More popular than ever, beekeeping is

a fascinating croft that is fun to learn and

the per/eel antidote to the stress of mooern ,
life. This practical gUide covers everything
a new beekeeper needs to know, from
buying equipment to harvesting your
very own honey.

With clear, step-by-step instructions on

handling and checking your bees, helpful
tips and advice on keeping them healthy
and productive and a collection of
tempting recipes for you to try, you'll
be sure to catch the honey buzzl

£ 10.99
keepi ng bees
•

" -'
~
."" ",
• -_ r
,
~
•
."
" I
.
/
•,

r
 a complete
practical gUide
Paul Peacock
NOTE
This book is intended to give general information
only The publisher, author and diswibo.tOf
e)(preu/y disclaim all liability to any p"'rlOn
arising directly Of indirectly from me use of, Of
any e"OfS Of omissions in, the information in mis
book. The adoption and application of me
informolion in this book is at me readM's
dioerlliion and is mllir sole responsibility

An HochetI. (M. UK Compony

www.I"Ioche!leI'YI"lIcouk

Fint pubhshed in G...,t P,,'to ,n In 2008 by

Gaia 8000. •. 0 div ....... aI Octopu. P..bii.h,"9 Group lid
2-4 ~,on Quay.,LondO<' EIA 4.IP
wwwoctopu.bool<lco.uk

Copy'ight C Octopu, Pu~,oh'ng Group lid 2008

All .igh!O ..... ....:! No pM of rIlll work n\Oy be

'ep,od...ced or utilized in ony fo/(n or by ony MeOn"
eiectrO<'ic or meehonicol, includi"9 pI>otocopying,
,.cordi"9 or by ony in/ormoloO<' JIor"9" ond ,eII""",1
syuem, "',"""" .... p,er "'""" p"'m'llion 01 ....
pu~i.her

ISBN 97$.1.ij567.5-302·9

A CIP cotologue r..:ord /or rIli' bool 'I oYQi!obl. "om

!he 1\<",'" LObo-ory

Punted ond bound ,n Dvboi

10987654321
Contents
Introduction 6
The honeybee 10
The hive 40
Getting started 58
Bee care 70
Honey and other products 96
The bee garden 106
The beekeeping calendar 114
Recipes 124
Glossory 136
Index 140
Acknowledgements 144
Introduction 7

If you've picked up this book. you may have been inspired by

someone you know who has a hive or two, and you long to
produce your own honey. Keeping bees is a most worthwhile
pastime; you will make lasting friendships as you learn about ooes.

Starting with bees Perhaps one of the most surprising reasons for keeping
Of all human octivities, the keeping of bees is one of the bees is tha t they are likeable creatures. Few beekeepers
most satisfying, and il will chonge your life in ways you ever fully overcome their childhood fears about stings,
could not have imogined. It's a peaceful occupation, the and it is sensible, of course, to be careful when you ore
ideal an tidote to the fraugh t pace of modern life, cnd around them, but the way that bees live together and
most beekeepers find tha t the hours they spend looking organi;oo:e themselves is endlessly fascinating, and soon
after their hives ore deeply rewording. you will find yourself comporing the human world with
There ore lots of reasons 10 keep bees, and increasing that of the honeybee.
numbers of people oround the world seem 10 be doing The calming effect of beekeeping makes it an ideal
so. Some will be attracted to the products of beekeeping antidote to the rush and bustle of the modern world, and
- the honey, wax cnd propolis, royal jelly and honey. at the end 01 the year you will be reworded with anything
comb - which are so expensive to buy and so useful in from 20 to 100 iars of honey from iust a couple of hives.
the home, medicine cupboord and kitchen.
Other people will be oHrocted to the social side of First steps
beekeeping and ioin a local group or branch of a It is not possible to learn 10 keep bees with a book in one
notional association. There is always something to be hand and a smoker in the other. By for the best way of
talked about - a problem to be debated, a success learning is from someone else who has already hod the
celebrated or a failure shored. Although it is possible to experiences that you will soon be gelling for the first
be a lone beekeeper, it is not advisable, and the large time. The most importont/irst step is to ioin a local group
number of associations and c lubs tha t are dedicated or association and to watch more experienced beekeepers
to the welfare of bees share on ethos based an the as they work. You can then refer to a book to reinforce
fact that every beekeeper was once nervous and new. In what you have seen.
consequence, beekeepers are incredibly friendly and This book provides a logical introduction to beekeeping,
you are cerloin to receive a worm welcome. and it wi ll give you the confidence you need to get your
own hive or hives. Use il to reflec t on what you have
learned from other beekeepers and to remind you of
Left, A WBe hive surrounded what they do before you delve into your own bees. But
by !lowering plan" providing
"oondanln«lar and pollen
more than anything, as for as beekeeping is concerned,
Ia feed the colony. read for knowledge but learn from your experience.
8 Are bees for you?
It ult Ji :1 ~ W Y KlC.. Wf 'r. y..: J ope a h'/e
bYVC_r. Iftc. tn= fi,'1 11m ~ wever, tiler ~ T1U h thc'y,)u can
do Ie prepJre V1)urse for that rr. )mf' + and YI)U nl'Jy b unm! KI
at h )W easily a dl Vf:. 'pmg Inter, rt n bees b- )IT' ~ a itetilTl ...
paS"te l!:. yc "" beccm ntriqued by beek~tpll1a

Skills
Although you need no specific skills to keep bees, il is not
rome thing thot should be undertaken lightly. It requires a
serious attitude. ollenlion to detail, a cool head and a
willingness to learn.
You should nol consider a lock of knowledge a bar to
starling 10 keep bees, and you probably already have all
the skills you will need. Whot cannot be learned,
however, and whot is perhaps the mosl important quality
in a beekeeper is an ability 10 relo)(. An easy, calm
manner will be your greolest 055el.
The physical requirements - what yau actually da in
the hives, haw you extract honey, feed the bees and
check for the queen, and the dozens of other routine
tasks - are easily picked up and are certainly no more
complex man those required in the kitchen, me garden or
/
your wOl'k place. They are all well wilhin the capabilities
01 anyone who has the lime and is ready 10 learn.

Time
Running two hives will probably take a couple of hours a
week, although at key periods of the year, such as
swarming time and when you collectlhe honey, you may
spend a little longer. On Ihe whole, however, bees prefer
to be left alone. You should olso be prepared, especially
at first, to spend an evening eoch week at a local group
or club where you will leorn the ropes and meel other
beekeepers.
lell, ProMdetJ jn an oIt·;"-one
bee wjt, the beekeeper coreMIy
rerttO>ti frames fa,- jnspection,
CNOidjng ony wJden
~"
Right, A 'YPi«rI brood ""me
can",jnjng" /01 01 bee~ "nd crt
Ioo~' two droneJ

Equipment which is not necessary, and over the years you will
Most new beekeepers join a society not only to learn almost certainly pick up plenty of rather strange-looking
how to look after their bees but also to acquire the odds and ends.
equipment and dothing they will need before they gel
their first colony. Space
The most important items are a bee suit, or at the very A single beehive does not toke up a lot of room - a spoce
least a veil to protect your face, some beekeeping measuring 1 )( 1 metres (3 )( 3 feetl will be more than
gauntlets or gordening gloves, a hive tool and a smoker. sufficient - and it is possible to have several hives quite
Secondary equipment ranges from some elastic bands. dose to each other. However, you will need ~mewhere
which you can use to keep clothes tucked in ond bees to put your equipment, and it is ~metimes said thol for
out, a bee brush or a feather to remove bees from your every hive with bees in it you will need one other as
bee suit, and a bucket to store the bits of waste from your back-up. You will also need to keep spores of the
hive inspections !see also poges 54-7). elements that go to make up the hive - frames, chambers,
Wherever possible it is better to buy new equipment, supers and sa on. A dry, secure garden shed is ideal.
which will minimize the transmission of diseases, and if Before you acquire a hive think carefully about its
you join a national or local organization you will probably position !see also pages 60-3). Your bees need 10 be
be able to get significant discounts on many items, Some protected from people who might wish to harm them or
of the more e)(pensive and specialized equipment, such their hive and should also be kep t from accidentally
as honey edractofs, are best shared and kepi as a harming your neighbours.
central resource. You may wont to consider taking oul some form of
As with any pastime, there are plenty of opportunities insurance, and your local bee society or association will
and incentives to accumulate a lot of equipment, some of be able to offer you the best advice.
The honeybee
Getting a worthwhile supply of honey from your
hives depends on understanding both the life of
individual bees and also how bees live and work
together as a colony. It is worth spending a little
time on learning about their lifecycle because a
single hive will contain 30,000 or more
individual bees.
12 The history of beekeeping
H( yb n Wei -ord 'fed col0flies mode ~ individuals
$fY1c"allyadapt k r their rc TherE. is a unity jf purpc e in t~P-
vic oy ond Ih whc. cmos- "I bee work 10 wel"deflned goal,.
from c )!I II 9 nectar and pollen 10 real ing lew members 10
cop with Ir. Incroosing work )Cd as the season progl€ .se

Evolution
Honeybees have been around for over 120 million
yeofs, and they evolved alongside flowering plonts,
having found a niche by obtaining nourishment from
poUen and honey, and in return pollinating the plants
they visited. All the natural substances tha t plants use 10
prevent fungal and bac!erial infections olso work in the
hive as bees incorporate the healing properties al the
plonts into the honey and wox they produce.
The hive, which is filled with high-energy food tha t
would otherwise naturally spoil because of microbial
action, is therefore able to remain practically disease
free. And the healing properties of honey, pollen and
prapalis were sa well knawn and recognized by the
ancient Greeks thai the scientific name, Apis, is derived
from the ancient Greek word meaning healer. In ancient
medicine, bee's ash (the material left behind when dead
bees were burned) was soid to have curative properties.
When the queen storts to run out of eggs the colony
arranges for her replacement and makes sure that sexual
reproduction tokes place. The exchange of genetic
material that tokes place a t this time is on important
mechanism in the species' fight against disease, allowing
any resistance that may have developed in one genera-
tion to be passed to the next.

LeI!: A wild hoMybee colony

with Ioid! or honeycomb
Early history
Prehistoric cave paintings that pr~ate writing shaw 13
humanstoking honey from hives, and over 10,000 yecm
ago both honey and wax were a welcome part 01
people's diet and lives. The discovery that honeybees
retreat from smoke and gorge themselves on honey in
preparation to evacuate the colony made a significant
difference to early honey collectars, redvcing the number
of stings and mak.ing it easier to take the precious combs. 1
Fire was a fundamental part of human development, and
its application to enoble people to remove honey from
hives eventually became an impartant tool in bee forming.
The early hives were simple camtructions - either a
hollowed-outlog with clay blocking the ends and with a
small entrance on one side or a woven basket covered in ,
clay- ond simple log hives are still found in Africa today.
Beekeeping gradually became an impartant part 01
agriculturel activities, and a land was prized lor ils ability
to produce barley, em mer (wheat), cattle, milk and r
honey. It is lillie wonder that the production of valued
foods become part of holy and religious rituals and
writings. Meanwhile, the relationship between fire,
smoke and spirituality come together in a number of In China, where the lirst reference to honey was in the
ancient religions, including Hebrew, Mesapotamian and Book of Chinese Medicine written some 2,200 yeors
eventually Nubian and Egyptian. ago, beekeeping mirrored the Egyptian methods. In
The ancient Egyptians regarded beekeeping as part Indio it has long been a Hindu custom to give a newborn
of the religious life of the notion, and priests used sacred child a taste of honey as a sign of the protection offered
smoke to control their hives. Mote thon 6,000 years ago, by the goddess Parvati.
the Egyptians believed that the sun would drop its tears Greek. civilization was also influenced by the honey-
as honeybees and that they wauld fall in the human bee. It is lillie surprise that honey, called ambrosia, was
warld as honey and wax. The bee became the symbol of regarded as the food of the gods on Mount Olympus.
the Country, and the pharaoh was named the king of Ancient Greek hives - in the form of lorge, expandable,
bees and master of their spiritual essence. ceramic·lidded vases - have been excavoted, and there
Honey was expensive in ancient Egypt and was used are details of how they tended their bees in ancient
only by the flJling classes. It was imported from all over literature. Hippocrates, the father of medicine, wrote
North Africa and even from Asia. Honeybees, 100, were about the culinary and medicinal uses of honey in the 4th
traded, and the dis tribution of the local strains across century 8C, and apiculture developed into a science thot
Africa and Asia Minor and even into southern Europe was studied os well as being port of secret religious rites.
(Apis lamarcki;, A. 5ahariemis and A. yemenlico) today The way that bees order their lives ond the geometry
is a reminder of the ancient honey industry. 01 the honeycombs wos incorporated into Greek thought.
 leI! A mod.m two·bolkef .kep
hlYe The lop bolkef eonlo;n. the
14 honey. wiJh (I hoJe HfXWOIing
doe Orood balk" beneoIh.

qualities 01 bees, the gathering of honey, diseases of

bees and the autogenesis of bees.
Aher the Roman period, beekeeping did not change
much across Europe. Colonies were housed in strow
skep$, which have their orig ins in the Greek pottery
vases and are still sometimes used today, especiotty for
catching swarms. Top-bar beehi ... es, in which the bees
draw honeycomb on sticks balanced across the top 01
the hi ...e, are 0 development 01 the Greek style, and they
ho ...e been common in Africo for 2,000 years and are
stilt used by enthusiasts today aU over Europe and the
United States.

Re cent history
The scientific study of bees, particularly the organization
of the hive and the bees' industry, intensified in the 18th
and 19th centuries. The relationship between the welfare
01 bees and the welfare of humans was increasingly
recognized, and the vulnerability of the hive and the
In the 5th cenMy Be the philosopher ond mathematic ion queen - especially Ihrough the winter - become topics of
Pythogoras believed thol the regular patterns of study and formed the basis of much allegory.
the honeycomb were a reflection 01 something thol As communication between beekeepers in various
pervaded the whole universe. It was olso believed parts of the world improved, discoveries in one country
thol bees' behaviour, the way they ordered their lives were gradually adopted in others. For example,
and the way they prepared themselves for winter hod sectioned hives were built in Russia in the 18205, and
parallels in human life, and this was reflected in literatu re soon alter Russian beekeepers found ways of keeping
and in the developme nt of democracy itself. the queen in a particular part of the hive.
Greek methods of beekeeping - including the One of the most impartont developments occurred in
development of the lidded hive and the ability to keep Philadelphia in the early 18505, when the Re .... Lt.
colonies on a semi.permanent basis - were passed 10 Longstroth wrate about the 'bee space', which revolu·
the Romans, who subsequently look them around the tionized beekeeping II bees are not happy with a space
known world as their empire spread. In the 151 century Be or gop in their living area, they witt glue it up. Any space
the Romon writer Virgil included a section on beekeeping less than 4-5 mm (about ~ inch) across will be fitted in
in the Georgics, his wri ti ngs on rural subjects. Virgil with propolis (see page 33). If the space is a lillie larger
describes the siting and maintenance of on apiary, the workers can get through, but the queen cannol. Rev.
fighting swarms, the surrounding gorden, the nature and Longstroth also fou nd tha t wo)( combs were never doser
together than 7-8 mm (V. inch), and he used these hive to suit different environments and styles of beekeeping
measurement1 to create a hive in which the queen could (see poges 44_7). 15
be confined to her own brood box while the other bees Despite these innovations, the bees themselves have
were allowed the freedom of the hive. Honey con, remained largely the same. They have reacted to threats
therefore, be saved in one port of the hive while brood from disease and adapted themselves to varying
can be developed in another. conditions all over the world. As a species they ore
The development of a pre·stomped honeycomb equally 01 home in a skep, a top-bar hive, a modern hive,
foundation in the mid· 19th century was slow 10 catch on, a hollowed-out tree trunk or even a dirty old chimney.
but it eventually combined with the langstroth hive (see Bees have faced many threats in this period. Acarine
poge 44J to create olmost exac~y the modern beekeeping [Isle of Wight disease) wiped out almost the whole of the
method, It become possible to horvest honey without British bee population in the early part of the 20th
brood mixed in with it and to take combs out of the hive century, and this led to a great upsurge in bee research,
without endangering the colony. which eventually resulted in the development of a strain
Since the modern hive evolved, there have been of bee that was immune to the disease. The parasitic
many changes in apiculture. It has become possible to vorroo mites (see poges 92-3) are but the lateslthreat to
manipulote a colony to suit the purpose of collecting apiaries, and there are certain 10 be new ones in future.
large amounts of honey. In addition, it has become possible Albert Einstein is reported 10 have said that if the bee
to move bees to toke advantage of different crops, from disappeared off the surface of the globe man would only
fruits tree to setting honey from oilseed rope fields. A have four yean of lile left, and it is against this bock·
number of different types of hive have developed from ground that the lives of humans and bees remain
the original longstroth, and it is now possible to have a inextricably interI'-Nined.

Left: A wctIcer be. coIIoding

tJJ<JCh ,-Jed pollen in tit.
springtime
16 Understand ing bees
Be hm captiva! ~ p )ple~ imagination!. ~ It lOrlinl tim8S.
and Ihr y WI I cc I"'J l inue ! ) d ) sc .... hf;; )! we)("k. Il"\tl) I Jr I v€
th .... mr- .... , Inoting 1/1 y b "'')m

Research and the honeybee a study of porasitic wosps, but he also worked on the life
One of the problem~ foeing any researcher into Ihe life of of the honeybee, and his ideos about Ihe way bees
honeybees is that it is all too easy to explain their communicate in Ihe hive evolved inlo Ihe ideo ollhe
behaviour in terms of human characleristics. OUf 'woggle' dance, which is still deboted by entomologists.
preconceptions about them sometimes get in the way 01 Not everyone has been convinced by von Frisch's find·
our understonding_ ing, largely because it sounds too human, and it is felt
there might be another explanation.
Th e w aggl e dance Von Frisch discovered tha t bees com municate the
Some of the mosl interesting bee research was corried location of sources of nec tar by movemen ts tha t are
Qui by Austrian ::r:oologist Karl von Frisch (1 886-1982). called dances, and the 'waggle' dance is a form o f
A well·known entomologist, yon Frisch's main work was communication by which a bee can adver tise to o thers in

THE WAGGlE O.I.N CI UPUINID

The wOfker bee mowo. in 0

figure of eight, vibraling her
abdomen 10 indicate the
dj,eehon 01 0 good food
&OI,I,ce. The dv,alion of the
vibfolioo is soid 10 ,epresenl
lh. dislonc. of the food from
the hive
the hive the location of a promising food source. The
bees will woggle from side to side for a short distance,
the direction 01 their waggle indicating the bearing
01 the lood in relation to the sun, and the duration 01 the
waggle indicating its distance from the hive. Von Frisch
found thaI bees are even able to take into account the
different position of the sun as the day progresses. When
he replaced the sun with a bulb the dance was disrupted
and changed, but if even a small amount of blue sky
was introduced to the experiment, the bees' dance was
orientated correctly. which meant that they could see
polarized light and use it for navigation purposes.
Von Frisch's researches also showed that bees cannot
distinguish between some shapes but that they can
distinguish between some colours, including ultraviolet
(which is nol visible to humans] but not red. Despite the
on-going debote about the waggle dance, von Frisch's
observations have become the standard methodology Above: Bees p/oce pollen from /he some
for research into bees. p/anl$/ogelher $0 tha, il i, no! mixed with
other >OIJrre•.

Working together
More recent research into the life of colonies has found an immunity to the treatments, and new strategies are
that bees sort food supplies according to colour and thaI constantly needed to com bot them. Some recent research
they are able to differentiate between different food has been concentrated on the cell size. It is known that
sources and decide, as a colony, which food is to be vorroa mites prefer to inhabit the cells made by workers
token advantage of at anyone time. It has also been to house drones. These are slightly bigger than standard
found that bees can count, that they can elucidate shapes ones found in foundation comb. which can be either
and that they have a wonderful ability to pul right what 4.9 mm or 5.1 mm (about ~ inch). It is not known if
they perceive to be incorrect in the hive. They will secure colonies that make all their own comb - top-bar hives
the defences of the hive and decide together which ports have no foundation comb - have less varroa than more
of the hive to work on first. conventional hives.
Sadly, many bee populations around the world ore
Overcoming problems under threot, and research has ye t to find the answer.
Much research into bee biology focuses on the problems Human activity and interference may be parI of the
faced by bees around the world. There are almost no problem, however. Scientists have already interbred
feral colonies of honeybees in many ports of the world, bees with ques tionable results, (oining the aggressive
and problems such as vorroo and colony collapse troils of the African bee with South American bees 10
syndrome remain serious challenges to colony numbers. creole a race colloquially known os 'killer bees'. Perhaps
Traditional ways of dealing wi th varroa, for example, it is time for humans to start learning from bees rather
are no longer effective because the miles have developed than merely researching them.
 teh The cells or the lop of this
""-"" ' - .... roppoI
because the honer i, raoJy for
sIoruge. n-e be40w on! Fillecl
wi'" ripetlirog honey.

