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    Beekeeping Guide for Beginners: The Ultimate Resource for Backyard Beekeeping and Harvesting Your Own Honey
    Beekeeping Guide for Beginners: The Ultimate Resource for Backyard Beekeeping and Harvesting Your Own Honey
    Beekeeping Guide for Beginners: The Ultimate Resource for Backyard Beekeeping and Harvesting Your Own Honey
    Ebook154 pages2 hours

    Beekeeping Guide for Beginners: The Ultimate Resource for Backyard Beekeeping and Harvesting Your Own Honey

    By Edward Cooper

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    About this ebook

    Do you want to start beekeeping and harvest your own honey? Worried about getting stung? Or are you not sure how to set up and establish your hive?

     

    Then the Beekeeping Guide for Beginners is for you! From ordering your hive and the first exciting days, to maintaining a productive and efficient long-term colony, with this book you'll be able to kickstart your beekeeping hobby and start harvesting your own honey in no time at all!

     

    Inside this comprehensive guide, you'll discover:

    • Overcoming Beginner Concerns and Pitfalls
    • Essential Beekeeper's Tools and Equipment
    • Bee and Hive Anatomy, and How Your Colony Works
    • Where, When, and How to Set up Your Hive
    • Inspecting and Maintaining Long-Term Colonies
    • Controlling Common Pests and Diseases
    • How The Seasons Impact Your Beekeeping
    • When and How to Harvest Honey
    • And How to Reap the Benefits of Your New Hobby!

    Including detailed advice on setting up, managing, and harvesting from your hive, as well as bee behaviour, threats and hive anatomy, Beekeeping Guide for Beginners contains everything you need to know for beekeeping success! From preventing swarming and robbery to knowing how to correctly handle your hive, get over your fears and avoid costly beginner mistakes with this powerful and enlightening tool.

     

    Buy now and begin your beekeeping journey today!

    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherEdward Cooper
    Release dateMay 9, 2020
    ISBN9781393129042
    Author

    Edward Cooper

    Dr.Edward Cooper received his veterinary degree from the University of Pennsylvania followed by a small animal rotating internship at Michigan State University. He then completed a residency in small animal emergency and critical care and obtained a Master of Science degree in veterinary clinical sciences care at the Ohio State University (thesis "Evaluation of Hyperviscous Fluid Resuscitation in a Canine Model of Hemorrhagic Shock: A Randomized, Controlled Study"). After completing his residency and successfully obtaining board certification in Veterinary Emergency and Critical Care, Dr Cooper accepted a faculty position at the Ohio State University, and currently holds the position of Professor - Clinical. In addition, he has served as section head for the small animal emergency and critical care service at the Ohio State University Veterinary Medical Center since 2010. Dr Cooper's principle clinical and research interests include fluid therapy, shock resuscitation, hemodynamic monitoring, and feline urinary obstruction.

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      Book preview

      Beekeeping Guide for Beginners - Edward Cooper

      Beekeeping Guide for Beginners: The Ultimate Resource for Backyard Beekeeping and Harvesting Your Own Honey

      By Edward Cooper

      © Copyright 2019 - All rights reserved.

      The content contained within this book may not be reproduced, duplicated or transmitted without direct written permission from the author or the publisher.

      Under no circumstances will any blame or legal responsibility be held against the publisher, or author, for any damages, reparation, or monetary loss due to the information contained within this book. Either directly or indirectly.

      Legal Notice:

      This book is copyright protected. This book is only for personal use. You cannot amend, distribute, sell, use, quote or paraphrase any part, or the content within this book, without the consent of the author or publisher.

      Disclaimer Notice:

      Please note the information contained within this document is for educational and entertainment purposes only. All effort has been executed to present accurate, up to date, and reliable, complete information. No warranties of any kind are declared or implied. Readers acknowledge that the author is not engaging in the rendering of legal, financial, medical or professional advice. The content within this book has been derived from various sources. Please consult a licensed professional before attempting any techniques outlined in this book.

      By reading this document, the reader agrees that under no circumstances is the author responsible for any losses, direct or indirect, which are incurred as a result of the use of information contained within this document, including, but not limited to, — errors, omissions, or inaccuracies.

