Beekeeping for Dummies

By Howland Blackiston and David Wiscombe

Book Overview

Believe it or not, bees are one of the oldest species of domesticated animals. Archeologists have found evidence of beekeeping, or apiculture, in the Middle East dating back more than five thousand years. If you've ever tasted good clover honey, it's not hard to understand why. But it's not just for the honey that more than 125,000 people (and growing) in the United States, alone, keep hives. Anyone interested in nature can't help but be fascinated by those buzzing yellow bundles of energy and the exotic world they inhabit, with all its weird rituals and incredible efficiency. Also, dedicated gardeners appreciate the extra bounty that pollinating bees bring to their fruits, flowers, and vegetable gardens. In this easy-to-follow guide, Howland Blackiston, one of the nation's most respected authorities on the subject, takes the mystery (and the sting) out of beekeeping. Taking a step-by-step approach to successful backyard beekeeping, he gets you up and running with all the information you need to: Build a hive Establish your first colony Inspect your hives with confidence Maintain healthy colonies Deal with pests and fix common problems Harvest and enjoy fresh homemade honey Bottle and market your honey Howland Blackiston covers all the bases, from bee anatomy, society, and behavior, to identifying and healing common illnesses afflicting bees. He also offers inventive solutions to most common and many uncommon problems you're likely to run into. Among other things, you'll discover: Where to put your hive, basic equipment you'll need, and how to assemble a hive The best and safest way to inspect and enjoy your bees Year-round tasks a beekeeper must perform to maintain a healthy colony How to recognize and deal with common problems with brood production and the precious queen How to harvest honey and decide what kind of honey you'd like to make Making products from beeswax and propolis For both fun and profit, beekeeping has become a booming enterprise. A real honey of a book, Beekeeping For Dummies gets you on the road to enjoying this ancient, highly-rewarding, and oh-so-tasty hobby.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0764554190
• ISBN13: 9780764554193
• Release Date: March 2002
• Publisher: For Dummies
• Length: 303 Pages
• Weight: 1.21 lbs.
• Dimensions: 9.3" x 1.0" x 7.3"

Customer Reviews

Best comprehansive guide for the beginning beekeeper!

This book is fantastic. I just started last spring with one beehive. I have purchase five or six other books, but none have been as helpful as this one. It assumes that you don't know anything about beekeeping (that is me) and takes you through step by step and season by season. I have confidence that with the help of this book, I can keep my "girls" healthy and happy. I spoke to someone at our local beekeepers meeting who has been a beekeeper for almost 50 years. When I told him I was reading this book. He told me that it is one of the very best. I highly recommend this book for the beginning beekeeper.

The Best for Beginners

Being a complete dummie about Bees I was looking for the basics in a how-to book. I have not always been pleased with previous "For Dummies" books but this one is good. It is complete with advice for what you need to start, what is really necessary and what is optional, and how to decide. I am up and running with my bees and owe a lot to this book. When I went to the supplier I knew enough to make educated decisions on what to buy. I bought two other books and they were a waste of time.

A great survey of beginning "bee keeping"!!!

Author Mr. Howland Blackiston does a GREAT job introducing the fascinating hobby of bee keeping. The book is broad and generalized and touches on just about everything, including some well-written in depth detail. Bravo! A "must have" for the begginer! It even has a COLOR inset! Mr. Blackiston promotes his website in his book on several occassions. That is okay though, it is a decent web site even thought the supplies are a bit over priced, sometimes more than a bit. I emailed Mr. Blackiston about this observation and, in his defense, he noted that you CAN get a few "hard-to-find" items there, so I'm sure they would be worth it. The book is a MUST have but shop around a bit before you buy dang near anything online from any site. I have just ordered my first hive kit and I am looking forward to putting Mr. Blackistons good advice to work!

Excellent

Of the many "how to" beekeeping books I have seen, this is absolutely the best. It is organized in a logical, easy to understand format. The information is current. I recommend this book highly for the novice or even the experienced beekeeper.

from a beginner beekeeper

I've read 4 beekeeping books, I wish I would have read this one first. It's very readable and easy-to-understand, and contained information the other harder-to-understand technical books never mentioned.