The possibilities for beeswax are endless! With Beeswax Alchemy, learn how to extract and purify beeswax to create your own soap, candles, balms, creams, and salves fresh from the hive.

“The most lucid call to action ever written about land-based beekeeping” from the author of The Backyard Beekeeper (Tammy Horn, author of Bees in America and Beeconomy). Backyard beekeepers everywhere agree: a successful colony is a thing of beauty. Thousands of beekeepers have started beekeeping thanks to Kim Flottum’s first book, The Backyard Beekeeper, and they have added to their repertoire of skills with The Backyard Beekeeper’s Honey Handbook. Now, Better Beekeeping answers the question, “What do I do now that I’m a beekeeper?” This book takes serious beekeepers past the beginning stages and learning curves and offers solutions and rewards for keeping bees a better way. Better queens, better winters, better food, and better bees await any beekeeper willing to take on the challenge of having the right number of bees, of the right age, in the right place, in the right condition, at the right time. “There are numerous beekeeping books on the shelves that instruct on ‘how to,’ but Better Beekeeping is a book that explores ‘why to,’ which is essential for this ever-changing world of beekeeping today.” —Jennifer Berry, research coordinator at the University of Georgia’s Honey Bee Research Lab, commercial queen, and columnist for Bee Culture magazine

Common Sense Natural Beekeeping teaches aspiring as well as experienced beekeepers how to keep their bees healthy and productive without depending on unnatural chemical or human intervention.

The importance of pollinator species to man's survival and the functioning of the world's ecosystems is recognised. Environmental and other stressors have taken their toll on many pollinator species and their abundance. The European Honey bee (Apis mellifera) and man have had a long mutually beneficial relationship and it is vital that this continues. Like all organisms, honey bees need food and shelter to ensure their survival and ability to thrive. A key factor in achieving this is the understanding of the role of good nutrition in honey bee biology. This book considers the role of good nutrition for honey bees in the British Isles and the implications of these requirements for beekeepers and their beekeeping management techniques and for those who manage land on which forage for honey bees and other pollinators might be grown. About the Authors David Aston, B.Sc., MSc., Ph.D., NDB is a biologist and a Master Beekeeper having kept bees continuously for 40 years in the East Riding of Yorkshire. He holds the National Diploma in Beekeeping (NDB), has been Board Chairman and a current member of its Executive. He has contributed to the work of the British Beekeepers' Association (BBKA) for many years and has served as Chair of Trustees and is now a Past President. He is also a Trustee of the CB Dennis British Beekeepers' Research Trust. Sally Bucknall, B.Sc., M.Sc., Ph.D., CBiol. is a biologist and environmentalist. She has been a Trustee and Chair of Trustees for the charity Garden Organic (Henry Doubleday Research Association, HDRA). This husband and wife team have published two other books relating to beekeeping, namely Plants and Honey Bees - their relationships and Keeping Healthy Honey Bees.

Whether you are a novice looking to get started with bees, an experienced apiculturist looking for ideas to develop an integrated pest-management approach, or someone who wants to sell honey at a premium price, this is the book you’ve been waiting for. Now revised and updated with new resources and including full-color photos throughout, Natural Beekeeping offers all the latest information in a book that has already proven invaluable for organic beekeepers. The new edition offers the same holistic, sensible alternative to conventional chemical practices with a program of natural hive management, but offers new sections on a wide range of subjects, including: The basics of bee biology and anatomy Urban beekeeping Identifying and working with queens Parasitic mite control Hive diseases Also, a completely new chapter on marketing provides valuable advice for anyone who intends to sell a wide range of hive products. Other chapters include: Hive Management Genetics and Breeding The Honey Harvest The Future of Organic Beekeeping Ross Conrad brings together the best “do no harm” strategies for keeping honeybees healthy and productive with nontoxic methods of controlling mites; eliminating American foulbrood disease without the use of antibiotics; selective breeding for naturally resistant bees; and many other detailed management techniques, which are covered in a thoughtful, matter-of-fact way.

Covers purchasing bees, setting up hives, year-round management, complete source list.