A truly lush, radiant enthusiast's guide, The Backyard Beekeeper's Honey Handbook goes beyond the scope of a cookbook to introduce to readers the literal cornucopia of honey varieties available. It is an intuitive follow-up to The Backyard Beekeeper.

The Backyard Beekeeper, now in its 4th edition, makes the time-honored and complex tradition of beekeeping an enjoyable and accessible backyard pastime that will appeal to urban and rural beekeepers of all skill levels. More than a guide to beekeeping, this handbook features expert advice for: Setting up and caring for your own colonies Selecting the best location to place your new bee colonies for their safety and yours The most practical and nontoxic ways to care for your bees Swarm control Using top bar hives Harvesting the products of a beehive and collecting and using honey Bee problems and treatments What's New? Information for urban bees and beekeepers Using your smoker the right way Better pest management Providing consistent and abundant good food Keeping your hives healthy With this complete resource and the expert advice of Bee Culture editor Kim Flottum, your bees will be healthy, happy, and more productive.

“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

"Linton, a certified master beekeeper, discusses the various options for constructing an observation hive.... This book is written primarily for experienced beekeepers, offering sound advice for those wishing to set up an observation hive.... Very well-written."― Choice This book will guide you in selecting an observation hive and choosing a site for it, modifying the hive and the site as needed, installing the hive, working with the hive, and maintaining the hive. It will prepare you to take a temporary portable observation hive to a market, fair, or school. Most important, it describes and illustrates the many ways you can use your observation hive to learn more about honey bees and how to care for them.

Discover the joys of harvesting honey from your own backyard. Alethea Morrison outlines what you’ll need to know to make it through the first year, while stunning macrophotography by Mars Vilaubi brings the inner workings of the hive to life. With in-depth discussions of allergies, colony hierarchy, bee behavior, and more, this approachably informative guide bursts with enthusiastic encouragement. Keep your own bees, and enjoy the sweet buzz.

The Bee Book shows you step-by-step how to create a bee-friendly garden, get started in beekeeping, and harness the power of honey for well-being. Fully illustrated with full-color photographs throughout, this beautiful guide covers everything you need to know to start your own backyard hive, from setup to harvest. Practical beekeeping techniques are explained with clear step-by-step sequences, photos, and diagrams so you'll be prepared to establish your own colony, deal with diseases, collect a swarm, and much more. A comprehensive gardening chapter features planting plans to fill container and border gardens, bee "hotel" and habitat projects, and an at-a-glance flower gallery of bees' favorite plants. The Bee Book also shows you how to harvest honey, beeswax, and propolis from the hive and use these ingredients in 38 recipes for home remedies, beauty treatments, and candle-making. Discover the wonder of bees in nature, in your garden, and in the hive with The Bee Book.

A beginner’s complete guide to keeping bees in top bar hives, and why. What’s the buzz about the growing popularity of backyard beekeeping? Providing habitat for bees, pollinating your garden, and producing honey for your family are some of the compelling reasons for taking up this exciting hobby. But conventional beekeeping requires a significant investment and has a steep learning curve. The alternative? Consider beekeeping outside the box. The Thinking Beekeeper is the definitive do-it-yourself guide to natural beekeeping in top bar hives. Based on the concept of understanding and working with bees’ natural systems as opposed to trying to subvert them, the advantages of this approach include: · Simplicity, sustainability, and cost-effectiveness · Increased safety due to less heavy lifting and hive manipulation · Chemical-free colonies and healthy hives Top bar hives can be located anywhere bees have access to forage, and they make ideal urban hives. Emphasizing the intimate connection between our food systems, bees, and the well-being of the planet, The Thinking Beekeeper will appeal to the new breed of beekeeper who is less focused on maximizing honey yield, and more on ensuring the viability of the bee population now and in the coming years. Mother Earth News Books for Wiser Living Recommendation “You’ll find information you need here that’s not available anywhere else. Both you and your bees will benefit from Christy’s approach, advice, and philosophy.” —Kim Flottum, editor, Bee Culture Magazine “A unique and exceptional resource for the beginning beekeeper.” —Marty Hardison, top bar beekeeper, educator and international developmental beekeeping consultant

Keep your own bees and enjoy delicious golden honey from your own backyard. With his respect and admiration for bees evident on every page, Richard E. Bonney describes how to acquire bees, manage a hive, prevent and treat diseases, and extract a crop of honey. Enthusiastic beekeepers of every stripe and experience level will benefit from Bonney’s astonishing knowledge of the craft — from beekeeping history and honeybee biology to the complex social structure of the hive.

Everything you need to 'bee' a successful backyard beekeeper If you've ever thought about becoming a backyard beekeeper—or have already tried a hand at it and want to be better one—then this is the book for you! In Beekeeping for Dummies, 4th Edition you'll find everything you need to know in order to start your own colony, including how to assemble and maintain beehives, handle every phase of honey production, purchase and use all the latest tools, and what to do beyond your first season. This hands-on guide provides all the tools, tips, tricks, and techniques needed to become a real backyard beekeeper. You'll learn to identify the queen from her workers and drones, properly open and close the hive, distinguish one type of honey from another, and preserve your colony if disaster should strike. Keep bees on a small urban rooftop or in a large country yard Assemble your own hive and sustain it for years to come Safely inspect and manage your colony Harvest and sell your own honey Becoming a backyard beekeeper isn't as hard as people think—and with this hands-on guide, you'll be able to create one honey of a colony that will have the neighbors buzzing.