Bees and humans Skin

Bees are also the subject of all kinds of modern research The value of honey in the treatment of skin ulcers is
in many fields that are nof related 10 their own activities also being researched. Widely used therapies have
oot to their usefulness to humans. subjected the sufferer to mon ths, if not years, of
agonizing bandages, but the simple application of
Concord e honey-impregnated bandages has shown promising
One of the most remarkable things about a beehive is results, reducing the heali ng time. The honey used is
the haneycamb structure of hexagonal cells. This has specially prepared and ste rilized, and the boost to the
stimulated human imagination over the centuries and local tissue creoles new skin very quickly.
inAuenced research in to topics ranging from the molecular
structure of benzene to the production of new building Hay fever
materiols. The lloors of Concorde, the supersonic Research into the use of honey 10 treot hoy fever is olso
aircraft, were built like a hive's honeycomb but with giving promising results. The oosic premise is that locally
a thin skin on either side, and this material proved to sourced honey is charged with pollen and pollen exlfocb
be extraordinarily light in relation to ib strength. from the palient's home area. This pollen, when ingested
Honeycomb wark5 in much the some way as a modern wi th honey, is thought to have the ellect of mildly
aircraft's wing. Much of its rigidity ond strength comes inoculating the immune system, relieving the symptoms of
from the contents being kept full. hoy fever when pollen appears in spring and summer.
Arthritis learning a lot about the human immune system because
It is commonly said that old beekeepers do not suffer of the way that bees fight disease themselves. 19
from arthritis, and research is now under way to find There are a number of pressures on bee colonies,
evidence about the effecl of bee stings. Similar research particularly as governments begin to realize there is 0
inlo slinging nettles and the relief of arthritic poin seems growing decline in pollinators for agriculture. A lot 01
10 pail'll in the direction of acetyl choline, a chemical research focuses on the combined effects of modern life:
found in bee slings and nellies. pollution, insecticides, GM technology, globol worming
Related research is ongoing into the few people who and on the abilities of bees to light disease.
have a reaction when slung by a bee. This research is Because they have shorr lives and the colony is of
mainly linked to the immune system and how it responds paramount importance, bees put a lot of effort into
to the chemicals in the sting . lighting disease outside their bodies. The colony could
be viewed as the organism, and the individual bees os
Cellular chemistry simply 0 port of it. For instan ce, during the lime nectar
Honeybees are ol~ being useO for research 01 the cellular takes to ripen to make honey, there is plenty of
level, and scientists are stvdying the way honeybee cells opportunity for fungi to ferment this liquid. The worker
respond to invasion, Ihe bee immune system and the bee mixes enzymes with the nector to stop this fermentation
role of external bee products, such as propolis, on the from happening, the whole colony benefiting from the
internal chemistry of the honeybee. Researchers are individual bee's immune system.

Lith, ~ "'" enlt '" rhe

"",in poIlinolon ,.,.. pJo"is "nd
agriculture.
20 Classification
The )ciontifi Of Latin nomE of th~ honeybee IS Apis me/Mer~ Land
like mrs! balani :01 name, it is largely descripliVi" like other botanical
names of plont! and Jnimals, i! used around the world so that there
con be "10 contu'Sion from cc"mlry 0 country about wht :h partir Jllr
species s mE~nl

L.ft. Worker bees cIeoo "'" II>e

tJl beIr:n ",. qo..-. will loy 0
/leWagg in the bott:m_

Sc:ientific names the lotin word!. meliis, meaning honey, ond ferre, meaning
The Kienlific nome is simply 0 description of any living to corry. Honey is coiled 'mel' or 'mell' in mony
organism, so Apis mellifero means 'the honey-beering longuoges - in French it is mie/ond in Italian miele- and
bee'. The word Apis is the nome of the genus to which we also find it in the word mellifluous.
honeybees belong, and it distinguishes them from other The l that follows the species nome stonds for
bees - bumblebees, for example, belong to the genus linnaeu!., the nome of the perion who described the
Bombus. Apis is derived from the Greek word for heoler, species in the fir!.t place. linnoeus, whose real name was
and the Roman word for the bee was opis. Carl von Linne {1707-78), WOi a Swedish botanist and
The species nome, melli(ero, means honey bearer. the originator of the modern binomial system of
ond it desc ribes the honeybee perfectly. It derives from nomenclature of plants and animols.
 21
ific cl assification
lull ~dentilic clauilicohon, Of deKripiiOtl, of the
is;
CI"'S$OFIC ...1I0" ........ . f Df SC.I'IION

Kingdom Animilia which means they

ore animals
Phylum Arthropoda which means they
have jointed legs
Closs Hellopoda which means they
or tnsects have sill legs
Order Hymenoptera which meal"lS they
have membrane-like
wings
Sub-order Apocrito which means they
Subspecies and hybrids
posSEIn a sting
The species Api5 mellifero [honeybee) is divided into
Super.fomily Apoideo which means they
abou t 30 subspecies and many more hybrids.
are bees
Svbspecies will mo te with each o ther and produce
viable, hybrid bees, which are generally unique in terms Family Apidoe which cleKribes
01 colovr, shope and behovi01.lr.
Among the more important subspecies are Apis
meJl;fero cornico, the Corniolan bee originally from
Genus
Species
Apis
melliFero
...
them as social bees

Honey gatherer
Central Europe, which is docile and well suited to cool
climates, and A. mellifero liguslico, the Italian bee,
which is well mannered, rarely swarms and produces
lob of honey. A. mellifero mel/ilero, the north European Genome sequencing
block bee, also known as the British black bee, was The donilicotion of honeybees around the world has
devastated by disease early in the 20th century. A. been improved by the Honey Bee Genome SequerlCing
mellifero scu/al/ala is the Alriconized honeybee, which Consortium, a gr01.lp of scientists who have worked out
has a reputation for being more aggressive than the the sequence of genes in the DNA of vori01.ls species.
Europeon honeybee, and A. mellifero copensis comes The comparison of opine DNA has revealed much
from the South African Cape. Wi thin these races are about the evolution of the honeybee and suggests thot
many local sub-races. other insects have evolved more quickly than honeybees,
The Bucklast bee is a hybrid of many bees from which appear to have developed in Africa and spread
around the world, especially the European block bee around the world in two waves. Honeybees have lewer
and Italian bee, and was developed in Devon, in r.outhern genes devoted to the immune system than other insects, a
England , by a Benedictine monk, Brother Adorn, in testament to the eff iciency 01their hive defence systems.
response to ocarine, the disease that all but wiped out The research has also shown that honeybees have over
the British black bee. 160 receptors for smell, but only ten for taste.
22 Anatomy of the honeybee
Hor y' In =llh 3f1IZ0t,1 oj )"11"
and there Lor be fr IV }Ie whc VI nul we !ched them
bu_ing frc , fI wer Ie Icw~ no <" Jmmf" rmC! 'n. "v\cst cf f
,,,,,pI. whc )uld d nt y o n "b", h ",.""vef. p'obably
llKJvl he rr cl )n IJlrx 01 ~f'ly

Body Bees do not have blood vessel~ - they do not even

like all insects, 0 honeybee has 0 head, thorax and have blood, for that moner. A Auid called hoemolymph is
abdomen and sbl; legs. Bees olso have lour wings, pumped by a very simple 'heort' around the body cavity,
antennae and lorge, compound eyes. II i!o a remarkably transferring nutrients and oxygen to the tissues,
successful orrangement, and there ore more insects on They do not breathe in the conventional sense and
the planet thon ony other animal. have no lungs. Holes in the exoskeleton, called ~piracle~,
The honeybee hos no skeleton 05 such. Instead, it is a llow air into the centre of the body. When the bee hos
held together by hard plates covered in wax, a liltle like used up a U the oxygen a large mu~cle rhythmically
a sui t of armour. All the muscles ore attoched 10 the contracts and exponds the abdomen to force air in and
inside o f the plates, and eoch plate is a t10ched to the nexl out of the spiracles. The spiracles lead to a system of
by a lough bul fle:o:ible membrane. The plates thol make tubes, called trachea, which corry gose5to and from the
up the body ore referred to as the exo~kele ton, and centre of the insect. The trachea are bathed in
without their waxy covering the insect would ~imply dry hoemolymph, and the rhythmic beating of the wings or
out and die. the flexing of the exoskeleton maintoins a constont flow
01 air in and out of the insect, A bee with blocked trachea
cannot survive
The thorax is la rgely filled with muscles and glonds
and with the nervous system, which stretches olong the
length of the lower port of the body. There is no brain as
~lICh , but a series of ganglia oct as localized processors
of inputs from sensor~ and send motor messages in
re~poose.

The gut is divided into many sections, The ' tongue' is

a retractable proboscis, which mops up nectar and
pO$se~ it to the honey stomach via a tube that runs
through the thorax. Some portial processing 01 the nectar

Left The heocJ, thoro", ob.:/omen, ..,ingl

and compound eyeJ can be clearly seen.
tokes ploce here, and the syrup is ejected at the honey- In ANATOM Y
comb to make stores 01 honey. Beyond the honey Head Thorall Abdomen 23
stomach is the rest of the dige5live system, a second ,.----"= ~
stomach and the rectum for ejecting waste.
c~""""~ .yo
Head
Bees have two large compound eyes, one on each side
of the heod. Each eye consists of a lew thousand simple
eyes, each wi th a single lens. Some of the eye cells
recognize colour and others movement. There are also
three simple eyes, called ocelli, that recognize sudden
shadows that fall over the bee. The first ganglion,
sometimes referred to as a 'brain', processes the
Information from the eyes and creotes the 'picture' the
bee 'sees', which, remarkably, is not dissimilar to what
humans see.
The antennae are pocked wi th chemical recep tors,
which enable the bee 10 navigate around its environment.
They are particularly important for recognizing the Wings
queen's hormones and for detecting any predators that Bees have four wings, and they d iffer from the diptero,
enter the hive. mostly flies, whose second pair of wings are small or
The mouthparts are adopted for drinking but do not reduced in size, and from beetles, where one set of
bite. Honeybees also use their mouthparts to construct wings has hardened to creote a cose. The wings of a bee
honeycomb, chewing and placing wax into position and can beat independently in pairs, and it uses the
laying down the antiseptic glue, propolis, which they use flexibility of its exoskeleton to help flip the wing bock into
for structural security and hive heolth. position, saving on the amount of work of the major
mU!oCles. Bees beat their wings billions of times.
Legs The front and hind wing can be hooked together 50
Honeybees have some of the most evolved legs in the they can oct in unison if necessary. When the bee rests or
entire insect world. The forelegs are similar to those of is not using ils wings the bock ones Fold neotly under the
most other insects in that they are u:led for the important top ones, so it appears to only have two.
function of cle<llling the ontennoe and eyes. In addition,
the legs have sensory organs, mostly hairs, which enable Sting
bees to understand where they are in the world. Organs The bee's Sling is mode up of special reinforced plates
01 balance, which are ba:led on a system of hairs, are with a venom soc attached. Once it has delivered its
not diuimilar to the mammalian inner eor. sting, the bee usually flies away, leaving behind the
The hind legs of worker bees have a pollen basket or venom soc and a pair of pulsating muscles, which inject
5OC, the corbiculo, in which pollen is token bock to the the toxin into the vic tim. The bee, meanwhile, simply
hive. The pollen is caught on the numerous hairs on the dries out and dies shortly oher because its body cavity is
leg and transferred to the basket by the lorelegs. open to the air.
24 Types of honeybee
Wh r itt a tram frl ''Tl a hv€: ard ",alrt th~ oc::-,. they seem
Ie. be a C( )wd of busy ,ndivldlJoL ~owever Ih~ w~Jle c.c ory
mokes up a super-individual, and I~ch bee has a port to play in
thi: 'collective life form' ,

Queen Recognizing the queen

Becouse the average worker bee dies alter about 0 There may be a couple of thousand bees on eoch frome,
month, ,he hO$ to be replaced if the colony is 10 loke and you will hove 10 look carefully to find the queen . She
advantage of the nector and pollen the summer provides. is longer than the workers, a lillie lighter in colour and
The function of the queen, therefore, is 10 loy the eggs has a pronounced abdomen thaI looks full of eggs.
Ihol will be tended by the workers and so build up the Compared to a worker, Ihe queen's body is tapered and
numbers of bees in the colony. A fully lerlile queen con elongated with smaller wings.
loy 2,000 eg9s a doy.
In addition 10 loying eggs, however, Ihe queen hos a Making a queen
number of o ther functions thot ore equa lly importont to The queen is laid into a special cell known as a queen
the colony. Without her special type of hormones, called cell, 01 which there ore differen l types (see pages 79 and
pheromones, the workers would behove differently, 85) . She is fed $Clely on a glandular secretion, royal
becoming almost aimless and, above all, very angry. The jelly, which is pocked with hormones and honey and
queen's aroma, packed with pheromones, gives the hive makes the young queen grow quickly (see page 31) .
its cohesion. and she moinloins their loyalty - but only as Once the queen has emerged she willleorn the layout
long as she has eggs to loy. Once her fertility storts to fail of the hive and be tended by a group 01 workers, which
the workers notice the change in her aroma and use ore about two weeks old . Three doys after she hos
some eggs to create replacements. emerged she will be ready to mote, and 01 this time she
Many people thin k the queen bee is the ruler of the flies to around 10 me tres pO feet) into the air and is
colony. This is not corred, lor she is merely on egg,laying followed by a number of drones. She will mote wit h
machine. In many ways she is inferior to the workers. around ten moles, whose geni tals ore pulled owoy, still
and certainly her 'brain' is much smaller. She does not pumping sperm inlo the queen, leaving the moles 10 die.
need the complex skills exhibited by worker bees and She will then return to the hive to slarl her work of
can usually be easily replaced by the hive. Should she laying . Her sisters will have already prepared and
die the workers can start to feed on egg with royal jelly cleofled a number 01 cells ready for her 10 use.
and build up the cell in to on emergency queen cell. A
queen less colony will produce many replacements, and Worker bees
the firsllo emerge will oHen destroy the others. However. The workers, who make up the majority of bees in a hive,
il winter comes and the colony remains queenless it will have different functions according to their oge (see
probably die out before spring. pages 28-9) . Young bees that have jusl emerged from
the cell wonder around the hive, cleaning and removing Abovto A morked queen laying
debris, while other workers police the brood frame. eggo on brood frameo with
workers in allendonce.
Worker bees ore not able to mote, but they retain their
ovaries and produce eggs. If they ore allowed to grow
they will became drones, but only one in about a thou- in the hive, and their function is to mote with the queen,
wnd drones is actually derived from a worker bee. which only a handful ever manage, after which they die.
Drones start life in a larger cell than worker bees and
Recogniz ing worker bees live for around three weeks. They do nothing around the
The worker is the smollest bee in the hive. She is shorter hive, and 01 the end of the sea$On they are thrown 01,11,
than the queen, has a less pronounced obdomen and is and no matter how much they hong around the hive
olten more brightly coloured and strongly morked. entrance they do not gel bock in, eventvolly dying of
Workers tend to have fewer hairs than the queen, but hunger and cold.
their anatomy is modified for carrying pollen and hooey. Drones hove no Sling and tend to wonder around the
hive in a seemingly aimless manner, although they might
Drones be performing functions we know little about. You are
These mole bees a re sqvotter and squarer than both the most likely to see drones in the hive in late spring or early
queen and the worker bees, bvt are nearly equol in size summer. Those that remain in culumn are expelled from
to Ihe queen. There are only ever 0 few hundred drones the hive and left to die.
26 How the hive works
The colony's lif~cycl. IS governed by the outside temperature and by the
length of daylight Bees ore, therefore, more active in spring and summer,
when they are seen visiting flowers and Hying to and from the hive. Inside
the hive the queen starts to lay more eggs and the overwintering INOrkers
)
begin 10 forag~ and feed the emerging new workers.

THE ~ARTS Of TH E HIV(

Crown boo,d willi Porrer

boa<! flKOpe and feed'ng
aperture
Super fro me

r:=====/'
:f:T?for honey
l =~t
'lb
Brood !.ome for
. / egg laying

P(ltdion of
enlrance
bloc.
landir>g board
Inside the hive The brood box
The queen and the majority 01 the colony are lound in the The size of the colony increases as the seaSOn progresses, 27
brood box, which is twice the depth 01 the honey boxes, and all the bees will have to be accommodated at night
abo referred to as supers (see below and pages 48-51). because bees are one of the few non-mammalian
She lays egg5 in the lower centre 01 the brood frames animals to sleep. A full colony will form a 'bolus' or boll
and the workers deposit honey in a ring or arch on the of bees in the centre of the brood box, where the hive is
outer, uppermost port of the frame . This is called the warmest, and the exiras will spill over into the supen.
honeyarch. During the day house bees will take care of the grubs,
II you can see developing bees in uncapped they know the whereabouts 01 the pollen and honey
(unsealed) cells you can be certain thot there is a laying stores and how to make the food they feed to the different
queen in the hive, even if you cannot find her. Once the castes of bee.
grub pupates the workers cap the cell with wax. A similar
process occurs in cells that are lilled with honey: once the The crown board
honey is ready it is capped to stop it from spoiling. Above the supers is a crown board and then a lid. The
crown board is used to keep the colony intact under the
The queen excluder lid. If you remove the lid of the hive it is difficult 10 handle
A metal grid, wide enough to allow workers through but the bees inside it - in foc I, il the queen happens to be
too narrow for the queen and drones to poss through, is undernea th ii, it can be almost impossible. Moreover, the
used to keep the queen out of ports 01 the hive. The lid is difficult to remove il the bees have been able to
beekeeper can decide where to place the queen propolize it (fill in the gaps with propolis; see page 33)
excluder, but in a new hive it is usual to allow the bees to because there is nowhere you can easily insert your hive
lill all the brood frames first with brood and honey. The tool to oct as a lever. The crown board is easier to lever
queen excluder is then used 10 seporate this from a single out if it has been propolized because there is access
super, where the workers are able to draw out (build) the between this and the topmost super.
honeycomb on the wax foundation sheet. Because the
queen is excluded from these smaller frames they contain The landing board
nothing but honey. Once this box is full the queen Flying bees lind it easier to gain occess 10 the hive if there
excluder is placed on the top of the first super, then is a Ionding (or alighting) board filled to the bose. If there
lollowed by a second super. is no board, they Ay 10 and fro at the entrance 10 the hive
This gives a hive with a brood box and a super 01 and have difficulty gelling in, especially if the entrance
honey lor the colony's winter supplies, while the queen has been narrowed, 10 keep the wind out or as on
excluder separates the hive from a second super, which attempt 10 exclude robbing pests, such as mice.
Will be lor the beekeeper's use. In most circumslonces the
colony will need only the first honey.filled super. Feeding
Occasionally, when you are opening your hive, you Any feeding should toke place at the lop of the hive, and
will find that the queen has managed to get through the it must be done so thot the sugor syrup can be added
excluder and into the super, where she has laid eggs. withou t disturbing the bees too much (see pages 80-3).
Inspect the excluder carefully in case it is broken. The Although it's a fairly straightforward matter to remove the
cause is usually a loose pin at the edge that enables the top of the hive and odd some more syrup, do toke core to
queen to push up the grill. wear your bee suit, even if you are just opening the lid.
28 The life of a worker bee
Mr )1 f tV€;. COfltoir ab< 31 b:. le Moi it, W 11 ore
workers. The life ~f a work, I:. ~ c.Ners thrr
.,.. xJ, )f 21 day,
each. II lakes 21 days to grew fn)m on egg 'J a nEwly emerged
bee. Then the bee lives fOI 21 day, in the hive followed by a
fur ther 21 days as a foraginq bep

