Now updated — your guide to becoming a successful backyard beekeeper
Interested in raising honey bees? This friendly, practical guide presents a step-by-step approach to starting your own beehive, along with expert tips for maintaining a healthy colony. You get the latest on honey bee medication and treatments, harvesting and marketing your honey, and the impact the sudden disappearance of the honey bee has on our environment and economy.
To bee or not to bee? — understand the benefits of beekeeping and whether it's right for you
Build your first hive — gather the right equipment, obtain your bees, and transfer them safely to their new home
Get up-close and personal — see how to open and close the hive, inspect your bees at the right times, and know what to look for
Handle common problems — from swarming to robbing to pesticide poisoning, find simple solutions
Understand Colony Collapse Syndrome — learn what you can do to help save the honey bees
Gear up for the golden harvest — use the tools of the trade to extract honey, store it, and sell it
Praise for Beekeeping For Dummies
"The information a beginner needs to keep bees with confidence."
— Kim Flottum, Bee Culture Magazine
"A reader-friendly guide to beekeeping for novices or beginners."
— Dewey M. Caron, Professor of Entomology, University of Delaware
Open the book and find:
The various types of honey bees and the role each plays in a colony
Hands-on instruction in building a hive
How to keep bees healthier and more productive
Guidelines for all phases of honey production
New information on raising your own queens
Plenty of helpful, illustrative pictures to guide you
The safest ways to inspect and enjoy your bees
A Beekeeper's Calendar organized by climate zones
