wasps 300
- The Asian honey bee (Apis cerana) 300
- Bumblebees 305
- Wasps 309
- Asian hornets 314
- Other races of Apis mellifera 315
- Other species of Asian bees 317
Chapter 20 Flow Hive 320
- Introduction 320
- Flow design 321
- Setting up a Flow Hive 327
- Extracting 328
- Tips when keeping bees 331
- Disadvantages of a Flow Hive 335
Appendix: Sizes of frames and boxes 336
Glossary 341
Acknowledgements and picture credits 349
Bibliography 352
Index