locates the honey store and licks the queen, which

secretes a chemical on to her that will inhibit the
development 01 her sexual orga05. A number of female
workers will develop egg,laying capabilities, and these
are usually recognized by the workers and destroyed.
Once she has learned where the brood and honey
are stored, the young worker starts to feed the larvae,
From egg to bee first the older larvae, where she can do least harm, then
Worker bees starl life as 0 ferlili</:ed egg, which stands the younger ones. This period losls For nine days. She will
erect in the bose of the honeycomb cell. As each egg selectively feed workers, drones and queen larvae on the
develops over the nexl couple of days it lolls over on to its different regimes each caste requires. The worker bee's
side. The egg stoge losls for three days, and because the royal jelly glands are particularly well developed and
exoskeleton does nol grow with the insect, there is a peak in production from between six and twelve days
series of moults as Ihe grub expands. After four mouhs, after her emergence, and she will use the royal jelly to
some len days from being loid, the larva spins a cocoon feed the queen.
and sellies inlo its cell, which hos now been copped. In her final week as a house worker, the bee will build
Eleven days loler il emerges from the cell on odult. honeycomb, cop cells and depesit wax and propolis
AI this point the now empty cell is cleaned and (bee glue). The cleanliness of the hive is the responsibility
prepared by the workers lor the queen to loy again. of bees at Ihis stage of their development, and they must
also maintain the structural integrity of the hive, where
In the hive they lend to glue everything together with propelis. The
For the first couple of days the newly emerged worker worker's wax glands are particularly well developed at
finds her way around the hive, cleaning cells, removing this slage. The instructions lor creating the hexagonal
debris and generally learning where th ings are. She cells in the comb is in the worker's genes.
 Within a week of being a house bee the worker's $CJuoshed, sprayed with insecticide or killed by a predatar
venom soc will have filled, and she then switches to or disease, the worn-out worker bee dies after a busy life 29
guarding the entrance of the hive, where she also of less than two months.
assumes fanning duties to odd to the ventilation of the
colony. The airflow sends Ihe queen's aroma inlo the
atmosphere and acts as on oltroctontlo foraging bees. Bee facl s
• In her lifetime a worker bee will travel about
Outside the hive 1,000 kilamelTes (620 miles)
AI 22 days the worker bee embarks on a life of foraging
• The brood box is maintained at a temperature of
for nectar, pollen ond water. She will also act as a scout
about 3YC !95°F), regardless of the autsida
bee in case there is a swarm.
temperature
Her life as a forager begins with a few orientation
• It tokes 20 kilograms [44 Ibl 01 honey to produce
/lights, which enable her 10 fix Ihe position of the hive
1 kilogram [2 Ibl of beeswax
exoc~y from different positions. There will be a number
• If bees are storving they will eotthair own brood
of theM! flights over the next few days, and if you move
• A bee's 'brain' is len than a cubic millimetre, but
the hive as lillie 0$ 2 metres (about 6 feet) from its
has 0 greater number of nerve cells per cubic
original position, the returning bees will congrega te
mi llimetre than ony other animal
where the colony used to be rather than finding their way
bock to the hive.
She will gather pollen from as for away as 3 kilometres
(almost 2 miles) and travel many hundreds more in
the next lhree weeks, and then, if she isn'llost, eaten,

le~. wor/r;.. bee,deonond

feed ~ yoong grub, and "99',
men cap ~ cell when ~
grvb pupoleJ.
30 Bee foods
It th ,b of the olde w ",pr bee. to feed the cohny, ond if you
,land near the entrance Ie the hive you will see the comings and
going. "f the foroglng be >s. Notural bee food canmts of pollen
and nectar, col lected from the nectaries of flowering plants From
these ingredients the bees manufacture all their requirements. They
also drink water and a !. )ur~ should a!way~ be- available.

L.1t. A wert... bee aJleding

pollen end IIfJdor for 1M colony.

cel ls around the honeycomb so thot the water in it can

evaporote, thus helping to preserve it.
Nectar consists of aoout80 per cent water, but honey
is less than 22 per cent, a change that toke! place in the
honeycomb. Bees speed the evaporation of water by
standing on the comb and fanning it with their wings.
Once the honey is thick enough the bees put a cop on the
cell, which remains in place until the stores are needed.
A colony may use over 50 kilograms! 11 0 Ib) of
honey during a year, which is quite remarkable when
you consider that another 20-30 kilograms [44-66 Ib) is
Nectar often taken by the beekeeper.
NecTar is 0 complex liquid made from 0 number of
sugars manufactured by plants. These sugars ore stored Pollen
inside the foraging bee unlil she has enough 10 make it The tiny specks of dust on the end of a plant's anthers are
worlhwhile 10 return 10 the hive. pollen - the mole sex cells of flowering plants. When
The complex chemistry that turns nectar into honey pollen touches the sap on the female /lowering ports II
begins in the honey stomach of the worker bees. This grows until it fuses with on avum to creole a seed.
sugor is regurgitated inlo the mouths of the house bees, Pollen is pocked full of protein and lot, and it makes
and the process is continued as they miK the solulion for an excellent food for young bees. It is usually mixed with
up 10 30 minutes, adding enzymes and checking on the water and the small amount of sugar in the bee's mouth,
progress of the honey by tosto. Once they feel that causing the pollen granules to 'grow' to make a
the honey is re<Jdy they evenly spread the liquid inta the substance tha I resembles bread. The processed pollen,
which is often referred to os beebreod, is stored in the molecule to create two simple sugars. However, bees
honeycomb. Pollen is also used to odd structural integrity that are fed entirely on sucrose can show symptoms of 31
to the outer ports of the honeycomb. malnutrition . Bees are also sometimes given artificial
Sees collect pollen Irom a wide range of flowers, pallen mode from soya Rour and other ingredients mixed
making at leost a million trips in the course of a seoson. wilh honey to make it palatable.
The pollen they collect is said 10 have beneficial effecls Most beekeepers become good botanists, and you
for humans (see poge 181. will hear them talking of the lime now, the apple Row or
their equivalents around the world. In temperate climates
Royal jelly there is a marked seownolitylo rhe bee's year, depending
A rich secretion lTom the hypophoryngeol glands in the on which plants are producing nectar ond pallen. This is
heads 01 young worker bees, royal jelly (among other reflected in the locI thaI in the for north and south, the
substances) is used to feed the larvae in the colony, flows represent an increasing amount of plant activity
including workers. The amount of royal jelly led 10 grubs whereas ot the equator bee production is conslanl,
depends on their casle: workers receive only a lillie mimicking the long season.
during the first couple of days of life, drones receive
more $0 that their sexual organs develop, but those grubs Bek>..... · The Gresly wo""","
destined to become queens are fed on nothing else. mode with IWo upllJrned bollies
Queens themselves are led royal jelly as well as honey. trough Filled .....ith grit.
in 0

A simple anolysis of the composi tion of royol jelly

does not reveal its properties. It is mostly water 166 per
cenl), ond protein and corbohydrote in equal quantities
make up the bulk of the rest. A small number of minerals
have been identified, but there are other substances that
have rlOlyet been recognized . It has recen~y been found
thaI the composition of royal jelly differs throughout the
yeor and that it might possibly have a role in reducing
egg laying in autumn and the closure of the hive in
p!"eparotion for winter.

Minerals and water

Bees need minerals and water in order to thrive. They
extract minerals from the plants around them, but a water
supply provided by the beekeeper is also important.

Artificiol nectar and pollen

Bees frequently need feeding in order to get them
through the coldest or leanest ports of the year [see
l}Gges 80-3). Feeders can be used to dispense house-
hold sugar (sucrose) 0 1 a predetermined concentration,
(lnd the bees use enzymes 10 split this disaccharide
32

a;
a;

AboYfl. Honer in the <;Om" i, Right: I.ocoI honey is said 10 be

prized by many uver ;or Ilooey ex~len, r.,.. Ireoling """'Y
and con bo ll(lfen on 1\:1011. oilmen,., inr;/uding hay fever.

Honey
This wonderful substance has been valued as the food of
the gods from Egyptian limes, cnd it has been a special
port of mythology through all civilization5 to modern
times (see poges 12-15). Beyond honey's historicol token by diabetics and is easily converted directly to
significance and wonderful flavour, it is magical food. glycogen, absorbed directly inlo the bloocbtreom.
Honey is pocked with carbohydrates, specifically Honey is acidic in nature, which has led 10 the belief
equal proportions of glucose cnd fructose. These two that it contains some bee venom. This has been disputed
sugors polarize light in opposite directions, and becou!.e by some scientists, but it has also been pointed out that
bees con differentiate polarized light the honey is ready the healing properties of honey cannot derive from the
not only when it tastes right but when it looks right. sugar component alone, and mony people believe thol
Honey olso contoins 0 small amount, usually about venom must be present. The curative properties of bee
2 per cent, of sucrose. The amount 01 sucrose permitted venom have been widely researched, and they are said
in hooey is regulated and veries from country to country, 10 help in a number of ailmentsfsee page 19J .
although it is nOfmolly no more than 8 per cent. Another benefit of honey is that it is on excellent
Both fructose and dextrose are monosaccharides source of antioxidants, and research in the United States
- that is, they are composed of 0 single ring of otoms- has shown that the darker the honey the beller its curative
which makes them easily absorbable directly into the qualities. The some research showed thaI honey was
bloodstream and immediately available for metabolic instrumental in slowing the production of lDl cholesterol,
use. Sucrose, on the other hand, is a disaccharide, and the so-called 'bod' cholesterol. Honey is beneficial as a
needs to be broken down in the gut before it can be port of a balanced diet, being a sweetener, a condiment
used. Glucose is an ideal sugar to toke because it can be and a preserver.
 Honey is hygroscopic - that is, it tokes water
chemically from its surroundings - and for this re050n it is 33
frequenrly used 05 a preservative as well 05 a food in its
own right.

H oney as b e e food
-
Honey is used by the bees in the hive for all kinds of
leeding. Grubs are fed honey, sometimes alone, some-
times mixed with pollen, sometimes with rayal jelly.
Sometimes the honey has to be diluled, and some waler
is also stored in the hive by bees lor this purpose. lis main (
purpose, of course, is as a winler lood, and the hive will
need at least one super lull 01 honey to get the bees
solely through until spring.

Propolis
This substance is not actually a product of bees. Propotis
IS a waxy, resinous substance that is pori of several
plants' immune systems. Worker bees cotlect propolis
Irom the plonts as they loroge, and then when they return
to the hive they chew and manipulate it and use it to glue
up their hives, filling any spaces that are less than
Above: During fhe wmmer monthJ bees worIc hard
>1 -5 mm (oboull4 inch) wide (see poge 14). wi",.,.
10 coI/oel 011 fhey need 10 gelthrovgh fhe
Propolis is usually grey-brown to dark brown, and it
can be found in any crack or scratch in the hive. When soundproofing and reduce vibration, and any intruder
yoo pull frames out 01 the box you will find that they are that the bees are unable 10 drag out of the hive, such as
often hard to move because they have been 'glued' in a large insect, slugs and snails or even a mouse, will be
position by propolis, which eventually sets to become completely covered with propotis.
very hard. Prapolis is quite brittle and cracks easily. It used to be soid that bees used propolis to seolthe
Because prapolis originates in the leal buds of a hive against the elements, but modern research has
range of plants, from Aesculu$ hippocos!OnUm (horse MIown thot a colony will do well with increased ventilation
c.hestnut) to Populus (poplar) and various firs, it varies in in winter. Researchers are concluding that propolis is not
ron tent throughout the year as the plants from which it is used as a weatherproofing material.
!j<lthered come in and out of season. Sometimes propolis Humans have used propolis extensively in holistic
I~ mixed with a lillie pollen, but it is olwoys rich in medicine for many years. It is said to be a remedy for
uromotic compounds, from which it derives its useful sore throots, and some beekeepers believe that pulling a
IlIltiseptic characteristics. piece of propolis in the mouth will help keep bacteria
Within the hive propolis is used for its antibocteriol and viruses away. It is also said to be uselul in the
,"operties, and it is known to reduce disease and treatment of skin ulcers, inflammations, burns and scolds
purositic activity in the hive. It is also used to improve (see page 103).
34 Poll i nation
Honeyb< are the major pollinators of crops all oround the world
Their efforts increasE agricultural yields by as much as 30 per cent
and in aroos where there is a shortage of honeybees, agriculture
invariably suffers os a result.

Bees and plants beehive on on allotment, for example, will increase the
Bees ore uniquely important as pollinator!. because they crop yield by more than 30 per cent, and this is seen no
evolved in symbiosis with flowering plants. Although moiler what crop the bees are working on. Traditionally,
there ore other pollinators - nies, moths, beetles and, of bees have been used 10 'top-dress' fruit trees in spring,
course, people themselves - and although some plonts then have moved on to fields of oilseed rope in early
are wind pollinated, the majority 01 importonl crops ore summer, then on 10 nax, lavender, lupins, alfalfa and 50
pollinated by bees. on through the seawns.
When they ore foroging bees actually work a crop, f ormers pay a premium for the services of bees, and
and the pollina tion is not a secondary consequence o f this fee is much more valuable than the amount of honey
pollen coHection . The evidence lor this can be seen in the that is gained from the field. Commercial beekeepers
higher percen tage 01 pollina tion achieved by bees on combine these activities with rearing queens and
crops compared wilh similar numbers of o ther insects. A producing the nucleus of new colonies. There have been
several estimates of the value 01 pollination. In the USA it into contact with sugar it starts to develop a long tubule
was estimated a t $9.3 billion in 1987 and $14.6 billion that has DNA at the for end . This DNA is designed to 35
in 2000. This tokes into consideration the increase in fuse with the DNA in the egg that is protected deep
crop yields should on alternative pollinator be necessary. within the carpals of the fruiting body. Once this occurs
Around the world there are a number 01 areas where the fruit will develop as it should.
rhere are not enough pollinators available for crops, and Normally, pollen is produced well away from the
the problem has become severe enough for the Food and female ports of the plant, and as bees crash around the
Agricultural Organization of the United Nations to set up lIowers in search of nectar and pollen a high percentage
the International Pollinators Initiative tIPI). The problem is 01 mole sex cells /rom other plants of the same species
particularly severe in porls of Chino, Nepal and Indio, will hit the sticky, sweet stigma, the foremost tip of the
where the use of pesticides has mode beekeeping female ports of the Rower.
Inc reasingly difficult. Beekeepers have, naturolly, tried to Most flowers are arranged in whorls: first the sepols
keep their bees away from areos where they know that and petals, then the mole sex organs [known as the
crops are likely to treated with pesticides, but the result is ondroecium or mole house). The inner whorl, which is
rhot when the crops need pollinating there are no bees often fused to make a single unil, is the female sex organ
In that area to do the job. [called the gynoecium or female house) .
It is impossible to guarantee which pollen goes
How pollination works to what plant, but it is statistically evident that enough
Pollen is the mole sex cell of flowering plants. It consists pollen 01 the right type falls on to the plant's stigma for
of 101 and protein, but no sugar. As soon 0$ pollen comes successful pollination to occur.

~'!lht . A honerI:- Marching For

nodor anJ pollen.
36 Avoiding stings
Humans have bE 'n hard-wired to panic when they see an orange
ond block in>ect coming towards them. Indeed, this tendency for
alarm has been so embedded into mil ions of years of evolution thol
some insncts with no stinging me( lonism replicate bee markings In
the hop.. thol we and vlher animals wlllleove them alon.

Trust your kit

Bee suils ore deSigned 10 slop bees from slinging,
particularly if you weor a good layer underneath (see
poge 5.4J . The net visor will keep bees out of your eyes
and away from your lace, and jf you ore afraid - quite
reasonably - 01 bees slinging your head and neck
through the cotlon suit, weor a hot.
The only possible exposed pori might be your hands,
but you con even cover these with gorden gloves or
beekeeper's gountlels. Even though you might hove seen
some beekeepers dealing with their bees with bore
hands, it doesn't moon that you will be a beller or poorer
beekeeper if you follow suit. Don't be unnecessarily
macho, no one likes being stung.
Once you are covered you can begin to relax and 10
enjoy the relationship between you and your bees.

Using a smoker
The most important piece of equipment you have is your
smoker, which, used correctly, will couse the bees to
recoil and fill up on honey. Their extended stomachs
make it less likely that they will sting. Using a smoker is
described on pages 73-4, but a small puff at the
entrance will warn the bees that you will be entering the

leh: A smoJcer with in fuel: old Righ!: Woriting in /he hive is

pi»e cones, dried rofffJd wood, romforlCble """'n you Irv., your
ondgrou. kil ond fKr..e a rouhne.
• .-•
, ~

J
'\ '!o
, •
I

I
(

,
•
 hive. Remove the lid and give another gentle puff. The Jewellery
38 aim is to waft the smoke over the bees in a single motion. Bees often fly straighllowords anything that sh ines, and
if you ore going to work wi th bore honds you might wonl
Smells to remove any rings you're wearing and your walch.
Bees do not like unusual smells and will attack anything Bumps cnd folds in clothing, often caused by watches or
that has a strong smell. Beer or garlic on your breath, bracelets, con become places where bees congregate,
perfume cnd cologne. sweat, hoirsproy - all althese con and if they get trapped they can attempt to sting.
make bees skittish, and even though they will nol all fly
towards you in a frenzy, you will notice more 01 them The hive
flying into your visor and there will be more buzzing Do not stand in front of the hive entrance, where the bees
around your head. fly in and out, because when you have finished you will
find that your back is covered with foraging bees that
have returned and landed on you. It is not unusual to see
a couple of hundred bees on the back of on unwary
beekeeper's su it.

Don 't panic

If you are a newcomer to beekeeping it is a good ideo to
en ter a h ive for the first time with on experienced
beekeeper, which will at leost give you the experience to
realize that there is no need for panic around a large
number of bees.
Even if you do get stung, which is likely at some point,
keep calm. It's best to remove the sting with the flat of
your hive tool. Don't squeeze the bee because you will
only force more venom into the wound. The venom is
pocked with histamines, and the sting will feel a little like
a mild burn. Although it is on unpleasant sensation, it is
not unbearable.
Some people say they will allow the stinging bee to
twist itself off the skin, stopping the sting from becoming
dislodged and killing the bee. This excessive allention to
the bee is not necessary: get the bee and its sting off you
as calmly and as quickly as you can.
Some people react badly to stings. An an tihistamine
tablet often helps, but if you feel short of breath or dizzy,

left: If you Jland in the way of

bees 01 the enfronce, expect Ia
be covered wi"'in 0 ,hort time.
 Deal i ng with a stin g 39
IF you are stung, do not squeeze the bee, which
will only force more venom into you. Slide it
away with a linger nail or your hive tool. Toke on
antihistamine tablet if necessary and if you get any
symptoms, such as shortness 01 breath or diu iness,
seek immediate medical advice. Some people
recommend putting honey on stings, but for most
people the poin witllestfor maybe live minutes
and then poss.

Above A .be. .ring Mill pumping ......."" ;$ k , ~ willi rIM

edge 01 a hiYe i00i.

es pecially after the sting has stopped hurling, seek imme- bees, and if you shake down bees from a frame a
d iate medical advice. sudden burst of activity will toke place.
Bees will worn you before they start stinging . They will
Why do bees sting? fly at your face and whizz around your head . A high-
Drones have no stings, cnd ahhough queens hove slings, pitched vibra ting in your ears is a warning Ihot you are
they use them only 10 kill other queens, and they have considered to be on invader.
ha rdly ever been found to sting anything else.
Worker bees do sting . The sting has a borb on the 'Killer bees'
,.nd, ond $0 each bee can sting only once unless you are In parts of North and South America Africanized honey-
prepared 10 anow her to writhe on your skin to set herself bees afe regarded as a problem becayse what seems
free. A worker bee only ever uses her sting 10 prolectthe like the whole colony will attack. They are similor 10 the
,olony, never herself, because delivering the sling European honeybee in that eac h bee will sting only
u~ually ends in her having half her abdomen ripped once, and they are not possessed of powerFul venom.
"woy a s she is swotted away. They will warn you in the some way as European honey·
Bees sting mostly when they are at or near the hive, bees, and if you are not wearing a bee suit the best thing
find it is actually a reAex oction, which the bee performs to do is fun away. The bees will follew you for up to 200
when itleels threatened. The idea that what is bad for the metres labaut220 yardsl, bul you should, just abayt, be
,ndividual bee is bod for the colony controls the bee's able 10 run more quickly than they can Ay.
woclio n. If you kill a bee at the hive it will release a Cover your face if you can and do not go inlo water,
pheromo ne thot will make the other bees more li kely to because the bees will simply wai t around lor you to come
'.!l119 The some pheromone is produced by bees tha t see yp lor air.
Y(lU woving yayr arms around, that smell your pe rfume It is unlikely these bees will syrvive in Europe if they
'" 5wcat, tha t hear you making loyd noises aroynd the are ever introd uced because they cannot syrvive cold
11Iv", o r that see you wearing dark clothes. Yoy will notice winters, bul climate change ma kes their fulyre spread
till' bees fanning pheromones to aler t more and more uncer tai n as lemperate region winters become wormer.
The hive
In the wild bees build nests in inaccessible places - the
highest branches of trees or on overhanging rocks - but
the beekeeper's aim is to provide his honeybees with
somewhere they can live, visit plants and produce honey,
so that the beekeeper can then conveniently remove the
honey without disturbing the bees. To this end, humans
have developed various styles of hive.
42 The hive
The hivE.. I!. not lust a place where bees are kepI, if 15 a way of
controlling, feeding and harvesting and good beekeeping Involves
bttcoming proficient in using It.

