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3.7: Resource List

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    29103

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    Adapted from Boston Beekeepers Club/Beekeepers of Suffolk County & The Benevolent Bee Created for Organic Bee School 2014 (with some additions)

    ­­ Free Online Manuals:

    Beekeeping Basics: various resources available, some free, some with associated cost on this online catalogue

    A Practical Manual of Beekeeping : UK; focuses on IPM; has section on going organic (p.264); written in a very accessible, personable way, yet also academic in content

    Tutorials on Beekeeping in Latin America and Beekeeping Manual in Spanish

    ­­ Places to Get Questions Answered:

    Boston Beekeepers Club listserv

    Organic Beekeeping Forum

    Beekeeping Forum

    International Beekeeping Forum

    ­­ Accessible, Informative Resources by Some of Treatment­ Free Beekeeping’s Best:

    Beekeeping Naturally by Michael Bush (Nebraska)

    Leominster, MA bee experts Dean and Ramona

    Beyond Langstroth – Online Resources for Top Bar, Warre, Observation Hives:

    Photos & Introduction to different types of hives

    Top Bar Hives:

    Top Bar Hives on Beekeeping Naturally

    Extensive resource and forum for natural and top bar hive beekeeping

    Sam Comfort’s anarchist approach to top bar hive beekeeping (NY, FL)

    Informative resource for top bar hives

    Top Bar Hives blog (Gardiner, ME)

    Observation Hives:

    Boston-based organization providing detailed information on building observation hives and managing them in schools

    Warre Hives:

    An extensive resource on Warre hives, including a link to inventor Abbe Warre’s book, Beekeeping for All, which includes construction and management instructions

    Miscellaneous Informational Sites:

    Bad Beekeeping – links to various topics on beekeeping

    Swarm catching videos and information on foundation-less beekeeping

    Information on all beekeeping topics

    Beekeeping through the eyes of a biologist

    Beginning Beekeeping

    Basic Beekeeping blog and Basic Beekeeping podcast

    The Beekeepers’ Library, an extensive list of online resources compiled by the Strathcona Beekeepers Association in Vancouver, B.C.

    Websites for Organic Control of Pests and Diseases:

    Lab that accepts dead bees or comb with brood to be tested for disease (free)

    Organic, natural/small cell beekeeping

    Organic beekeeping forum

    Drone trapping (varroa control)

    Mid-Atlantic Apicultural Research & Extension Consortium (not organic but many leads)

    Data-driven blog and information on disease monitoring

    Beekeeping Books:

    Guides to Beekeeping:

    The Idiot’s Guide to Beekeeping Dean Stiglitz & Ramona Herboldsheimer (2010)

    Natural Beekeeping: Organic Approaches to Modern ­Apiculture Ross Conrad (2007)

    The Practical Beekeeper: Beekeeping Naturally Michael Bush (2011): much of this material is available for free on his website

    The Barefoot Beekeeper Phil Chandler: ­guide to Top Bar Hive construction and management (see website for lots more from Chandler)

    The Thinking Beekeeper: A Guide to Natural Beekeeping in Top Bar Hives (2013) Christy Hemenway

    Keeping Bees with a Smile: A Vision and Practice of Natural Apiculture (2013) Fedor Lazutin (Warre hive info)

    The Bee­friendly Beekeeper: A Sustainable Approach (2011) David Heaf (good resource for Warre hive tenders)

    Observation Hives: How to Set Up, Maintain and Use a Window to the World of Honey Bees (1999) Thomas Webster & Dewey Caron

    Traditional Focus:

    Beekeeping Basics MAAREC (course book, purchase a PDF here )

    The Beekeeper’s Handbook (a good go-­to manual for pretty much anything, now in 4th ed.)

    The Backyard Beekeeper: An Absolute Beginner’s Guide to Keeping Bees in Your Yard or Garden Kim Flottum (2010 revised edition): focus on all­ medium hive bodies

    The ABC and XYZ of Bee Culture: An Encyclopedia of Beekeeping A. I. Root Company (look for old versions for more natural management)

    Hive Management: A Seasonal Guide for Beekeepers Richard Bonney

    Beekeeping: A Practical Guide Richard Bonney

    New Complete Guide to Beekeeping Roger Morse

    The Beekeeper’s Bible Richard Jones and Sharon Sweeney­-Lynch

    Beekeeping for Dummies Howland Blackston

    Books That Take a Closer Look at Bees and Beekeeping:

    Science/Behavior:

    Honeybee Democracy Thomas Seeley (Cornell expert on swarming behavior) 2010

    The Buzz About Bees: Biology of a Superorganism (information on bees biology, communication & more)

    The Wisdom of the Hive: The Social Physiology of Honey Bee Colonies Thomas Seeley (1995)

    Historical Science/Behavior:

    The Dancing Bees: An Account of the Life and Senses of the Honey Bee Karl von Frisch (1953) – written by the first person to interpret the meaning of the waggle dance

    Langstroth’s Hive and the Honey Bee: The Classic Beekeeper’s Manual L.L. Langstroth (1878) – written by the inventor of the Langstroth hive; more of a chapter book than a go-­to manual

    Art/Creative Portrayal of Factual Info:

    The Pollinator’s Corridor Aaron Birk – graphic novel on restorative ecology

    Other Books:

    The Queen Must Die and Other Affairs of Bees and Men William Longgood – an ethnography of the beehive

    Robbing the Bees: A Biography of Honey ­The Sweet Liquid Gold That Seduced the World Holley Bishop (2005)

    Beeconomy: What Women and Bees Can Teach Us About Local Trade and the Global Market Tammy Horn (2011)

    The Beekeepers’ Lament: How One Man and Half a Billion Honey Bees Help Feed America Hannah Nordhaus (2011)

    Life of the Honeybee Heiderose & Andreas Fischer-­Nagel – close­up photos, good for kids or educating

    Journals:

    Bee Culture published by A.I. Root Co.

    American Bee Journal by Dadant Co.

    This page titled 3.7: Resource List is shared under a CC BY-NC 4.0 license and was authored, remixed, and/or curated by Ang Roell (UMass Amherst Libraries) via source content that was edited to the style and standards of the LibreTexts platform; a detailed edit history is available upon request.