S G K H B TOREY’S UIDE TO EEPING ONEY EES Storey’s Guide to KEEPING HONEY BEES Honey Production • Pollination • Bee Health MALCOLM T. SANFORD and RICHARD E. BONNEY The mission of Storey Publishing is to serve our customers by publishing practical information that encourages personal independence in harmony with the environment. Edited by Deborah Burns, Claire Golding, and Rebekah Boyd-Owens Art direction and book design by Cynthia N. McFarland Cover design by Kent Lew Text production by Erin Dawson Cover photograph by © Bryan Reynolds Illustrations by © Elayne Sears, except for pages 76 and 77 (excluding dandelion) by Beverly Duncan, page 77 (dandelion) by Sarah Brill, and page 31 by Michael Gellatly Expert review by Dr. Hachiro Shimanuki, former research leader of the Honey Bee Laboratory, Beltsville, Maryland, and Dr. Susan Drake, faculty member in the Family Medicine Residency at Tallahassee Memorial Hospital, Tallahassee, Florida (the section on bee stings and reactions) Indexed by Samantha Miller © 2010 by Malcolm T. Sanford The foundation for this book is two previous works by Richard E. Bonney, Hive Management (1990) and Beekeeping: A Practical Guide (1993) All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced without written permission from the publisher, except by a reviewer who may quote brief passages or reproduce illustrations in a review with appropriate credits; nor may any part of this book be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means — electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or other — without written permission from the publisher. The information in this book is true and complete to the best of our knowledge. All recommendations are made without guarantee on the part of the author or Storey Publishing. The author and publisher disclaim any liability in connection with the use of this information. Storey books are available for special premium and promotional uses and for customized editions. For further information, please call 1-800-793-9396. Storey Publishing 210 MASS MoCA Way North Adams, MA 01247 www.storey.com Printed in the United States by Versa Press 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 LIBRARY OF CONGRESS CATALOGING-IN-PUBLICATION DATA Sanford, Malcolm T. (Malcolm Thomas), 1942– Storey’s guide to keeping honey bees / by Malcolm T. Sanford and Richard E. Bonney. p. cm. Includes index. ISBN 978-1-60342-550-6 (pbk. : alk. paper) ISBN 978-1-60342-551-3 (hardcover : alk. paper) 1. Honeybee. 2. Bee culture. I. Bonney, Richard E. II. Title. SF523.S36 2010 638’.1—dc22 2010010908 Dedication I dedicate this book to my father, Malcolm Elam Sanford, who instilled in me the value of the written word. I became the published author he longed to be. The book is also dedicated to the honey bee. This social insect gave me both the platform and the training ground to distill my thoughts into as few words as possible, while clearly communicating complex issues to a wide audience made up of scientists and laypersons alike. —M.T.S. Contents Acknowledgments Preface 1 Beginning Beekeeping Seven Basic Tips for Getting Started Dimensions of Beekeeping The Beekeeper’s Commitment Time Commitment Financial Considerations Stings Legal Considerations Finding Resources 2 Origin and History of Beekeeping Honey Bee Evolution History of Beekeeping 3 A Bee’s Life What Is a Honey Bee? Inside the Colony The Queen The Worker The Drone The Varroa Mite Activities and Behavior Patterns of Behavior 4 Choosing Hive Location The Colony and Your Community Weather Issues Forage Availability 5 Getting Equipped Hive Design and Dimensions Hive Materials Supers Frames and Foundation How to Make a Frame with Pins Bottom Board Queen Excluder Covers Hive Stand Hive Scale Feeders Pollen Trap Tools of the Trade Beekeeper Garb 6 Enter the Bees Smoker Basics Package Bees Managing Package Bees Installing a Nucleus Colony Starting with an Established Colony Swarm! A Wild or Feral Colony 7 Managing Honey Bee Colonies Working a Colony The Beekeeper as Manager A Colony’s Yearly Life Cycle Population Cycle The Apicultural Calendar Late-Season Management Requeening Managing Nutrition 8 Taking the Crop The Honey Crop Harvesting the Crop Processing the Crop Storing the Crop Chunk and Comb Honey Other Bee Products 9 Pollination Unique Challenges Small-Scale Pollination Is Pollination for You? 10 Diseases and Pests of the Honey Bee Innate Defense Mechanisms Brood Diseases Adult Diseases Parasitic Mites Integrated Pest Management Tolerant or Resistant Stock Colony Collapse Disorder Wax Moth Small Hive Beetle Black Bears For More Information Glossary Model Beekeeping Ordinance Sample Pollination Contract Resources A Sampling of U.S. Beekeeping Supply Houses Sources of Beekeeping Information Index