What do you need from a hive?

When you ore purchasing your first hive there are 0
number of foctors to toke into consideration. Importonrly
bees come first. If they are not happy or healthy in the
hive then there is no point in keeping it. Secondly, the
hive must be easy to work with. This means it has 10 be
light enough 10 lift around yet strong enough to toke the
weight of allthot honey - which is much heavier thon
wate r. A super will weigh around 12-15 kilograms
(26-34 fbi and you need to be able to till this without
damaging yourself.
Most hives ore anchored with a res training strop
these doys, unless they ore in a very sheltered position,
which enables hives 10 be mode from lighter materials.
PVC hives have excellent insulation properties and you
gel more brood for your money with them, but without
stropping they a re likely 10 blow away in a high wind.
You should consider how many pieces the hive bre<lks
down into. When you are piling up supers inside outer
covers, and having to deal with the bees at the some lime
it is easy to get confused about how to reassemble il.

Standardization
Beekeeping has been mode easier by having equipment
and accessories of the some size and specification. For
this reason it is best to use similar equipment to other
beekeepers in your district or club. This way you will be

RighI. A ,;ngl" rompotlmenllorge

.k"P hive, in use Iodoy 01 it ha, been
For marl)' hundred. of )"'On.
Above, A row af modem hi..... RighI: A welHep, wee hive in
'" on apiary. Notice haw me o prod",,;,,,, herb and flower
loc'9hts indicate the 5ize af roch garden. The affroc/ive ,lyle of
<o/ollY: some with mony honey· the wac hive look. ideal in a
1,1100 supers, athen with one. coIk>ge garden.

tlble to get a ready supply of boxes ond feeders, queen

mtcluders, floors, lids, foundation , frames and crown
hoords. In the UK the National hive is most common.
In America and many ports of the world the Longstroth
<>, the Comme rcial hives are most popular. However,
III most countries a large number of hive types are

(lvwlable. See pages 44-7 for further information .

44 Types of hive
hI arE:: s(,:verOI typ s and sizes of hive, and your choice will
largely depend on what I! ovodable and what is iJsed in your
area lsee page, 64·-51. They range from simple skeps. which
con bn used Ie :aptuft' swarms, 10 more complicated
orrane ~f"" 'lt~ W' h ~"'!vr'ral supm~

The moin problems with many types of hive are thol il is Top-bar hive
not possible 10 inspect individual sets of brood, it is The bees' ability to draw their own honeycomb from a
difficult to locale the queen and the honeycomb is mostly stick. or any overhang has long been used to the advan-
a mix of brood ond honey. The ability 10 lake out tage of beekeepers. TOp"bor hives provide nothing more
individual fromes of honeycomb is one of the features of than a bar from which bees draw down the ir own honey-
the modern hive, ond it was developed not, as many comb. They are, in fact, only a li"le more complex than a
believe by the Rev. longstroth, but by a Russian strow skep, and you get honey a s it used to be before
beekeeper, Petro Prokopovych, who olso invented a modern hives were developed. There is no physical way
simple wooden queen excluder, made of wood and with of separating the brood from the honey stores, but by
holes drilled in it. Modern hives ore all designed oround moving bars around it is possible to keep the brood nesl
the minimum bee spoce, 4-5 mm [about ~ inch), which at one end of the hive and the stores at the other.
is the room needed for 0 worker to move comfortably You cannot spin the honey out of the honeycomb
around the hive. Sees will use propolis to glue up gaps using on extractor. Instead, it hos to be allowed to drip
smaller than the bee space. into a bucket or is pressed and filtered. Many people eat
the honeycomb and honey together.
Skep
This troditionol hive is bosicolly a large strow or wicker Langstroth hive
hot·shoped container with a hole in it fOf the bees to get The Rev. Langstroth collated information on the distance
in and out. A skep has no bose, and the bees hong from between frames, the bee spoce [see poge 14) and
the 'roof' , from which they draw [build) their honey· optimum hive dimensions, and he come up with a style of
comb. The bottom of the skep is completely open, but the hive thaI is now used almost everywhere in the USA. It
bees do not seem to be troubled by the extra ventilation has a deep brood box thot contains ten fromes and
in the winter. Even if you have a skep you are unlikely to shallower supers.
use it in the long term, althaugh it can be useful in on
emergency for capturing a swarm. There are many
designs of skep, depending on the requirements or
Right: Two beei.iV<!. with dovble
locatian . Skeps are remarkably worm in winter and are brood bo.oceJ Ii-om a commercial
exceptionally good for harvesting propolis. apiary.
 Right. The wac h. .,. con shll b<!
hough' but ",.. noI ~sed OJ
46 moch in f8C""" yearl hecouse
01 the cumbersome not\Ire 01 d,.
""Mr boord,

National hive WBC hive

The Notional hive is the one mosl often used in Britain The Williom Broughton Corr (WaC) hive is whot most
and Europe. [I is similor 10 the Longstroth in thaI it consists people think of when they imagine a hive. It has pagoda·
of separate boxes for the brood cnd honey. The opening type frames that creole on coter wall for insulation , The
of the hive allows the fromes to be slocked either parallel WBC tokes the r.ome frames as Ihe Notional hive, but it
10 the opening ~ 0190 degrees, which olters the path of fits anly ten frames. II is less common than other hives,
air: parallel fromes are known as the 'worm way'; partly because il is more expensive and portly because it
angled fromes ore known as the 'cold way'. is incanvenientlo have 10 dismantle the outer covers.
The fromes ore nush with the lop surface of the box, When moving the W8C hive, Ihe auler boards toke up 0
and the bottom surface is deeper than the end of the lot more space than a Nolional or Commercial hive, A
frames, creating 0 bottom bee space. The bees ore able number of variations of the WBC hive exist thot are
10 crawl over the lop bars of the fromes because 01 the especially designed to help bees cope with consistently
space afforded by the frames above. poor weather conditions or strong winds.
Dadant hive
This type of hive is fairly similar to the longstroth, and
you sometimes hear beekeepers talk about Dodont-
Longstroth hives. It has ten frames and is largely similar
to the Longstroth in that almost all the ports are
Interchangeable. The largest 01 the hives, the Dodant is
lound in France and some ports of Spain, but is not used
In many other ports of the world.

Smith hive
This hive holds 13 frames that are 01 the some
dimensions as those used in the Notional hive. It is a top
bee spoce hive, which means that the frames come flush
with the bose 01 the box (see poge 46), and there is a
gop at the top lor the bees to move around the frames. It
IS little used by newcomers to beekeeping today, but the
l'xtro frame makes it a popular style 01 hive wi th those
who do still have one.

Com mercial hive

Ihis type 01 hive has the some dimensions as the
hlotional. It is available as either top bee space or
bottom bee space ond is often used with brood boxes
llbove the queen excluder. The size of this hive is used to
" ...ote a strong colony, which will produce a large
volume 01 honey in the supers. The supers of Commercial
Ilives are frequently just brood boxes on top 01 the queen
"xcluder, allowing the colony to produce up to 23-27
~ ,Iogro ms (50-60 Ibl of honey per box. Commercial
1"'I,keeping is a heavy job during harvestl It is not
'"'' ammon to see a Commercial brood box with
t Illhonol supers because 01 their lighter weight.

RighI: The lid of 0 Notionol hive

being removed 10 show rho
.:rown board beneath, wid!
IIOMs otIoched Jo lite board.
48 Parts of a hive
The modern hive has evolved over many years and will continue
to change in response to the challenges thai new pests and the
rP-quiremenls that a developing honey industry brings. What is
nl"YllV cClsidered best pracltce 5 very different to the rules followed
a decade ago, and Ihe some WI I apply, after anolher decode

Stand
This has many functions in addition to raising the brood
box off the floor. By the lime your honey supers ore full
they will be quite heovy, and making sure Ihollhe lop
brood box is at a suitable height will make lihing them as
convenient and comfortoble 0$ possible.

floor
Mony beekeepers still use solid wooden floors 01 the
correct dimensions for their porticulor hives. However,
research into Ihe ecology of the hive has shown that
vorroo mites that fall on a solid floor con climb bock into
the hive and reinfect your bees, An open mesh floor
allows the mites to fall out of the hive, and bees seem to
thrive with the increased ventilation.
The ROOf" 01$0 provides on alighting point for bees to
land on when they ore returning to the hive.

Brood box
The brood box is the chomber where the moss of bees
congregote around the queen and where she lays her
eggs . She will loy where she feels the temperature is
right, ond this tends to produce 0 large semicircle in the
bottom half of the brood fromes. There ore usually la,
11, 12 or 13 fromes in the brood box (depending on
your type of hive), ond the brood nest is usually centred
The mesh of 0 vorroo IIocr IInIU'ltI thol miles
Abo ... e: /hoI foil from on the middle frames, but then spreods out to fill the
the beel oduolly u;' tho ""va compktMly. whole chamber.
Queen excluder Petro leum jelly 49
This is on ancient invention !~ee page 27). Pieces of Bees tend to use propelis to glue up everything
wood with holes the size of a worker bee drilled in them within the hive, and ~porating sur/aces COil be
have been used in the ecrlie~t of the modern hives to awkward. II you cover obuttillg surloces with
keep the queen in a particular section of the hive. petroleum jllily or a solulioll a/liquid paraffin and
Because the queen is fatter th an the workers, she is beeswox, the bees wilillot glue these surfaces,
unable to squeeze through the holes. mokillg them eosy to seporote and work with.
Modern queen excluders usually toke the form of a
metal grill, and they fit on the top of the brood bo)(.

Top bee space or bottom bee space?

Your hive will be either a top bee space [with a space
above the frames) or a bottom bee space type [with a
\poce below the frames), and you will notice that there is
o space underneath the grill of the excluder. You must
'ernember to position the grill so that bee space is
tn(untained for your particular style of hive.
The bee space varies in size according to the bees
themselves. In order to understand the bee space you
,hould visualize what i~ going on in the hive. Bees on
udlocen t frames need to be able to work bock to bock in
, ... dcr to get inside cells.
Clearly the drone and queen are much bigger than
tilt' worker and this is reRected in the design of the queen
I'~tluder, which has a spoce that is large enough for the
worker, but too tight for the queen. The gop on the
"~, luder is 4.3 mm [about ~ inch) , but a damaged one
nllfJh t have a 'hole' in it - a bent bor allowing a space
"lIough for the queen to squeeze through.
Ihe space also hos a bearing on the way bees protect
II ... h,ve. During the winter, bees will ohen narrow the
'1"1' (Hound the nest site to as little os 7 mm [% inch) so
m,j,v,duol bees can crowl through but predators find it
"" ",- difficult to enter the hive.
ul course, in the case of the tap-bor hive and skep,
tl", ronce pt of the bee space means nothing to the
I,,,,,~p{'per - but the bees themselves will create comb
tl" It , nnlorms roughl y to bee space principles for security Above A now brood bo.o willi deon fromes, all ready lor th.
.",.1 w\!(lIher protection. jntrodvdian of a tIO'" colony.
 Supers
The supers are usually half the depth of the brood box
and consequen~y have only half·sized frames in them .
They are normally reserved for honey stores, and a
queen excluder is usually placed between the brood box
and the super so that no eggs will be laid in the honey
frames, assuming the queen excluder is not damaged.
A ma ture colony in the height of the season might
have several supers of honey - not all of which are
destined for the colony.

Crown board
This is a board that covers the whole of the top of the
highest super, ond it is simply 0 device to keep the bees
at bay when you hove removed the lid of the hive. There
ore usually a couple of holes cut into the board through
which you can feed the bees by means of 0 feeder, or
you can place a Porter bee escape into the hole. This is a
device that acts like 0 one-way valve, ollowing bees out
of the hive, but not in ogoin, and forcing them to re-enter
through the bottom .
If you hove no queen excluder you musl check under
the crown board for the presence of the queen when you
lift it from the hive.
Some modern crown boards do not have holes in
them, and they are simply a covering. Itt is on excellent
place for keeping your notes on the colony.) You can get
crown boards with a bee space on either side; other·
wise, you will have to position the board to preserve the
bee space.

Lid
The lid of the hive, which must be waterproof, usually has
a metal covering. Some lids have ventilation and escape
holes, others do not. The lid overhangs the top super, ond
these two together form a locked unit. Some beekeepers
point identifying shapes on the lid.

Abo ..,,: A Jmorl super ~11ed with rntW ""'"'r ("o,""J "",Iy in /he
HOOOI'1 for the young colony 10 make wa.. cellJ for ho<w:r Jtoroge.
Strap
If your stand IS fixed 10 the ground secure a strop oroond
all the boxes and over the lid of the hive, passing il
through the slond, so that it witt keep Ihe enlire hive
secure in gusling winds and also from vandals, who have
been known to turn over hives. A slrop is really imporlonl
If you are using a polystyrene hive, which is porticulorly
light and susceplible to slrong winds. The nylon strop
wilh metal locking device has revolulionized beekeeping.
It is completely secure and strong enough to anchor the
whole hive to the stand - assuming the sland is in turn
onchored 10 Ihe ground. One drawback is thaI Ihe
(hea per ones can have clutches thaI corrode, making il a
bil of a problem opening a hive oHer a tong absence
IIlrer the winter.

Caring for a wooden hive

Wooden hives should be scorched before U:le with 0
blowtorch to kill any pests Of di5eQ$es that lurk in the
9,oin OM corners, and the wood should be intoct,
w,thout any croch or worps.

As with most aspects of beekeeping there is some

debate aboot painting hives: some beekeepers soy
bore wood is besl, because this allows condensation
Ulside the hive to evaporate naturally. Others soy
thot the point causes the wood to swell and
l'V()ntuolly dislodges nails and joints. Many
heekeepers, however, point their hives inside and
<lIJt, Of at least treat the wood with pre:lervolive. It is
II good idea to paint the hive in colours thol do not

·.tund out 100 much, particularly il it is in on urban

"1('0 hlerior-quolity point is adequate, as is wood
I''''~'ver, but you must make sure Ihal the hive box
" ve,y well ventilated ond thoroughly dried before
you mt,oduce the colony.

Above FOOng (I hive with (I .trap. NoIice the ba.: below !he floor ond
brood ba.:. This jJ .. mpIy 10 raise rhe hive 10 (I comfor1ob/e height
52 Frames
Movable frame hiv~s, a lillie like modern lop-bar hives, have been
around sint..:e at least the late 16th century. They made iI possible
to remove individual combs for inspection. Better slill, most of the
bees remained undisturbed. Modern frames are deSigned to be
easily and ql ,:kh removed

Modern frames and it took. several yeors to toke off but has now became
Modern frames ore quite complex in design yel simple in standard . It is mostly bought as worker-sized celis, but
construction, and you will need to buy frames thol will fi t you con 01$0 gel the larger, drone-sized foundation.
into your hive. British Notional fromes fi' Notionol, Smith The foundalion has a wire running through ii, and
and WBC hives, or you con buy Longstroth, Dodonl and there are two types. In one the wire farms on M, and in
Commercial frames. Ihe other the wires are loid sing ly, appearing at the tap
Frames ore ovoilable in two sizes - one lor brood of Ihe sheet. In the M·style foundation, which is common
boxes and the other for supers - and they hold a in Briloin, the sheet goes inio Ihe frome so thot wires
template for workers 10 build the comb. The template, create on upright M. The single·wired sheels are mare
coiled foundation, is stomped beeswax - bees will not usuol in the USA.
make up on ony other substance, such as plastiC. like everything else in the modern hive, the frames
Foundation was in ... ented in 1857 by 10honnes Mehring, are deSigned 10 preserve the bee space.

Asse mbly
A frame has several paris and it has 10 be assembled
before it can be used in Ihe hive. Althoogh the size and
style of frames ... ary from hive to hive, the basic principles
remain the some for each. A wired, pre-pressed wax
sheet with a template for the cells is sandwiched between
pieces of wood that maintain the bee space within
the hive and allow the frame to be easily removed
for inspection.

leI!: A wper frame with pins

holding jr 1ogeIh", or the mcnr
."."regic painll.
How to assemble a frame
53
A frome hos severol porls and it has to be onembled before it can be used in
the hive, Although the size and style of frames vary from hive 10 hive, the
basic principles remoin the some lor 8Och.

<

1 Use a penknife or similar to prise 2 Hammer a couple 01 19 mm 3 Assemble one pair of the botlom
out the loosely a ttached strip of (Yo inch) gimp pins to hold the bars in bors to creote 0 recess in which the
wood in the lop bor (it will eventually position. The top bars and sidebars loundotion will sit.
be noiled bock into position). Toke will fit snugly together with the cut-
[(Ire thai you do not split the wood. out slits 10 the imide.

1\ toke the wire that comes out of 5 Pin bock the tropping bar into 6 Pin 011 the joints ond moke sure
Iii" h"Uom of the sheet of foundation position cnd assemble the other the whole ossembly is firmly joined
'''I'' , 10$$ it back over the surface of bottom bor 10 moke a perfect frome, together.
til" \llI'l't
54 The beekeeper's tool kit
Bl 2pt ne~ 'J wid! tang! ~,tooL... equipm~nt and !Ipeciol
r..

lie hl!·~ Ie I)r ' " j them "r

from bee stings. You can purcha~_
jl-' ~q I hrOU('Ih" )ur .xol beekeeper c; Ib,

Bee suit
An olJ.over bee suil is one of the most importont items you
will need. Not only will the suil stop bees congregating in
the folds of clothing or up your trouser legs, but it will odd
on extra layer of fabric $0 thaI bee stings ore not able to
penetrate to your skin if you hove reosonably thicK
clothing under it. The built-in veil will slop bees attacking
your foce and vanishing down your ears, which is 0
thoroughly unpleasant experience.
You should lounder YOYf bee suit as oflen as possible
50 thot infections ore not possed from hive to hive, or
even from apiary to apiary.
If you wear gauntlets make sure that the sleeves of the
bee suit are on the outside to ovoid any creases in which
bees can congregate. G<:.untlets do not aHord complete
protection, and in any C05e you really do need to be able
to feel with your fingers as you inspect the hive. For this
reason mony beekeepers prefer to weor latex gloves,
changing them regularly to maintain good hygiene
around their hives.

Boots
It is a good ideo to weor sturdy boots that will give you a
good purchase on the ground. It is vital that you do nat
slip or foil over when you have a frame of bees in your
hands. Make sure thot your bee suit forms a seal over the
boots so that bees cannot congregate around the tops of
your boots and lind their way into your sock

Right A well·dod beekeeper;n bee 5uit

ond veol, W"lIinglon boors ond gloves.
 55

Smoker
A Uood-quolity smoker is likely to be the most expensive
1"''(."0 o f equipmen t you will buy. You can burn 0 range of
I""t(lrlol s in the smoker, hom wood shavings and paper
"" I" ed pine cones and gross clippings, but make sure
,1.,,1 you toke core of the bellows ond do nol allow them
I"' II't 100 wet, when they somelimes rot.
IhCfe are several styles of smoker, bul they 011 operole
I'" II", w me principles: you fiU the chamber with paper
,",.1" moleriol, such os old wood, and once il is properly
.,I,,, lit you close the lid. Avoid over.vigorous pumping
Wi th th o bellows or you will end up with 1I0mes coming
Above ' SmoJ.er fuel con be
1""11 the funnel , You are aiming to deliver a cloud 01 non- ony1h;ng from old wood ,., pifl{l
I ", I (001smoke. cones or grou.
56

Above, rite hi"" Iooi with a.harp hooked edge. 11,e hole is (U,cellent Above : The hive tocI i, a wonderfully designed pioce of equipmenl.
For removing bee .tings. Here, il i, levering 0 heavily gluoc/.in frome.