      Table of Contents

      Introduction

      Chapter 1: The Basics

      Living in the Hive

      Anatomy

      The Worker Bee

      The Queen Bee

      The Drones

      Beginner’s Concerns

      Fearing the Sting

      The Law

      Where to Place the Hives

      When to Start

      Chapter 2: Beekeeper’s Equipment

      Protective Clothing

      Basic Tools

      The Smoker

      The Hive Tool

      Other Tools

      The Hive

      The Structure of a Hive

      The Hive Frames

      Foundation Sheets

      Feeders

      Chapter 3: Installing the Bees

      Types of Bees

      Ordering your Bees

      Nuc Colonies

      Established Colonies

      Wild Bees

      The Right Time

      The Arrival

      The Syrup

      Into the Hive

      Chapter 4: Opening and Inspecting the Hive

      Establish a Routine

      Visit Preparations

      Using the Smoker

      Open the Hive

      First Inspection

      Removing the Frames

      Look for the Queen

      Pay Attention to the Brood Pattern

      Pay Attention to the Food Storage

      Closing the Hive

      Second and Third Inspections

      Supersedure

      The Upcoming Weeks

      Swarming

      Cleaning Things Up

      Chapter 5: Seasonal Activities

      Summer

      Autumn

      Winter

      Your Second Spring

      Spring Medication

      Chapter 6: Prevention is Key

      All about Swarms

      Swarming Anyway

      Capture the Swarm

      Absconding

      Dealing with the Loss of the Queen

      Replace the Queen

      Nature’s Way

      Preventing the Loss of Brood

      Hive Robbery

      The Signs

      Stopping the Attack

      Robbery Prevention

      Laying Workers

      Poisoning

      Chapter 7: Diseases and Pests

      Diseases

      European Foulbrood

      American Foulbrood

      Chalkbrood

      Stonebrood

      Sacbrood

      Nosema

      Pests

      Varroa Mites

      Tracheal Mites

      Wax Moths

      Ants

      Mice

      Raccoons

      Bears

      Skunks

      Chapter 8: The Harvest

      The Right Time

      The Right Tools

      Removing the Bees

      Extracting the Honey

      Clean Up

      Storage

      Harvest Expectations

      Wax Harvesting

      Conclusion

      Introduction

      You are undoubtedly considering becoming a beekeeper, so you purchased your very own copy of Beekeeping Guide for Beginners to learn what it takes to be one. Congratulations and welcome to the world of apiculture!

      Whether you are pursuing beekeeping as a hobby or a profession, the community will welcome you no matter the number of hives you’ll have. Bees are crucial to nature and you are one of the few who is going to take care of them and help them prosper. In exchange, you get some tasty treats as a reward and everyone’s happy.

      The Beekeeping Guide for Beginners is meant to be a helpful step by step guide for aspiring beekeepers that don’t know a thing about bees or hives. This book attempts to dispel a lot of misconceptions around honey bees and educate everyone about the beauty of bees.

      You will start by learning all of the basic information you need about beekeeping and bees in general, including all the tips on safety equipment and tools. Next, you will be guided through the process of ordering everything you need to start out, including the bees. Know what to do with the bees once they arrive on your doorstep is crucial, because they are in fact sensitive creatures.

      In the second part of the book you will learn about your responsibilities. Beekeepers need to know how to inspect the hives and make sure the colonies are healthy. You will learn how to perform these inspections and recognize any signs of diseases and pests. You will also learn about handling various health problems and how to treat them. Many diseases can prove to be fatal to the colony, so you need to know how to prevent them from ever becoming a threat.

      The book will also prepare you for harvesting season, which is the sweetest part of your beekeeping career. Knowing how to handle the bees when you’re taking their honey is important both for your safety as well as that of the bees. There’s no need for either of you to be stressed out during this period of joy. Learn how to calm your bees down, and how to extract the precious honey and wax from your hive. Earn bonus points in your local community by involving everyone around you during harvesting season. Educate people about the importance of bees and teach them to appreciate them more by sharing some of your honey.

      All in all, this is a guide designed for complete beginners and by the end of it, you will be prepared to become a beekeeper. Read thoroughly about every aspect of beekeeping and make sure you understand all the steps you need to take and why. Bees are docile and productive as long as they have a loving beekeeper to look after them once in a while. You will see that working with bees is not a scary affair, nor is it dangerous. So jump right in, and start learning what it means to be a beekeeper!

      Chapter 1: The Basics

      Beekeeping has always played a major role in most cultures throughout the world. Humans have been harvesting honey for thousands of years since the Neolithic days of the honey seeker. The sweet gold was first sought from wild beehives, but before long, the ancient Greek, Roman, Egyptian, and Chinese cultures (among others) had devised the first rudimentary methods of beekeeping.

      Once apiculture truly took off, people noticed that there are more benefits to it than honey, wax and other byproducts. It has contributed to a boost in agricultural production, with many crops nowadays heavily relying on the industrious bees. Even the gardens belonging to hobbyist beekeepers that have one or two hives experience a significant improvement to the quantity as well as quality of their fruits and vegetables. Beekeeping is a very rewarding activity, and you can reap these rewards yourself even if you take care of one single hive.

      With that being said, in this chapter we are going to discuss the basics of beekeeping. You will learn about bees and their behavior, what it takes to become a beekeeper, and all the priceless products the bees have to share with you. Let’s get started!

      Living in the Hive

      It’s safe to say that bees are truly amazing, and most people don’t realize what a complex, industrious society they develop inside their hives. They have their own communication methods, designated tasks to perform, engineering techniques and so on. As a beginner beekeeping enthusiast you have a lot to experience with your new hive, and the more you learn about bees, the more you will understand how to care for them.

      Anatomy

      As a beginner, you should study bees in order to fully understand them. Most people are only concerned with one part of the bee, and that’s the stinger. However, there is far more to them, so let’s briefly discuss their anatomy:

      Skeleton: Bees are like most insects in that they have an exoskeleton (outer skeleton). The bee’s exterior is also covered entirely in fine little hairs from which they gain a sort of sense of feeling. Bees are actually great pollinators because pollen easily gets picked up by all of those hairs.

      Head: Housing the bee’s brain, this is also where the bee’s main glands are. They are needed for communication through the release of pheromones, and to produce royal jelly. The bee’s eyes differ based on whether they’re drones, workers, or a queen. It’s worth mentioning that the worker bees share similar eyes with the queen, however the drones have large eyes that wrap around the head. They also have 2 antennae that have the same purpose as the human nose, and mandibles used as tools to work the wax, feed larvae, etc. The final important part of the head is the proboscis. It’s like a straw that is unfolded only when needed to eat or drink.

      Wings: Bees have four wings which are attached in pairs between the head and the abdomen.

      Legs: The bee has 6 legs, but they all have a different purpose. They are

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