The Observant Beekeeper

How can you inspect a hive without opening it? When you do open it, how do you interpret what you see? And how do unmanaged bees survive without our help? Truly seeing and understanding what is happening in a bee colony is the core skill for all beekeepers. In this comprehensive book you will learn how to 'read' bees' behaviour, interpret comb clues, diagnose and deal with diseases, manage multiple hive types from framed to logs, recognise when well meant advice doesn't apply, the tradeoffs of different management styles, and what happens when bees manage themselves. There's more. Information for beginners and experts alike. How to catch and use swarms - and why they don't always behave as you expect. Races, breeding and genetics. Lost bee lore. Hive autopsies. Apiary setup. Wild bee nests. Hive variations. Treatment free strategies. Obscure behaviours. Finding queens. Honey. Propolis. Protective gear. Pitfalls of feeding. Proper use of smokers. Paul Honigmann has been keeping bees in Top Bar Hives and Warrés for fourteen years, organises the Oxfordshire Natural Beekeepers and researches bees obsessively. This book is an expanded version of his Low Intervention training course, with details not just on how to do things, but why, and the pros and cons of alternatives. Organised to help you find information quickly, with a logical structure, clear diagrams and troubleshooting guides for use in the apiary when you need to make rapid sense of ambiguous situations.