Hive tool
This small tool is 0 design masterpiece. There ore two
types, one with 0 J-shoped end and the other a Kroper
with 0 curved end. Some beekeepers like to have both
types, but one or the other is usually suHicient, ot 10051 01
first. You con use the tool to scrape away comb and
queen cells from the side and bottom of frames, to sepo-
rate and lift frames tho l hove been glued together with
propolis, to cleon hives, to inspect cells. 10 hold bees and
to destroy queen cells. As you gain experience with your
hive you will continue to find new uses for it.

Bee brush
A bee brush is mostly used for removing bees from your
bee suit. It's eosiest to do this il you hove someone with
you 10 check the bock of your bee suit. A few feathers will Above: A bee brush i, ideal for moving bee,. Here the beekeeper i,
do just as well, but the brush has long, soft bristles, which coaxing <> swann into <> cordboard box.
ollow you to move the bees without harming them or
making them angry. have more than one hive it is absolutely vital. Record
when you applied varraa treatments , and in some
Note pad and pen countries you ore obliged by law to make a note of the
You will find it enormously useful to take notes about manufoc turer's batch number. Remember to be vigilant
what you have done in the hive and when, and if you with your record keeping .
Use ful i tem s 57
The items described on pages 54-6 ore essential, and you connot even think about
acquiring a swarm until you have boughllhem. There are, however, several other
useful, but nol essential, pieces of equipment, which you con obtain more gradually.

Di sinfectant Rubber ar cloth squares

Use 0 solulion of a proprietory non-<lromolic disinfectant The squares are cut so tha t they a re the some size as the
10 cleon your hive 1001, especially if you go from hive 10 open top of the hive. You si mply place a square over
hive or from apiary to apiary. If you ore a member of a the expased frames while you ore working on something
beekeeperl' association there are umpteen opporrunities else or have to move away from the hive. The square
lor possing infection among members' hives and your keeps the bees calm and protects them from the sun or a
peuonot stock. sudden shower.

Drawing pins Bucket

Keep a small stock 01 drawing pin510 mark frames when You will find that a bucket is one of the most u~ful things
you ore working in the hive so tho t you do nol forget you can have. Toke it with you when you visit the hive
where YOLllos! worked. and use it to hold the trimmings of wax that you might
render down to make items from candles to soop.
Force ps
Surgical grasp forceps ore extremely useful cnd can be Scissors
u~cd to hold something shut so that you can handle Some beekeepers trim the queen's wings so that she is
It Without having to keep up the pressure. They are unable to Ay for from the hive, and if you do this you will
purticulorly u~ful when you are deoling with queen cells not lose all your bees in the event of a swarm.
h(!couse you can simply grab the cell, squash it and
to-move it in a single action. Queen cage
This is not something tha t a new beekeeper is likely to
Cop need, but you might be given a queen in a plastic mesh
I vnn Ihough you will wear on oll-over suit thot includes a cage, plugged at the open end with some sugor candy
v,"I, It sometimes happens, especially il you are bending or even newspaper. In trodUCing a new queen into a hive
ovl'l, that the veil is pressed against your face, leaving can be difficult -the workers might turn against her - but
Y"U vulnerable to being stung through the mesh. In order when she is slotted between the frames in the brood
h' h.. ld the veil away from your skin, it can be helpful to chamber while she is still inside the cage. the workers
".,"11 (I peaked cop of some kind. have time 10 lick the queen without harming her and are
more likely to accept her. After a few days. when the
t\oo paint workers have recognized her as thei r queen, you can
YIII' will need to mark the queen with brightly coloured either release her yourself or leove the workers to chew
1"lIlIt ~o tha t you can ea Si ly recognize her on the frame. through the candy or newspa per to set her free.
1111\ will considerably reduce the time you spend
1"III,liI!l9 the bee!. !see 0150 pages 88-9).
Getting started
The most importont question a new beekeeper must
consider is where to site his hive so that the bees are safe
from attack from both humans and animals and can, in
turn, do no harm to neighbours or passers-by. You will
probably have an ideal spot in your garden, but assess it
carefully from everyone's point of view, and remember that
once you have introduced the bees into the hive you will
not easily be able to move it (see pages 90-1). Only then
can decisions about acquiring a hive and finding a
reliable source of a new colony of bees be made.
60 Where to keep bees
It is possible 10 keep bees almost anywhere - in ordinary
gardens, on rooftops or balconies, beside agricultural crops, 01
sea level or up a mountain. Bees will happily live in the masl
unusual places, and in the wild they ore more likely to be found in
the cavity of a wall or in an empty chimney or unused drainpipE.
than in the newest, most sophisticated hive thol money can buy.

Choosing a site
The ideal site for a hive i~, 01 course, 0 gorden thot is next
to 0 field or on orchard, but as gardens have become
smaller and houses closer together this is possible for
fewer and fewer of us. Most beekeepers have 10 make
the besl of the conditions in their own garden, but with a
little tholJght there is no reason yOIJ connot keep a hive or
two in even a comporotively small space.
When you are looking at the oppartlJnities for
positioning a hive or two in yalJr gorden, think first 01 all
about the protection that your existing fences and hedges
will afford the hive. Sheltering the bees from prevailing
winter winds should be a priority, and a dense evergreen
hedge is ideol. A high hedge or fence will also enCOlJroge
your bees to fly higher, thlJs avoiding the heads of
possers·by or neighbolJrs . Although some beekeepers
recommend positioning hives so thaI the enlfances face
SOlJth (in the northern hemisphere), in a sheltered garden
this is less imporlont thon making sure thaI the openings

~~: .-
face away from the prevailing wind.
Avoid low gfolJnd in the garden becolJse in winter
.- .... cold air tends to sink and gather in 'frost pockets', where
;~ ' L -... the oir temperatlJre can be several degrees lower than
~~ __ ri ~~~ _ _ _-.:..
_ ' __ .. :.~-.
~ ~~
in the rest of the gorden. This will chill the hive and cOlJld
lead to the death of the colony.
Above: A \NBC hi"" on" gorden po,i" wi/h plenty of woodland If possible, ovoid siting your hive directly IJnder a
cover behind. lorge tree. Not only might strong winds calJse branches
 Left:
A National hive wim 0 sloping roof 10 proMd from odvene
~conJi6on.
61
and twigs to loll on the hive in winter, when your aim
should be 10 keep yoor bees as quiet and undisturbed as
you can, but olso rainwoter may drip on to the hive.
However, in the height of summer a liltle shade over the
hive will be welcome, so check the orientation of your
gorden and posilion the hive neof 10 a deciduous Iree or )
large shrub $() thot there is some sheher from the over.
head midsummer sun but olso $0 that (Jny winter Sun will
foil on the hive ond worm it.
Finally, make sure thot YOu hove easy access to the
hive and that you have plenty of room to move around
when you are working on it. Remember that you will
need space around you to place the boxes that you
remove when you inspect the hive, and you also need
somewhere safe to put your smoker so that smoke doesn't
constantly drift into the open hive.

+
Urban beekeeping
More people in the world live in urban areas, so the
majority of us will be urban beekeepers. There are
special problems associated with keeping bees in this
type of environment, and the chief of these is pollution,
which can degrade or even kill colonies. Sites near a
factory or a main rood are never going 10 be suitable,
and if the only garden you have is affected by pollution
but you would like to keep bees you will have to think
Urban bees about renting a site away from your house or keeping a
An Imporlonl ospect of urban beekeeping is to be hive on on allotment if you are lucky enough 10 hove one.
-,'110 rhol you hove gentle bees_ Ask. your supplier Surprisingly, perhaps, the tops of loll buildings are
1,l,oul the lemperomenl of your colony. The gentles! good places for bees, although you will hove to toke
I~'i's, those who return to the hive quickly after they extra core 10 prote<:I the hives from slrong winds and 10
!oqyO been disturbed, are rhe best for bees thol ore make sure that you can lake effective precautions againsl
~"I'I In on urban gorden. swarming: the cost of removing a swarm from someone's
heating system could be prohibilive.
Unfortunately, humans can also be a problem. Your
neighbours mighl simply be afraid of bees. so screening
Ihe hive with a high hedge that encourages your bees to
 lIy high (see page 60) might be aU you need do. Avoid heavy enough for a misjudged leap on to 0 hive to knock
62 looking 01 your bee$ when there ore people about - the whole colony on its side.
especiolly when children ore playing "eor by or when
neighbours ore sunbathing in their gorden. When you Providing nectar and pallen
do visit your hive make sure thaI you subdue the bees Your bees will need a good supply of nector and plenty
with your smoker cnd cover cloths cnd do nol spend too of pollen from a wide range of plants to provide on
long looking al l hem. Try nol to shoke dozens of bees 01,11 adequate supply of food from eorly spring to early
of the hive cnd keep them inside 05 much as possible. autumn . The availability of food is referred to os 'How' -
Toke the lime 10 explain 10 your neighbours how the hive bees collect nectar and pollen as it Hows from plants -
works and how they con ovoid being slung, and, of ond there are three main periods during the year.
course, don'tlorgel 10 offer them 0 jar or two of honey to (See also pages 116--2 1.)
thonk them for their cooperation .
Vandals are, sadly, 0 focI of life. Try to choose 0
position for the hive thot is out of sight of cosuol poS$Cr$-
by, and alwoys recure the hive with 0 strop. Below, o;ls.cJ rope if 0
fo...ouri,. wmm.r1i"", crop fo,
If your hives are at ground level make sure they are beekeepers os ir;s 0 good
completely stobie. local pets, particularly cots, ore quite
~01"""
Spring flow
Although it is known os the spring lIow, in most oreas this Pesticides 63
period octuolly begins in late winter and lasts until early Like all insecl1, bees are 5usceplib!e to being
to mid-spring. poisoned by pesticides, so you should not keep your
This is a lime when fruit trees, including apples ond hives where there is ony likelihood Ihot they will be
cherries, are beginning to bear blossom, and some 8Kposed. Bees will, of course, Ifovel a couple of
orchards still hove their fruit 'top-dressed' (pollinated) by miles when they are foroging for food, so it will not
visiting bees. In addition, your bees will visit trees like be possible to keep your bees away Irom all the
Salix spp. (willow) and weeds, such os Taraxacum ponible dangers, but you should do your best to
officinale (dandelion). ovoid droplet contominotion.
In loler spring, if you live ne<lr or on a form 8rO$$;co
/lapus (oilseed rope or colzoJ and early legumes, such as
beans and peas, will be important food sources. Oilseed
lope is especially attractive to bees, but the honey
produced crystallizes quickly, and remember that form·
Below During >pring, IIawering
I'r S are, of course, likely to protect their crops by lrui, trees are on exceIIen,
~ praying them with pesticides, which will harm your soorce 01 pollen.
honeybees.
In built-up areas, although there will be a few
.·orly·l1owering shrubs, such as viburnum, and spring-
lIowering bulbs, such as Galanthus (snowdropJ, you will
plo bobly hove to supplement your bees' food with syrup
(\('e poges 80-3).

Summe r or main floW'

INjuminous plonts, from clover to peas and beans, are a
I I' ><Xl source of pollen in the country, and in more urban
lIoJ, dens trees such as Tilia spp. (lime) produce pollen-
,,, II flowers.
A great opportunity for beekeepers is the flow on the
I"" .,her moors that lasts from midsummer until well inta
·".turnn . To take advantage of this, however, you must be
,.1 ,1. · to move your hive, so ovoid the WBC style.

Autumn fl oW'
I" 1,,1,1 summer ta autumn many garden plants bloom in
" II" w nt quantities to provide enough food lor your
I.• ·,·, As well as different types of heather (ling) and all
II,,, "'(Illy garden plants, Hedera spp. (ivy) are on
, "I""ble food source.
64 Acquiring a hive
Beehives are available from many sources, and your main
difficulty will be in choosing the style you wont and deciding
whether to buy new or second~hond. Before you buy anything
hawever, talk to other beekeepers ta hear about the pros and
l'
Q' cons of the different styles and, if possible, arrange to see some
of them in situ so that you can see how other beekeepers
posHion and manage their hives.
o
Housing your bees
r; The main problem in keeping a hive of bees is tha t, to
( avoid losing your bees to a swarm, you need to hove a
couple of hives available, and the appropriate number of
supers, as well as the ossociated frames, bases and
stands. There may, therefore, be for more expense
involved thon you hod at first thought.
Perhaps the best time to slor t a first colony is in the
period after swarming, which is usually from mid-to late
summer. This will give your new colony time to build up
over the rest of the summer without the imminent threat of
swarming. You will then be able to acquire the necessary
kit over the winter months so that you are ready for the
following season.
To house a single colony of bees in the new season
you will need:

• 2 brood boxes
• 22 brood frames
• 2 queen excluders
• 2 floors and hive lids
• at least 2 super boxes wi th 22 super frames

Left: A new Nolional hive on a galvanized stond sel in oon<:re/{l, with

a brood box, svper and closed crown boord, but W<li~"9 for il> lid.
 65

Of course, yoo can get away with a single hive, which

Inquires half this number of ilems, as long as there is
.." meone from whom you might obtain a ready supply of
1'~ l ros il you need them. scorched with a blowtorch beFore you put your new
A standard set-iJp for a growing colony at the height colony anywhere neaf it.
" llhe season will include: a brood box with associated To avaid the transmission of diseoses it is best not to
V<lIfOQ Hoor on a stand, a queen excluder and at least buy second·hond Frames. These are more difficult to
"IU' (preferably three) supers with the appropriate clean and are owkword to dismantle to make sUle thol
number of frames. The first super will be full 01 honey for even the joints are completely disease ond pest free .
tl". colony's own SIOfes 10 see them through the winter. Th. main incentive for buying seco nd·hond eCjuip-
( ),..-e it is full you can move the queen excluder above it ment is cost. Modern polythene beehives are much
'11,,1 wai t for the next super to fill. and so on. cheaper than their wooden counterparts, and their use is
increasing, especially among commercial beekeepers .
What to buy However, they must be stropped to a stand that is
II, pfObobly best to use the style of hives that are most secured 10 the ground - these hives are so light that yoo
.·",j,.ly a vailable and in use in your area (see poges cannot just put 0 brick on the rooF to stop it blowing over.
.,., I). If you are learning about beekeeping at a club or Many beekeeping associations sell equipment, and
, ,~,o tio n it is advisable to buy something that you are buying from them not only makes sure that you get a
.,1" ."Iy fa miliar with. good deal but profits will go towards the d ub. encouraging
beekeeping in yoor area. Beller still, you will get a lot of
\t'cond-hand equipment impartial advice for free . There is also a worldwide
!t " !lilly worth buying second·hond equipment if you network of beekeeping suppliers, most of whom are inter·
I",.w the conditions in which it has been stored and are ested in the welfare of the bees themselves, so ask
... Iq,n tha t everything is in good condition . You must be Cjuestions and get as much information as you can with
". 111<11 the hi ve has been thoroughly cleaned and your purchase.
66 Setti ng Up a hive
B!;;. V t,.: y( even think ab.. )1 oeql ling a colony of bf OJ you must
set up the hivE mE :::Ily. It almost impoS! ible 10 move the hive
once Ihe bE~S ore in fE:.Sldence, 1;0 take the time in the early
5109(:;5 to si te and set up the hive so that you can pion carefully
for tk inlrodl -:tion 'the be s.

Positioning the stand

Position the hive w that the entrance loces away from Col d wa y or warm w a y?
strong prevoiling winds so thot roin will not be blown into To allow the air 10 circvlole freely, wt your frames
the interior. Moke sure, 100, that there is space for you 10 the ' cold way', at on angle of 90 degrees to the
stand at either side of the hive while you work, rather entrance. To reduce air ci rculation, set your frames
than directly in IranI of it. so thot bees con return from the 'worm way', perollel to the entrance . Use the
foroging w ithou t landing on your bock. worm way if your hive is in on e)lpesed site and the
The stand is on important port of the hive. It raises the cold way if il is in a sheltered position .
working area and keeps the bose off the ground. Hives
thol rest at ground level quickly fill with all r.orl$ of pe~ts,
including slugs and snails.
Ideally, choose a ~tond thot is mode from tubular
steel, which can be cemented into po~ition . This allows
you to hold the whole hive together with a strop, which is
especially useful if you are using one of the modern,
lightweight, polystyrene hives, but will also prevent the
hive from being knocked over.

lefT: A meJ, floor;, now vsed 0'

pori of 0 varroo mifl! redu<;ri""
'/rottIgy.
Establishing the nucleus As the grubs appear in the brood you will notice that
Bees that are bought usually come in a nucleus, often the new frames are betng drawn out built with comb and 67
known as a 'nuc'. This is a bo)( with four or more frames that the size of the colony is increasing . You can then
of brood, some stores of honey, a marked queen and a place a queen excluder and a super af honey frames on
host of attendant workers. Your first task is to place the top of the brood box. This super, when it is full of honey,
frames of brood in the centro of the brood box and pack will represent the bees' winter supplies.
in new frames on either side. You can place another super on top of this - this will
When the bees are in the brood box, place a super be your honey - only when the bees have filled the first
on the top ond a feeder with 2: 1 syrup solution !see super with honey. You must make sure that you coter for
pages 80-3). Then you should leave the hive alone. their needs before you think about your own wishes.
After a week you can toke a peek inside to see if the
queen is laying and if there is evidence of worker bees Below, A supet" wid! ripertirtg ~ and 0- drow,rtg cells on /he
By109 about and collecting honey and pollen. ~ board. This coIot!y might Ml«i CI I\IIW SI.IpIII" lor ma<e room.
68 Acquiring a colony of bees
II 01
all posSIble. buy yf ur I:>< ro. !,um a repulable brc·(k r. Every
asscx..iotion will be able to put you in touch with several ..:ouitab!e
breeders. and only by acquiring bees in Ihis way will you be able
7' to plan for the introduction of the bees. Decide where you ore
going to keep them, where you will put and organize the hive
and $( or before yOL even think about buying thl b

Choose your bee type ask if there have been any recent problems, information
The be~1 way of moking $ure thol you gel the mosl that will minimize the likelihood of your bees having any
suitable bees is to talk. 10 other beekeepers - ideally diseases.
severol. You need 10 choose a hybrid or type of bee thai It is possible to order a nucleus through the post.
will do well in your own particular environment. You might, Make sure that you are around and able to respond the
lor exomple, hove pions to toke your bees 10 various moment the bees are delivered.
locations 10 take advantage of the Row of honey in different
oreas, and you will, therefore, need a bee thai is suited Timing
to the range of conditiom it will encounter. Make sure that you have everything ready for your bees
(
As 0 new beekeeper you will need a colooy that will before you buy them. You do not wont to leave them
put up with yaur mistakes, will nat surprise yau with pocked into a brood box for very loog, and 24 hours in
untoward swarms and mess up the hive with lots af brace hollemperorures might kill them.
comb (wax bridges between adiacent surfaces). Above Consider whether you will need help in pulling your
all you are looking for well·behaved, gentle bees. bees into the hive - if it is the first time, having on
experienced beekeeper on hand will give you the
Before you buy, ask the supplier: confidence you need even if you don't ask for their
assistance - but you will need 10 coordinate the dotes.
• Are they good mannered? Also, make sure yOI) have a good supply of food for
• Do they sworm easily? the bees, It might toke many doys for bees to collect
• Is the queen prolific? nectar and pollen, and even longer to make this food
• What race ar subspecies of bees do they come from? available for the colony, so the golden rule is feed them.

You will be able to assess their suitability for your apiary Accepting a swarm
and conditions by asking your supplier who else has this Occasionally you have no option about selling up your
type of bee. Yau might also want to know how mony hive. Someone descends on you with a box of bees
colonies the supplier col lects queens from, so that you because they have heard that you wonted some and they
can be confident with their techniques, and remember to were given a swarm - and here it isl
 69

J)
1)

If yO\! are a newcomer to beekeeping get help when it Above: A nvcIeul bo.r will. rw.. broocJ Iron.s reody 10 pJoce in a
new hive,
"'II1C$IO taking on a swarm . Yau might be taking a week
.w<1Im. a swarm of an aid queen that might nol lostlhe
wliller, or 0 set-off of diseased bees. New beekeepers branch, by cl.I"ing off the branch or shaking the swarm
I,,,uld only occept a swarm if they ha ... e reliable back.up. into the box Of skep lsee poges 86-7) .
I h·... erlheles$, housing a swarm of bees con often pro ... e The simplest way of introdl.lcing a swarm into a hi...e is
'.iI" ('$$/ul - but keep your expecto tions on hold a li"le to shake it from the box into a brood box holf·filled with
,ul"llhe colony is well established. b rood fromes. Howe...er, it is more interesting to ' throw'
',worms are uSl.lolly loken by placing 0 box or an old· the swarm into the hive as described on page 87. Bees
1000.I"oned skep o ...er the swarm or, illhe bees ore on a always wolk upwards into the hi ... e.
Bee care
As with all animals that humans have 'domesticated',
from pet mice to horses and ponies, the beekeeper is
responsible for his bees' wellbeing and for making sure
that they have sufficient food and drink and that the hive is
secure and well made. The beekeeper is also responsible
for keeping his bees healthy and free from pests and
diseases, and the best way to do this is to establish a
system of regular checking. Once you have become used
to your bees, however, you will find that this routine
becomes an enjoyable experience.
 ,
,
,

,
~
-
~

,;/-
.. ,
, ,
"
72 Inspecting the colony
Pori of your .;ummer routine will be to inspect your bees to assess
their health and to make sure that the queen is laying eggs and
the worker bees are making haney and capping cells. You should
check the hivE. at least once a week in spring and summer, and
then reduce this Ie once a fortnight as the doys begin to shorten
and temperatures drop in early autumn.

If you knock on the hive ond get the response of loud

buzzing and the bees oppear haphazard and fairly
angry it is likely that the queen is dead or missing.

Opening the hive

You should only enter the hive when the temperature is
c
above 15 C !59cF). it is not raining heavily ond the wind
is ligh!. Do not chill the bees at all.
Avoid opening the hive more frequently than is
absolutely necessory. Bees are not pets, and if you exam-
ine them too ohen you will lose them . In summer, when
the bees are active, you should check them once a week,
but in Iote spring and early oul\lmn once a fortnight will
be sufficient. In winter leove your bees alone, although
you should, of course, continue to check the outside of
the hive for security and signs of predation.
Checking the hive looking inside the hive will normally give you on
You can, of course, lell if a colony of bees is healthy indication of the colony's strength, how much food they
simply by checking inside the hive, but you should be hove or might need and the health of the queen. You will
oble 10 get some first impressions before you remove the be able to judge if you need to toke any remedial action,
lid, You should see a large number of bees - a handful odd a super, give some food, remove queen cells, re·
every lew seconds - flying in and out of the hive. They queen and so on. You will also be able to check the
should hove a determined poth and alight on the board colony for signs of disease.
and march straight inside. You will not be able to see if The first time you open your own hive can be a nerve-
the bees ore full of honey, but the pollen sacs on their rocking moment. Many newcomers to beekeeping like to
bock legs should be visibly full of yellow, oronge or white ask 0 more experienced person to occompony them _
pollen, and they will look dusly. just in case. Keep calm ond prepare yourself in a logical
way. Put on your bee suil, find your smoker and make by most of the bees. However, if severol bees are injured
sure you hove malches or a lighter. Put the ~pore frames or distressed Ihe alarm increases, which will have Ihe 73
and supen close 10 hand. effect of making the other bees more prone 10 ohock. You
When you lighl Ihe smoker ovoid pumping Ihe will nolice bees Aying straight at your visor. Try 10 slay
bellows as if il were a steam Irain. It will get too hot, and calm if Ihis happens, and try not 10 breathe heavily
the fuel will burn too quickly. Give a couple of short puffs because your breath will excile them even more.
away from the hive to make sure that it is ~till alight, and The usual set·up of a hive is 10 have a super on top 01
only then should you approoch the hive. a queen excluder and then a super lor the colony's slores
As you open the hive toke core Ihat you do not acci· and then the brood box. You might have added a queen
dentally kill any bees. When a worker bee is in distress excluder above the colony stores super if it is full of
she gives out on alarm pheromone that will be ignored honey, and the queen is not likely to lay in this.

How to open and check the hive

Opening the hive should become a ritual that you always stick to. A good routine saves
mistakes and trouble later.

I MClke sure your smoker is properly IiI and delivering 2 Remove the lid and put it upside down 10 one side
II' .r! quantities of smoke. Remember not to stand 01 the hive. You will stock the other componenl$ on lop of
,1111" tly in IranI of the bees' entrance, then puff Ihe this, except, perhaps, the crown board and queen
I, [[ows to deliver a little puff of smoke into the hive from excluder, which you might like to place on the other side
j ... I"w Do this before you remove the lid. The smoke 01 the hive.
'<1111\ the bees of fire, and they will start to toke honey,

Ih,. h Inokes them more rotund and less likely to sting

(11.'''''111 II is by no means certain).
74

3 Deliver another puff of smoke underneath the crown 4 Because the queen occasionally gets through the
board as you lift il. If there is no queen excluder in the excluder (see page 27) and loys in the smaller honey
hive, carefully lift up the crown board and look on the fromes check these fromes before you remove any of the
underside 10 check thOllhe queen is not there. If you lop super boxes 10 make sure there are no eggs or grubs
forget to check and quickly put down the crown board in the cells.
there is a danger that you will kill the queen (this advice
applies equally 10 the lid of the hive and 10 the queen
excluder itself). If you see the queen corefu lly coax her
bock into the brood box.
 ,
75

a >y

6 Gently pri~e up one edge of the queen excluder wi th

S Use your hive tool to lever a super from the hive. Do your hive tooL Never try to force it or bang on the ~ide of
not try to lift it by the frames. Instead, grosp the sides of the hive to 100Mln it. Check the underside of the excluder
the box firmly Of'Id lift it up, keeping your bock straight. for the queen. If there ore a lot of bees on ii, shake them
off into the hive with a deliberate single sharp movement.
Repeat this if they da nat come off. loy the excluder
down by the side of the hive.

7 Carefully remove the brood frames ond check lor the

queen, healthy grubs and copped brood cells.
 Lelt Moki"9 notes j, jmpotk""
- the besl p/oce ro keep then, "
76 iMide the hive ilsdf, e5p«iaJly '/
5Omeone else " ro enter the h,v"
01 0 later dote.

In the brood box with capped and uncapped cells. Surrounding these a re
When you hove opened up the brood box look for the the storage cells with copped and uncapped honey.
queen. A gentle puff 01 smoke will send the bees on the There will also be plenty of cells containing pollen, whic h
surfoce of the frames scurrying 01.11 of the way so that you is used for food. These cells ore uncapped, and usually
con gently lever Qut the frames. Hold each frome over the only one type of pollen is stored in each cell - you will be
brood box as you inspect il so thot if the queen foils off able to see the orange, yellow and white accumulations,
she will land bock in the box. which are ohen the work of a single bee.
If you can find the queen so much the better. This is If you have one of the new polystyrene beehives, the
much eosier if she is marked, which has the additional queen will loy righ t 10 the edge of the frame because she
advantage that you con colol)( code the marking to indi- detects thaI the hive is better insulated and therefore
cate her age (see pages 88-9). warmer.
If you con see loIs of eggs in the cells then you con be At the height 01 the season the number of bees will
sure thaI the queen is there - unless, of course, there are hove increased to around 30,000 individuals, and as
loIs of drone celis, which might meon the queen is the queen continues to loy you have to be sure there is
running ou t of sperm. In general, however, a large enough room. The queen must have sufficient drown
number of eggs in the height of the season is a sign of a frame to continue to lay to main tain the growth of the
healthy colony. colony. O therwise, the queen might leave the hive to look
If the colony is strong you will be able to see many for more comfortable accommodation. Make sure that
bees, all of them busy and moving with purpose. The there are frames to be made up in the brood box so that
laying queen will be surrounded by workers, and you the colony can expand ond check that once the super is
wi ll find that each of the frames has a central brood area lull 01 honey there is another on the top 10 be drawn.
 If the brood box is full and you are worried about the
amoun t of space, you could odd a super to the brood
box without the queen excluder. This will give the colony
extra spoce, which might be necessary if the weather
is good and there is a plentiful flow of honey. In a
disastrous yeor, on the other hond, you will hove to feed
your bees, even duri ng the summer.

Rebuilding the hive

Return the frame that you laid outside the hive to its
original position so that the box has its full complement of
frames, then you can rebuild the hive, replacing each
element in reverse order it was taken down and in such a
way that you preserve the bee spoce. This means that
you must position the queen excluder so that the 'gap' or
hee spoce is the righ t woy round - either at the top or
hottom of the frames, depending on the type of hive. The
~o me goes lor the crown board, but you can get boards
with a bee spoce on either side.
As you put the hive bock together, for instance when
positioning the super, excluder or another box on 10 the
hox containing bees, give them a liHle woFt of smoke
l...rare carefully laying the box at an angle over the
Ir(lme and Ihen slowly twisting it into position. You are
hs likely 10 kill bees if you do this.
Toke core too, as you are obout 10 put a box with bees
m II bock on to a lower one, that you check that you do
""I have a pyramid of bees hanging from the uppermost
I'<l~ To ovoid crushing them as you lay down the box,
""!llly shake them off ond puff a little smoke 10 drive them
"wny Smoked bees usually climb downwards.

Paperwork
p",,', lorgello keep your noles about eoch hive up to
.I"". A favourite place for keeping notes about 0
I"" It, ular hive is in a plastic wallet attached to the tap of
,I." ,rawn board. Keep a note af all the jobs you hove
oI"nn in the hive, such as adding supers, and whether Abo ... e· A/woyl relwi/d /he /-rjve
v' '" h(lve seen the queen and eggs and brood. Keep a completely and (g,hJn lip wim
/he simp before .Iorling worlc
" ""I. too, of any treatments you applied and the dotes. Oil lire next h;..."
78 Checking frames
WII~n yt.. )pEm t /1 Jd !ok. lit' VrJ~ )rlun ~r '\t

thE'. fram BeforE YDU n me VI any frome' fr)m th t'li "lOkE

<:

sure that Ih('re are nc be€ I')n I~ top bar, .",peedly where the
top bar s;t5 ;n the frome Usua lly, th bees will h:we prooolized
the fromo mto posili m. ~c ::} yOU! hl.'e toe II'" )( 9n ()th d( s
)f I~' rOIT befnr~ J ift ,I t)ul.

Lifting the frame Examine both sides of the frome without loosening
Once you hove removed ony brace comb from the frome your grip on the lop bor. This is on important skill to
and have loosened it with your hive tool, carefully lift the leorn: do nol be tempted to loy the frome anywhere other
frome from the box. It should be covered with bees, and than in its correct position in the box. II you drop it you
they will begin 10 walk over your hands as they try to will be covered in a few hundred angry bees and run the
work out the change in their environment. risk of killing the queen should she be among them.
The bose of the frames are frequently prapolized, and
you often find some comb drawn on the bose. Clean this
away with your hive tool and remove any walt on the top

Bra ce com b
Sometimes you will .see whot is
called brace comb between
frames. This is wax built by the
bee~ between the frames to
stick them together. tf you look
down vertically between the
frames you will be able to .see
the comb, which is easily
separated with a knife or hive
tool. Broce comb conloins no
grubs, so you con break it with
a dear conscience.
bar. If your hive tool meels some resistonce on Ihe vnder-
side of the frome, do not force il. II mighl well be 0 noil C he cki ng a frame 79
or, worse, some of Ihe wire inside Ihe fovndolion. Work While you are holding the frame look for the queen.
corefvlly becovse yov do not wont to teor open the grvb. Marking her (we poges 88-9) mokeslhis &osier.
filled cells.
1/ the queen is J\OI on ,he frame shake down the
Q ueen cells majority 01 the bees From !he Frome into the brood
Swarming and re-queening hives are discussed on poges box. A sharp, deliberate downword movement
84- 7 and 88-9, bvt whe n you are carrying out a ending in a sudden upstroke of your hands should
g eneral inspection of the Irames you mighllind queen dislodge most of the bees.
cells in ooe or bath of their typical posilions. Shaking down the bees will reveol the lace 01 the
II you lind r.ome qveen cells in the middle of a frame Frome. look ot Ihe brood oreos, with eggs and
then yav need to check. on the health of the qveen . grubs and copped cells check the outer honey
She mighl well be dead or not laying properly becavse storage areas wilh Ihe odd cell 0/ pollen. II you see
these are emergency qveen cells. Yov migh t also find eggs you will know thaI the queen is working well.
q ueen cellslhol foil from the bottom 01 a frame and hong
Corefvlly loy each frame bock into Its original
verlicolly; these ore built in response to a foiling queen
position or into a spore box beside Ihe hive os you
or overcrowding.
continue your inspection. Always replace the fromes
If yov k.now tho t yovr queen is young, ferlile and
carefully 10 ovoid killing ony bees.
healthy you shovld remove Ihe queen cells. Allhe some
lime make sure that there is plenty of room in Ihe hive for
the qveen 10 loy more eggs by adding another box.
If you are uncertain about the age and slotus 01 the
quee n you shovld seek Ihe help and advice o f a more
I'xperienced beekeeper.
by the worker bees. In a circle around this you are most
Egg cells lik.ely to see uncapped brood, and Ihese cells will be
When you check a frome the presence 01 eggs will prove surrounded by cells filled with stores, first pollen and then
Ih", Ihe queen is working well. Sludying the posltioo of honey, which a re $8t as arches around the cenlfol brood.
II .. , eggs will enable you to work out how loog ago the (If you have a polystyrene hive remember Ihot the queen
'luNm was losl laying on any particular frame Doy-old will loy righl up 10 the edge of the brood frame because
'~l!P a re glued verlicolly to the bose of Ihe cell. By the of the exlfo insulation afforded by Ihe hive Walls.)
•.• ·.ond day the eggs will have fallen over 10 on angle of A foiling queen will nalloy in a uniform way. Some
.1') degrees, and on the third they lie Rolon the bottom. cells will have eggs in them that are no t viable. The
copped brood will then have 'holes' in it where the
Recognizing a failing queen quee n has missed. When the cells look patchy and weak
" ,!ueen that is laying well will place her eggs in the the colony is in danger from Ihe reduced numbers, and
w, ulIlcsl porI 01 the frome, usua lly loying from Ihe ce ntre worker bees will sel in motion Ihe process of replacing
",Iw( nds Her firs l work. ing of 0 new frame will be in Ihe the quee n bee. This process is known as supersedure
,·"tll'. a nd these cells will be Ihe firsl ones 10 be copped lsee page 881.
80 Feeding bees
There ore )1 III dL'-'3 the \ 'ar wh, n [I ..vI I ~
necc sory '" you I) 8iv V )ur beE- > ) ~f Ipl J ~(nd (. nd
pr')vd~ Ih whfooo

Why feed? Food is scarce

You should be prepared to feed yoor bees 01 ony lime 01 Winter is clearly a time when bee colonies may be
the yeor, and although there ore three main periods hungry. Even though there ore drastically fewer bees in
when they Ofe likely to need feeding, be ready with food the hive 01 this lime, they consume huge quantities 01
during 0 cold, weI summer and whenever you hove honey; oboul 18 kilogroms 140 fbI . In winter eoch bee
removed honey from the hive. lokes more thon its own body weight of honey every
couple of doys.
In spring a young colony might not hove sufficient
flying bees to gather enough food from the environment,
and feeding the hive wi th sugar will allow the colony to
build up a brood. Creoting wo)( requires lorge amounts
of energy, not least becouse the wo)( itself hos a very
high calorie content.
Eventually, the working colony will find equilibrium
between gathering bees and house bees so that food can
be stored and the young tended, but at the beginning
and end of the season the colony is vulnerable, and the
bees have to be fed .

Autumn feeding
You will also need to feed your bees if you have token
honey Of if there is not sufficient honey in the hive. It tokes
the bees a couple 01 weeks 10 create honey from sugar
syrup and then cop it. The honey has to be motured by
evaporation, otherwise it might well lerment in the cells
and this would be di$Ostrous.
You should only stop leeding the bees ilthey are no
longer taking down the sugar or if winter sets in, which
in practice means no later than mid-outumn. Make sure
Above: You con feed wgor wrvp 10 your beei usi"9 a large bee there is plenty 01 room lor the bees 10 place the syrup
feeder"" lop of the hive. into the cells.
 very hot ~ tha i it kil!s any nosemo spores or bocteria it
Feeding honey may contain . 81
You should 1'101 give honey to your bees unless yoo Do not put your finger into syrup to test the tempera lure.
ore sure 01 il1 origin and disease sIaM. Imported When sugar re-crystallizes the process gives off a lot of
honey tends to conlo;fI oosemo cnd foul brood energy in the form of heal, and there is no burn worse
spores, 50 be cautious_ than one caused by hot syrup, because as the liquid
cools on the skin, sugar crystals continue to give off heat.

Sugar candy
Spring feeding Bees are not usually given candy, ahhough it can
When the temperature begins 10 rise in spring. honey- occasionally be used in winter. Candy is used to make
bees slorl to foroge. This con be very early in the yeor, plugs f()l"" the bees to eot through - in a queen cage, for
cnd often the natural supplies of nector and pollen hove example (see poge 57) . You must provide water to help
not storted to flow properly. Alrhough bees rarely starve Ihem gel through the candy, otherwise they run out o f spit
III winter, they ore quite likely 10 starve in spring. Giving to dissolve it.
your bees some sugar syrup on worm spring days will Candy is mode from a 5:2 mi xture of sugar to boiling
ullow the colony 10 make slores thot will then enable wa ter. O nce the sugar has dissolved, heo l the miKture to
g
th em 10 keep pace with the expansion needed 10 loke 115 C {2 40"F) and pour it inlo moulds. It should set into
udvontoge of the lole spring and early summer flow of a coke-like form .
ovoiloble food.

Sugar syrup
Robber bee s
111(' recommended standard for making sugcr syrup is 10
Bees will rob each other of their slores, and this
UM! the ingredients in the proportions 0150:50.
tendency can be exacerbated by making it obvious
Pul 500 ml (17 A oz) water in a large ~ucepon and
that there is sugar in the hive. The bees will give
liNt it to boiling point. Turn off the hea t and once the
them~lves away by Hying around in on excited
l~lIll1lg stops stir in I kilogram (2 Ib) granulated sugar.
manner, and any bee that is already in the hive
.... ,~p stirring until the sugar has completely dissolved.
from another colony will soon communicate the
When the liquid has cooled it should be clear. You can
presence of sugar syrup 10 its own hive. II is best
,I"·n transfer it to a bee feeder.
to feed syrup towards dusk, thus red~ing the
II you use more di luted syrup you will find the bees
likelihood of robbing, because bees tend 10 forget
will need more lime for it to evaporate before copping.
overnight. II robbing is a problem you should
MOlcover, il might couse digestion problems and
reduce Ihe hive entrance so thaI your bees can
"",mature voiding of wosle producls because of the
delend it more eaSily. Toke Cafe tha t you do not
.• ,fume of liquid being token by the bees. There is also
spill syrup outside the hive because it will simply
""lie evidence tha i using unrefined or brown sugor in
,I,,, syrup can induce dysentery in bees. encourage ot hers to explare the hive, particularly
wasps, which will kill individual bees.
lIocause the syrup is odourless, you can make it more
IIlhll< hve to the bees by adding a liHle honey 10 Ihe hal

1i'l'1I(1 Make sure you odd the honey when the water is
 ,.
82
•

.....:--I -•
'"

- ... 'y
~ .,.lit ,

Above: A "1"0./10. Feeder i! common and ;nexpcIf1Ji"" and hold, Above rhi, feeder 1.0, t-n p/oced dire<:f/y on Imme, and",. be.H
,"",r/y .. Ii"., of syrup. have gl..,.,.J i, in poIilion wilh propoIi•.

Types of feeder diredy on the frames you will need to put on empty box
There are ~evera l types of feeder, and your choice around it in order to cio$e the hive. Of course, if it is
is really a moiler 01 personal preference or whot is placed on the crown board feeding hole then you will be
readily available. able to fill it without dishJrbing the colony.
When you first put the feeder in position, dribble a
Circular feeder little 01 the syrup down into the hive to gain the bees'
This is probobly the most common form . It is cheap ond attention ond interest.
easy to keep cleon, but toke care thai you do not lose Ihe
centrol cup. The circular feeder holds about 1 litre Contact feeders
11 Jo.\ pints! 01 syrup. Inside there is on inverted plastic cup This type of feeder, which is less popular than it used to
thot restricts Ihe bees' access to Ihe liquid. Never U~ this be, is usually rested on the crown board. The jar is set
type of feeder without a cup, ond if you connot find it U~ upside down, and the lid allows the syrup through very
o honey ior insteod. slowly so thot the bees can take the syrup. They are also
The feeder con be placed on lop of Ihe crown board able to speed up the How by sucking hard.
if it has holes in ii, but il is actually beller placed on lop of Changes in the ambient temperature when the contact
Ihe fromes themselves so Ihol bees con gain immediate feeder is almost empty can couse the air inside the feeder
access. It olso cuts down the possibility of robbing by to expand, causing a flood of syrup. You also need to
way of On ill-fitting lid. If you p lace this feeder on the keep on eye on it because once it is empty the bees tend
crown board it will often fi t under the lid, but if you put it to prapalize it.
Frame fe e d e rs Do not just ossume that the colony has lull brood
This feeder is a box that is fitted in the brood box, It is the frames: inspect them. You can then odd the appropriate 83
some size as a frame but is hollow, and there is a 5eries amount in late summer, remembering that there should
of ledges and wire mesh inside to stop the bees from be enough spoce for the bees to store all this feed and
lolling in and drowning. It is not suiloble for winter feeding evaporate the water prior to copping.
because you will need to open the bJood box to fill it and
this will chill the bees Feeding pollen
A frame feeder is the only effective method 01 feeding Pollen is one of the bees' main sources of protein and lot,
bees in lop-bor hives. and it is also on important source of minerals. It has been
calculated thai to raise one bee the colony needs 100 mg
Tra y fe e d ers 01 pollen. An overage colony wil1gother around 50 kilo.
This type 01 feeder, which is used for the large.scale feeding grams (110 fb) of pollen to feed itself. Pollen is almost
of colonies, sits on top 01 the brood box. The troy will entirely used in rearing brood, bul it is also important in
hold 2 lilres (3 ~ pinls) or more 01 syrup and allows bees stimulating Ihe bees' hypophoryngeol glands.
access 01 one end Troy leeders are built 10 Iii inio The availability of pollen is nol uniform, and in some
~pec ilic types 01 hive, so check that it is appropriale lor countries it has been necessary to feed substitvtes .
your hive before you buy one. Various materials, such as fish meal and ~ya nour mixed
wi th sugar syrup, and sometimes a little egg yolk, have
How much food do bees need? been used successfully. Most new beekeepers wi ll not
In order 10 get il through winter a slrang colony will need encounter this problem, and where it is necessary local
obout 15-18 kilograms (34-40 Ib) of liquid feed. Each beekeepers will have their own recipes that you should
hrood Irame weighs about 2 kilograms (41.lb) when il is fonow, Ultimately, you should try to grow plants thai will
"'led with copped honey, and a simple calculation will produce a norural source 01 pollen.
·.how that if all you have after the summer harvest 01
I,nney is a brood chamber lull of copped honey this will
h,,1d about 22 kilograms (48 Ib). But it is more thon likely Wate r
Ihut the bJood chamber is not completely full 01 honey at
Make sure that your bees have occess to water all
0111 In addition, there will be on amount of pollen to toke
yeor round. If you hove a natural garden pond you
HlI<J consideration.
win notice your bees in the shallow, worm water 01
You will lind that experienced beekeepers can lift the
the pond's edge II you do not ho ... e a pond neor
"d('s 01 the boxes (0 process known as helting) and
the hive you must arrange a source of waler.
~"()W _ apparently instinctively - how much food is
" ...,ulable for their bees. You will do better to count the Although you can buy some purpo~ade waler
I"unes and work it out more accurately fountains, simple arrangements of 9rOye~, moss- or
A super frame holds just over 1 kilogram (2 Ib) of peal-filled dishes lOPped up with woter ore ideal
1'''''0Y You will Iherefore get 11 kilograms (24 \b) of Sel several ol lhese dishes around the hive and
I"",.,y in a full super, $0 a brood box and a super in your garden.
I. "I,·ther should be enough to get a good colony through
II", wlnler Check the weight of the hive by lifting and
, "'''ft how heavy it is.
84 Swarming
People arE. afraid worn- 9 bee' Ie m my r O! n' If yc an
an urban beekeeper yC.J Oft out )matico!IY in the pc Ili~ht If
thousands of bees are flYIng around the neighbourhood and
landing in gardens. But the primary reason beekeepers fear
swolming is thaI the colony that remains j' frequently wpokencd,
leavi ng le5: honey Ie l"Jarvesl

Why bees swarm

Moslo/the books der.cribe $worming 0$ the bees' woyef
forming more colonies, but this is only pori of the re050n.
Swarming is, in foct, pori of the tifecycle of the honey·
bee, ond without il bees will not evolve further. As il is,
the exchange of genetic material between bees lokes
place only every couple 01 years, and for this reason the
honeybees' evolution is slow in comporiWfl to Pfedotor
insects and bacteria.
II is nol possible to keep bees and moke honey with.-
out mating 0 queen, ond so the bees' sexual
reproduction, during which the bees' charocteristics are
possed on to new generations, ore port of the
beekeeper's work. Fortunotely for humans, subspecies of
honeybees are genetically similar to each other, and so it
is possible to hybridize bee populations 10 creole strains
of bee that have nearly all the qualities we would wont,
and nearly all the bees we keep around the world are
hybridized to some extent.
There is sometimes no explanation of why bees
sworm. You might well have the perfect colony, but the
queen seems intent on vacating the hive. Should she
repeatedly attempt this, it is probably advisable to
re-queen altogether (see pages 88-9) . This is a technical Above, A Jwarmir>g colony a/ighling "" 10" cardboonJ bo.oc. Yoo
process for which 0 beginner moy need to seek help. could aiJO uJ<I 0 Jkep 10 collect the swarm, if you IKwe one.
Drones
Although they are oHen regarded as the unproductive 85
members of the hive, drone bees are the driving force of
a heal thy bee gene pool. A hive may contain a few
hundred drones, and eoch of theMt will have produced
several hundred thousand sperms, each of them
genetically different, and wme perhaps with a beneficial
mutation in the DNA that may make the bee a better
gatherer, flyer, breeder, defender or survivor of vorroo or
another bee diseo!>e.
The numbers 01 drones will increo!>e in spring as port
of the noturol routine of the hive, and at this time you
should check the frames lor queen cells. especially if your
queen is greater than two yeors old.

Queen cells
Ihe presence 01queen cells in late spring is a sign that a
(olony is preparing to swarm. The two types of queen
wlls that may be seen (see poge 79) might not be solely A~' W1.en bees ,worm, /he q..-. i, of prime importonce cmd the
(1 response to on ageing queen. The colony might feel it workers fuJj orovnd 10 mok. Wrt Jhe iJ neither to., "'" domaged.
,~ ovef(:rowded; it might not have hod enough stores to
\urvive through winter without hardship; or the colony Preventing swarming
"light be living through a prolonged period of bod If your queen is heolthy and laying and is less than two
woother. yoors old you may wish to toke steps 10 ovoid Ihe likeli·
hood of swarming.
Recognixing queen cells
Y"u can recognize a queen cell by its unusual shope. Remove queen cells
II ~)()b like a cased peanut protruding from the frome, You can simply remove the cells with your hive 1001. "
,·,ther in the centre or at the bottom of the frame . there are no competing unmated queens your current
t"t,'.eslingly, the two types - centre or bottom - are built queen is less likely to swarm ,
'" <I mspon!>e 10 different stimuli.
rhe centre or supersedure cells are creoled in Add a super
""'llOnse to a foiling queen. She might be old or ill- In mid.spring odd 0 super to give the colony room to
1,,·,huI'S suffering from nosemo or bee dysentery - and store the supplies that are now beginning to flood in.
tl,,· ',upersedure cells are Ihere to create a replacement
'1""I'n If you find Ihem in your hive you may wonllo look Check the brood box
,I, ",,-.Iy a t the queen's health. Make sure that there is plenty of space in the brood box
Ihe bottom or swarm cells are there to create a fo r the queen to loy eggs, It is unlikely to be completely
, "nd queen to divide the colony, leading to more hives. full in early spring, but you could add 0 super as a
It, I I "aturol reproductive stimulus 10 creale more bees. secondary brood box if you're reolly worried
 Some of the immature adults on that frame will be {JI,t.· I,.
86 make on immediate start with undrawn frames.
Make sure there is space in the centre o f the ""W
brood box lor a frame that you will transfer Irolll tI,,,
original hive. This frame must have the queen 00 " ond
no queen cells.
By this stage you will have a hive with a coupll' ,.1
frames of brood and a queen, and a hive with q UI"'"
cells and a lot of bees and some brood waitinn I"
emerge. You can remove the mOlarity of the queen (;I'lL
r in the transferred hive. The first queen to emerge wdl
mote and kill the others anyway.
All the flying bees that are in the transferred hive w,lI
naturally return to the hive that they recogn ize a s hool<'
so in the following hours the old queen will have most (~
Above: A q t - ' morIced on the Ihoro:.oc. She aha hoi her WI her entourage bock with her. The tronslerred hive Will 1>1:.
WIng djppeJ.
queenless for up to a fortnight, but will accept the new
queen once she has emerged.
Clip he r wing s It is a good ideo to feed both the colonies of bees m
You con prevent the colony from going more thon a lew a port of the artificial swarm process until they are freely
feet by dipping one 01 the wing~ on the queen. II she foraging for nectar and pollen.
connol fly very lor the fest 01 the bees will not wonder far
either. Be coreful though, because queens thol hove hod Introducing a real swarm
their wing clipped ore ahen found on the floor in a The swarm is a nightmare for beekeepers and something
swarm - a very vulnerable ploce to be. 10 be avoided at all (:osts among your own bees, but 0 1
the soma time a swarm can be a gift when it appears - a
Artificial swarm colony for free .
If the queen is older thon two yeors old you may consider Taking a swarm is not easy: you are, in effect, taking
making on artificial swarm. This is on eosy technique to on someone else's bees. It is likely that the queen is older
mosier and is usually successful. In the end you will hove and has escaped for her life from a colony tha t has
two colonies of bees instead 01 one, for nothing more produced a viable new queen, and you have no way of
thon the cost of the boxes and frames needed for the assessing the qualities of the colony. Moreover, it is a
new hive. distinct possibility that drones !rom the swarm colony
Move your hive so that it is obouI4 metres {I2-13 could male with new queens in your existing hives, thus
feel) away from its original position and set up a new introdvcing some of their traits into your stock.
hive in the old position. Put about seven brood frames in You may find that your own bees swarm, and you are
the brood box, preferably with a couple of them having able to recover them yourself. This is especially true if
already drown comb so the queen can get on early ~tart your queen's wing is dipped because she will never get
laying eggs. If necessary, introduce a frame of brood more than a few feet from the hive, so you will have to
from the original hive thai has got unfilled cells on it. introdvce your own swarm!
Collecting the swarm
Make sure that it is safe to recover the swarm - bees 87
often sertle high up in trees or on roofs. Then collect the
swarm in a cardboard box or, if you have one, a skep
(see page 44) . Put the box or skep on a white sheet on
the ground and give the swarm time to gather into the
boll. Some beekeepers boit the box with honey or even
use pheromone sprays to ollroct the swarm, but this is
rarely necessary.
When the bees have settled check for the presence of
the queen, then Ironsfer Ihe swarm 10 Ihe hive. If the
swarm is small it may be possible simply to pour the bees
11110 a brood box with the four centre frames mi$$illg bul
with 01 leost a couple of drown frames for the queen to
mspecl and begin to lay in. After a day you can inspect
the swarm and close up the brood frames and fill the gop
to complete the boll.
If a fellow beekeeper can show that the swarm
belongs to him you should allow him to take the bees Above fncourog<!l aJ mooy beeJ aJ you coo into 1M r«epIoc:le you
<Nfl IIJing
back to their hive. Ask around before you finally secure
them as your own.

Throwing a swarm
!h,s is a job for two people and should not be attempted
"lone, particularly if you have never done il before.
Attach a wooden platform to the entrance of the hive to
1",11\ a romp and secure it so that il cannot slip. Spread
II,n sheet, with its box 01 bees, over the romp so that
.' "IlC of the stragglers on the sheet can gain access to the

h,ve, which can be boiled with a little honey if required.

toke the box and carefully bul firmly pour the bees
I, ..", the box on to the sheet towardslhe entrance 01 the
I,,~,· 11\ a Single movemenl. The word 'throw' is perhaps a
I,nl,· hOfsh: you do not wanl to kill the queen by throwing
,I.,.", w,lh too much lorce. You should then see the bees
·.1",1 to walk along the cloth into the hive, with the bees at
tl,,· " ntronce fanning their scent to those below. This
"," <lUlogcs the resl of the bees to process towards their
.. ,·"t lind as more bees enter the hive, the strength of the Abo~e: Gently tforow IN beeJ .,.., to IN sheeI=--ed ramp thol
1,1"·""l1one5 increases. 1eocJ. to the entrance "'the ~j.".
88 Re-queening
The proO.':55 of rem'JVing a qUI !n and replacing her with a new
one is called supersedurE, and it should be done every two vear
Re-queening ensures thaI the vigour and IOYI 19 rote of the queen
are as high as po!: ible, and rP.duces the likelihood c swarming

Natural supersedure new beekeepers, who have only one hive, and nor is ,I
when 0 queen cell is allowed 10 develop inlo on adult essentiol if you keep proper 00le5 in the hive. However, If
virgin queen the process olmost invariably leads to the you catch a swarm and the queen is marked you will
old queen toking off in 0 swarm. This con be avoided by immediately know quite 0 lot about the bees.
killinglhe old queen and removing all the queen cells but
one. The new queen will emerge 0 week or 50 laler, by How to mark the queen
which lime the bees will be re<Jdy to accept her, She will when you have identified the queen, catch her in your
mote and start her work. fingers and dab her with some quick<lrying point in the
Alternatively, you can buy or rear a replacement appropriate colour. This is not as easy as it sounds, and
queen, introducing her to the hive in 0 queen coge the procedure tokes considerable experience. The queen
(see poge 57). is delicote, so you can e<lsily damage her. Her legs are
Supersedure should toke ploce only when there ore particularly important because she has to be able to
enough drones to inseminote the new queen, and this is
usually the e<lrlier port of winter. A barbaric-sounding
method of forced supersedure is to dip off one of the Colour coding fo r queens
hind legs of the old queen. She will not be able to place
The internotionally agreed system of colour
her eggs correctly, and the workers will re<llize this and
marking means that wherever you get your bees
start to prepare a new queen cell. They will then kill off
from or send them to will hove the some system.
the old queen by boiling her, a process that involves a
Because a queen is rarely kepi lor livesl for
number of bees attaching themselves to the queen and
longer than five years the system repeals ibelf
increasing their bady temperoture until she dies from
every five yeors.
he<lt exhaustion .
• Year ending 0 or 5 - blue
Marking the queen • Year ending 1 or 6 - white
The life of the beekeeper is so much easier if the queen is • Year ending 2 or 7 - yellow
dearly visible. She should, therefore, be marked. Putting • Yeor ending 3 or 8 - red
a dab of white point on her bock will not only tell you • Year ending A or 9 _ green
where she is, but if you change the colour each year you
can also eosily tell how old she is. This isn't necessary for
 89

',' 1,,,11 into a cell 10 loy her eggs, and if she is injured ~he
wIll nol manoge this.
1he easiest way is 10 buy 0 queen cage, which is 0
h"ll that con be placed on lop of the queen . You can
""uk her through the bars using a brush or motchstick
,.,(lied in point of the appropriate colour. Some
1"."k(!cper$ use speciol bee points, while Olhen use
III_ ~Id makers' points.
90 Movi ng a hive
Th re Oft. ieveral rea~ '1'. for having tr) move a hIve YI)U (.U\.lId
be c mbimng tv.; >Ie. nil:; fc example c r mrwlng yr Jr b 5 to
a bit" fooo supp~ bullllIS IS. lm"lhing Ihol has 10 be done
with great care and only after thorough preparation.

If you move the hive just over 1 metre [about 3 feet) Ihe
bees will congregate where the hive used to be and will
toke a long time 10 find ii, sometimes 100 long. when the
bees will die. Bees normally forage up to 3 kilometres
[almost 2 miles) from the hive. or'ld if the hive is moved
within their familiar areo they will Ay bock 10 where Ihe
hive used to be and will nol find their new home.
If possible move the hive at dusk or down, when all
the lIying bees are inside the hive.
If you need to move a hive within the space of Ihe
apiary, simply move the hive a little le$$ thon 0 hive's
width each day. Moving a hive further than this calls for
rather more preparation_ AboYe- The daIp I.okJ. the strop in fX'"'tion - smeor,' will! peIrOIeum
;eIIr 10 sklp if fUJli"9
Moving a greater distance
The hive must be secured so that the bees cannot escape Moving hives to and from various food sources is
in transit, The entrance to the hive must be stopped up beyond the scope of Ihe very new beekeeper, but bear in
and secured in position and the various bo)(es of the hive mind that once your colony has token advantage of a
should be stapled together, or the hive should be securely food source, such as a field of oilseed rope or a heather
stropped. Do not rely on carpet tope or any other single moor, there will be a lot more bees in the hive than when
method. You need to be doubly sure the hive will stay you originally moved it. Retaining all of these bees
intact and together. might need the application of a fresh super full of
HiYes are heavy, and you will need help to corry the foundation .
hives on 10 your transport. Use a proper levered truck to
corry the hives, and never U$e 0 wheelborrow because Moving bees in nucleus boxes
they tip easily and are difficult 10 control when they are Perhaps the most convenient way of moving a single hive
carrying a heavy weight. is to put the frames at dusk into nucleus bo)(es. These
If you ore moving bees in the height of summer you bo)(es normally hoye a deep, filled lid. so there is no
can remove Ihe crown board ond put a mesh screen in need to over·secure them. The rest of the hive can then be
place so that there is increased yentilOlion. dismantled and tromported solely,
 91

j)

Transport Abo .....: Wf..." moving yo<H h;.., CH'1JI,ItlI tho,)o"X' UM! JIrop$ It>
When you move your hives by rood the journey should koop it secure.
I,,· CIS smooth as pouible, Pion your route in advance
.",tI leave plenty allime. Throwing the colonies around
1I1',l(lc the hives con cause them to abscond when they
'II" n chonce to escape and, of course, you need 10 be
,,,u' that you do not damoge the qlJeen.
92 Pests and diseases
Det: or~ ~ c ~pliblc ) on array l[ pe'ls and di. Kl~ s. bL
fc Jno! Iy nul all of th( m Oft d';}vQstaling 10 the cdc.. 'l Ind~,
un til the appP.arance )f the varruo mite it wo!' Jnly acarine and
foul brood, in its various fOH11s, tha t were really deadly. Now a
num b.:r ")f new probl, ~ms be '71 hon~ybee5

Be aware thai American loul brood , European foul Pests

brood and the pes~ . smoll hive beetle and tropi laelap1 Bee!. ore much more susceptible to attach fro m a rong('
mite, are natifiable in mast cauntries. This meam that if of pests during the winter months when they ore nor
you have, or suspecl you hove, any of these problem1 actively guarding the hive.
you must contact the appropriate inspector. Some pests ore more surprising. In winter wood peck
ers ore capable of making large holes in hives, but COIl
Hygiene be deterred by covering the hive with a wire mesh so thot
Most diseases get into hives because bees drift from one bees can lIy in and out.
hive 10 another or because robbing bees and pests have Robbing bees and wasps con he a problem,
entered a hive. It is also possible that beekeepers may especially if you hove recently fed the hive {see poge 81 )
introduce disease by failing to observe high standards of
cleonliness when they ore around and inspecting the Varroo
hive. Hygiene is particulorly important for people who Varroosis is the most serious problem facing beekeepers.
regularly visit more than one site, perhaps members of an The mite Varroa destructor causes deformities in bees
association or people who have apiaries in several places. and will eventually lead to the collapse of the entire
If you are dealing with more than one hive wear colony if it is untreated. The red, pill·shaped mites are just
disposable gloves and change them between hives. over a millimetre in diameter. It was originally a pest of
Always make sure you disinfect your hive tool between the Asian honeybee, Apis cerono, and these populations
hives. You can keep a solution of hypochlorite for this seem to have built up some immunity. The Wes tern
purpose. Make sure you always clear away debris from honeybee, Apis mellifero, however, has none.
around the hive. Do not leave any cappings or end-of- Although it is serious, varroo is not a notifiable
frame cells that you remove around the hive, because d isease because it is ubiquitous - everyone has it and
they only invite robbing and other pests. every beekeeper has a responsibility to keep the
when you use old items in 0 hive - boxes, floors problem under control. Infestations are now found all
queen excluders and crown boards - everything that the over the world, except Australia, and within a decode it
bees can touch should be flamed with a blowtorch has become on important opine pandemic . Sometimes a
before use. Old wox should be rendered and the frames few thousand miles can be fa lalto a colony, but in other
replaced. Plas~c hives should be cleaned with hypochlorite. hives only a few hundred mi tes con wipe out the bees.
 The numbers 01 mites loll in winter - they are unable to
grow in brood cells because the queen has usually 93
stopped laying - but the remaining mites huddle with the
bees in their winter boll and live all the haemolymph of
adult bees.

Pyrethroid insecticide treatment

For several years a pyrethroid insecticide was used to
control varroo, and beekeepers kept treoted strips in the
hive. It did not toke long IOf the mites to become immune
to in~ticide$, and this kind 01 trootment has been super-
seded . A thymol-bosed produc t is now used, and it works
in such a way 0$ to make it almost impossible lor mites to
become immune (see poge 941_
The problems that pyrethroid resistance brought has
led to the concep t of managing bees through on
integrated pest management system. The basis of the
system is knowing how many pests you have in your hive
and the likely outcomes of their presence at particular
AboYe. Vorroo miles wc~;ng !he life from 0 developing grvb limes of the year.

Developing an integrated system

Much depends on the overall heolth of the bees, and the You mustlirst make a ludgement about the health of your
pre~ence of tracheal miles is also thought to be on bees, how the colony is doing and how they are likely to
Important foetor. do in the future . Then you can implement 0 couple of
In on infected hive the brood emerge with deformities basic procedures to reduce the number 01 mites in the
Ihol make Ihem useless 10 the colonies. Others die 01 the colony without having to resort to chemicals.
pupal stage in the brood itself and remain until the adults First, there is 0 lot 01 evidence that mites Ihol loll off
Irmove them . The beekeeper will notice a patchwork of the frames olive are able to climb bock into the brood
dead brood, and if nothing is done the colony will be in box if they hit a solid floor. Therefore, if you put a mesh
danger of collapse. floor in the hive the mites are more likely to loll right out
The mites are spread over huge distances on the of the hive ond find it impossible to get bock into it. It is
I.ud.s of bees, and hives are infected by the natural possible to account for up to 30 per cent of the vorroo
IMocesses 01 sworming, and robbing . The adult female population in this way.
"lIlcs will enter a brood cell just before it is copped and Second, the female mites prefer to feed in mole,
Will feed on the haemolymph 01 the immature bee. She drone brood. You can encourage drone brood produc-
Will 0150 loy eggs in the cell and the offspring mote in the tion by pulling a super Irome into the brood box. When
", ll when the bee emerges from the cell the mites the worker bees moke hanging comb in this formation it
,··,I-Ope, although only adult females survive _ immature is usually drone brood . By Simply removing the brood
Illites and males are not viable. when it is copped you will also remove a lot of mites.
 The mite (Gunt
94 Clearly, given the ecology of the vaHoa mite, the
number~ will increase in proportion to Ixood production,
and from late spring the mite numbers will follow the
activity of the hive. You need $Ome way of working out
when to intervene with horsher remedies.
The increose in mite numbers depends primarily on
the population of mites a t the beginning of the season. If
there are 100 mi tes in the colony in spring you are likely
to see over 1,000 by summer, and al though it is difficult
to be sure and exact in these circumstances, a hive
population of 1,000 mites seems to be a critical level.
It is possible to estimate the number of mites in a
colony either counting the number of dead mites foiling
from the frames through the mesh Roor and on to a varroo
floor beneoth it or by looking at the number of copped
brood cells that have mites inside them. Monitor your thymol. Follow the manufacturer's guidelines to the letter,
bees at least four times during the year: in early spring, especially as regords the timing of applications.
aHer the spring honey flow, o t horvest time ond ogoin in Another, non-opproved treatment thot is popular with
the au tumn. The bee club will hove 0 microscopist to help. mony beekeepers uses oxalic acid, which is simply
If you collect mites over a period of, soy, five days you dribbled between the frames as a 3 per cenl solution.
will be able to determine a daily mite fall rate. It has been
estimated that a colony is in donger if the fall rates are Mice
around: 0.5 mites in early spring; 6 mites in late spring; In summer, when the bees are octive, mice will usually be
10 miles in early summer; 16 mites in midsummer; 33 deterred from entering the hive by the slings, but in
mites in late summer; and 20 mites in early autumn. winter, when the bees are nol octive, mice can be a reol
The other method involves uncopping about 100 nuisance if they get into a hive, making their nests from
brood cells that are just about ready to come out. If you grosses ond leaves and chewing combs. Moreover, once
°
find tha t abou t 1 per cent of the cells contoin varroa, the
colony is in trouble.
a mOuse is actuolly in the hive ils offensive smell deters
bees from attacking it. Keeping mice oul in the first place
is best, so fit 0 mouse guard, a piece of metol (usually
Other treatments zinc) with holes in it, over the entrance in late summer to
Now that varroa mites have developed resistance to early autumn and remove it in spring, when the bees are
pyrethroid insecticides, other methods have 10 be used to fully active. In winler, on the days when it is worm
minimize mile numbers. Beekeepers ~hould toke care thot enough for bees to Hr, they will be able to gel through the
insecticide residues ore not found in honey. Research into holes in the mouse guard.
new treatmen ts and special breeding programmes to
creote varroo·immune bees are under way. Wasps
The available pesticides still include some pyrethroid In late Summer ond early aulumn wasps often try 10 enler
treatments, as well as aromatic products based on Ihe hive to toke honey. Keep them out of the hive by
reducing the size of the hive entrance - it is easier for the
guard bees to protect a small entrance. Make sure that 95
the outside of the hive fi ls perfec~y together so that there
are no small crocks through which a wasp can enter 10
rob the honey.

Wax mo,hs
Two kinds of wax moth, the greater and lesser, are more
of a problem to stored comb, which they eat, than to the
bees themselves. The moths are rarely visible in summer
when bees are active, and a healthy colony will ohen be
a ble to expel any intruden. In autumn and winter,
however, the moths tunnel into wax combs, especially
brood comb, to loy eggs and produce silvery threads.
The larvae of the grealer wax molh also chew
Indentations in wood (both in the hive itself and in slored
Ilive furniture) where they spin cocoons in preparation Nosema
for pupating. The bees seem to leave them alone. A disease of the bees' digestive systems, nosema is
One of the easiest ways of treating stored frames is to caused by a protozoan. The bees sulfer from dysen tery,
put them in the freezer for 24 hours or so because the and the infection is spread when workers in the hive Iry
larvae are susceptible to cold. In the hive you wilt have to to clean up the mess by licking it. Nosema weakens
use a proprietary product. bees, preventing them from functioning as normal, but
it is rarely fatal. Infecled bees can be treated with
Diseases antibiotics given in sugar syrup in aurumn. Avoid infec-
rhe most imporlon' disease facing bees is varroosis, the tion by maintaining scrupulous hygiene in and around
disease caused by the vorroo mite, which is discussed your hive and by thoroughly cleaning all stored hive
earlier, btJt there are several other diseases that can be furnirure and by fumigating empty hives.
lloublesome.
Acarine
Fo u l brood The disease is caused by a mite, and it affects the bees'
l!,nth types of foul brood, American and European, are trachea (breathing tubes) . Although it is not folol, bees
!lotifiable diseases. They are caused by bacteria. are weakened and severe infestations of 'he mite can
American foul brood (AFB) causes infected bee larvae to lead to the collapse of the entire colony. There is no
du'" in the celis, while European foul brood (EFB) tends to known treatment, but a proprietary menthol gel has been
"fleet unsealed brood. There is no known treatment lor shown to have some effect. Some bee hybrids seem to be
AI B, and both the hive and its canlents must be more susceptible than others.
d,,~t lOyed if the disease is discovered. Minor outbreaks
"I f FB can sometimes be overcome by shaking the
,ninny into a new hive, but if this is ineffective, again,
II,,· hive and contents must be destroyed.
Honeyand
other products
Many people develop an interest in beekeeping because
they want to enioy the honey that is harvested in late
summer, and from a well-managed hive it is possible to get
up to one hundred iars. Honey can be used in dozens of
recipes, some of which are given on pages 124-35, and
in mead. Bees also produce wax, which can be turned
into candle or polish, and propolis is also collected.
98 Honey
For thousands of years the gool of our relationship with bees has
been to remove the honey from the hive. A well-managed hive
con produce far in excess of the bees' requirements, leaving the
beekeeper f,ee 10 her"est it.

Harvesting honey
Remember thaI when you harvest honey you should
replace it wilh on equivalent quantity of svgor syrup. A
coreful beekeeper will not toke more thon the colony con
eosily offord to miss. Putting the bees in donger for a
lew frames of honey after 0 cold, we t summer is
coun terproductive.
The honey you toke will be probably be in the topmost
supers, and you should leave one lull super for the bee's
.\;
winter store. You con remove one super to make room for "
a feeder, sel on 0 crown boord (see page 82). and this "'•
will allow you to lop up the syrup quickly and without
chilling the bees on cool autumn days.
'j' .•. ,f ,{.,., i,' I .
'L:;~
L r\) 1
I
'
,
•• • •.•
: I, ' I.,•.
.••
,
\ , ·

Expelling the bees

To get the honey from a super you flee<:! to nfld a way of
removiflg the bees. If you set the super on the crOWfl
boord with bee eKOpe valves in the holes, the bees con
go dowfl into the colony but flot retum. Put the roof on G e tting hon e y from a fram e
and wait for at least a day before openiflg the hive Removiflg honey is a complicated business: you hove to
agoifl. Do not wait orO\lnd when taking honey. remove the coppings, edracl Ihe honey and !iflolly
Remove the roof and toke the super well away from transfer it to iors to store it. YO\I will need honey knives.
the hive . Remember to toke out the bee escape valves extractors, filters and sterile iors all ready and available
and sel the feeder in place over the holes in the crown at the right lime and in the right place. II yoo can, extract
board. Put the roof bock on. This method has minimal yO\lf honey at your local beekeepers' dub or associa tion,
impact on the bees. bul if you connol, make sure that all the surfaces and
There will still be a few bees on the frames, so remove equipment are sterile and that you can work without
them carefully so that they can return to the hive. PUlling being disturbed. Close the doors and window so that
the frames inside 0 sealable plastic box will allow you to bees or, worse, wosps oren', attracted to the honey and
remove the honey from the hive area. make a nuisance of themselves.
 Removing th e cappings
Moving supers Use a copping knife - on electrically heated knife that 99
A super full of honey is surprisingly heavy, and il slices through the wax - to open the cells. Stand the
you have more than one 10 corry you should use a frame on ils side in a container in which you can collect
trolley. Always use both hands 10 collect and move the cappings, then cut away the copping on bath sides of
honey, ond moke sure thor when you lift you do not the frame (the honey will start to dribble out) and put the
strain your bock. II you find it difficult 10 move frame into the extractor.
heavy weights, ask someone to help you. If you do not have a heated copping knife you can
buya comb decapper, which resembles on ordinary hair
comb but hos angled metol splines. You can olso ur.e a
serrated kitchen knife, heating it in a container of bailing
water. Make sure that the container you use for the hot
water is completely free from taint and residues. Save the
coppings: they have honey on them and the wal( is valu-
able and can be processed later hee poges 104-5} .

Extracting honey
If you do nat have an extractor, rest the frame aver 0
large, slerile, taint.free, faad.grade container or bucket.
Gravity will cavse the honey to dribble Iram the
decapped combs and into the bucket. This lakes ages to
complete and you will never get all the honey out 01the
comb, so it is worth using on extractor.
Honey extractors rely on centrifugal force to remove
the honey from the frames. The frames are inserted into 0
drum, which spins, slowly at first, so that the honey is
thrown out of Ihe cells on to the inner casing of the drl,lm,
from where it falls into the reservoir below. You migh t
The jors used Ie store and sell your honey are often have to repeal the spinning process alter moving the
hodilianal, and most hold the metric equivalent of 1 Ib frames around to make sure you get all the honey from
(455 gl. Be wary 01 using washed jon from lost year, both sides of Ihe frame.
porticu larly if they have been used for anything else. A tap at the bottom 01 the reservoir has a coarse liher
Itaney absorbs flavours and smells very easily, often to remove any large pieces of wax. From here the honey
making them more intense. Pickle vinegar is probably the is Iransferred to 0 holding vessel for 24 hours to allow the
wors t offender. You musl use sealable jars because bubbles to rise to the surface. A second filiering gives
honey is hygroscopic - it will draw waler from the especially dear honey.
"Imasphere - and this can lead to fermentation and leaving the honey in the settling vessel so Ihal air
(ollsequent spoiling. You can usually buy special bubbles can rise to the surface does mean Ihalthe honey
I,,\ney jars quite cheaply from you r local bee club or will have coaled, and this will make second liltering and
IH·ckeeping stockist. pouring into jars difficult.
 How to harve st honey
100

v
(

)
("

1 U~e a comb Of a knife to decop the cel\s in the honey 2 load the extractor so 011 the spaces ore filled. Make
frames . The decopping comb is more efficient. sure the drum is evenly balanced,

3 When the extractor is lull, storllhe molor (or turn the

handle) slowly so it does nol shake, cnd gradually
increase the speed to maximum, The extraction process
con toke 10-20 minutes, and then you should check both
sides of a frame lor residual honey.
 101

4 Replace the frames, once extrocted, into the super box 5 Once the honey has rested to remove the air bubbles
and put this bock on the hive lor the bees to recloim the you can pour it aff into a lood-grade bucket or haney
last droplets 01 honey lor their own stores. jars. This takes a long lime and can be quite sticky.

..,.....
.
.. 6 The decappings will be lull of honey. Store them in a
.."',.....
....
,
. .... colander or a warm groYity extractor to get the last drops
01 honey from them and finally use the remaining wax
by washing illhoroughly in plenty 01 water 10 remove
any remaining sweetness.
102 Types of honey
Whether the honey is runny Iclear) or set honey depends on
where the bE=-F - hove coliAcled their nectar.

Set honey usually depends on the crystal size, and honey

collecled by bees thol hove visited oilseed rope sets very
hard. All sel honey can, of course, be melted by genlle
healing. Do this in 0 waler both or boin morie roo thot the
combs ore not subjected to direct heal. If you ore able to
remove the fromes from the hive as 0 soon as they ore full
the honey will nol gronulole immediately and will
consequently be easier to extract. However, all honey
granulates after a time, 0 phenomenon caused by the
relative concentra tions of g lucose and fructose.
It is possible to blend honeys from various sources to
creole Q range of flavours, but the octuol nutritional value
of the honey will be unaltered. Honeys from single plan ts
generally have interesting fragrances and Aavaurs, but
when you Consider how for bees will have travelled to
forage, you con see that your hives would have to be set
in a huge area devoted to a single plont - such as a The comb is not uncopped, and the honey rema ins
heather mOOf - to give a single Aoral honey. For the same Mlaled and in pristine condition. This haney allracts a
reason it is difficult to obtain truly organic honey. premium price among those who like it. If you have
a top-bor hive you can simply cut the honeycomb.
Dark honey
Heother is a dark, richly flavoured honey, which is
gathered from moorland in late summer. Heather honey Selling honey
is somewhat gelatinous and will not come oul of the cells If you are simply selling 0 few pols of honey to
under normal extraction methods. The combs are friends and Iomily you con usually do lO quite
removed and pressed in muslin cloths so that the honey is freely. However, you must be oware of the
forced out of the comb under pressure. legislation and regulolions governing food
production, forming and lobelling, and you must
Cut comb honey make sure that your honey meets spe<:ilied
Cut comb honey is created either with unwired standards if you pion to sell a significant amount.
foundation or in a top-bar hive, where the bees create all
the comb without the aid of foundation .
Propolis 103

knowl m bee glue, propolis is a mixture of various resins

,",ISO
md wax gathered by thE. worker bt:es from plants,

Propolis in the hive and some an ti·viral properties, but scientific tests have
This substance is filled with terpene cnd other aromatic not yet confirmed these findings in humans.
chemicals, and it is used by bees wilhin the hive. It is deeply coloured, ond if you use propolis it will
lis moin function is to 'glue up' the hive, which stain anything it comes into contoet with and will resist
improves its structural integrity, but bees olso use it 10 ony attempt to wosh out. It is wid to have been used for
propolize olmost anything thot tokes their fancy, which many hundreds of years as a colouring for musical
con he irritating lor the beekeeper but is useful to the instrumenb.
bees (see page 33). It used to be believed thot it was You can buy or make your own propolis dissolved in
used 10 reduce draughts by filling all eroch and gaps, alcohol, when some of its e fficacy is said to be removed.
hut this theory has been questioned in recent years as Althoug h it is ha rder to dis~lve, propolis in wa ter retains
research hos shown thai bees benefit from being in a most of its active ingredients. It is not likely that you will
well-ventilated hive. Nevertheless, most beekeepers will be able to sell your propolis for medicol rea~n$, but you
leave propolis in ploce in winter. It is also reduces vibra- can use it yourself.
tions in the hive and makes the hive easier to defend by
norrowing gaps. Below: PropcJi. IooL ~zjng, 1M is IISIIIId I-w. 01 ih h.ohh )
Propolis is also used 0$ on external antiseptic. It fights ptomoIing pt"Op«1iti
Infection in the hive remarkably well, and this has led to
the ideo that it can be used in human medicine.

Propolis and humans )

Chinese and homeopa thic medicines use propolis to

>..l
trea t burns, ulcers, allergies and infections, and although
much of the evidence is onecdotol, there is some
"vtdence that it can be successful.
It has been used to treat viral infections, porliculorly
\ore throats, and to this end is made into a tincture.
Wilen propolis is dry il hardens almost like rock, and
ttlony beekeepers po!>s 0 small lump around their mouths
<t~ a guord ogoinst colds. They soy it works, a lthough a
ptoper scientific investigotion into these claims has yet to
It I' un dertaken . Chemical analysis has revealed that
ptopolis is high in antioxidants ond thai it has an ti-fungal
104 Beeswax
Beeswax is 0 remarkable substance that IS produced by a .;eries of
glands on the underside of worker bees and is then manipulated by
the various house bees to creote the amazing architecture of the hive.

Using beeswax
The production of beeswax was once a mojor industry, Melting wax
particularly for the making of condles and polish.
Do not overheot wax. The best method is 10 use a
Beeswax condles, in foCI, remoin one of the only truly
heotproof diUl set over hot woter - in the some way
corbon-neutral sources of light be<ouse all the corbon
you would melt chocolate - Of a double saucepon or
dioxide given off by the condie has been taken from the
boin marie. Do not boil wax, because it can flame .
atmosphere by the plonts thol mode the bee food.
When you ore extracting honey Isee poges 98-101 J
the excess honey thot is attached 10 coppings and comb
Q) con be extrocted further by wrapping them in muslin and One method is 10 put the wax in a muslin bog and
allowing them 10 drain. From there they con be soaked in immerse this in water. Gently heat the water to about
boiled, cool water to dissolve the honey (this liquid can 62 GC (144 C f) , when the wax will melt and rise 10 the
o then be used 10 make mead, see page 134). The wax
can be allowed to dry and prepared lor use.
surface 01 the pon.
Alternatively, you can use a solar extractor, which is a
glas$ frame that is orientated towards the sun, until the
temperature reaches bOaC (140°F). The container is
mode of metal and has a window through which the
o sunlight enters. Put the wax on a plate set at on angle of
45 degrees. Sometimes the plate rests on metal to
>- increase the heat retention in the extroctor. As the wax
Q) melts it flows on to a collecting plate on the floor. You can
use this wax to make new foundation or sell it, and some
o componies will allow you to barter wax for foundation .
You can also make the wax into candles, which is
I more difficult than it might seem be<ouse you have to
make sure thatlhe wick goes down the centre. You can
buy moulds to make pfofessiona~looking candles.

teh, A ~ of home·mode bee.WQX candle•.

Beeswax produ cts
105
Before using beeswax cosmetics on the sensitive skin of gently in 0 double boiler and blend thoroughly, then
your lace and neck, always check thol they are sofe by tronsfer to 0 small pot for eo~ of use.
testing them on your hands. You can odd all sorts of things to this basic recipe,
There ore lots of recipes oyoilable so thai you con including a vitamin E lablet and 0 drop of es~ntial oil
moke your Own soap, lip balm, make-up remover and a (try peppermint or rosemary), or )'0\1 COlJld change me
hosl of other products. By way of illustrotion this hand oils ond use light essential oils or shea butter instead.
cream recipe is excellent for those worldr'lg oolside and ::r:
the lip balm is the richesl you will ever fjnd. Furniture pol ish
This wonderful substance is simply a mixture of two porls
o
Ba s ic hand crea m ::J
pure turpentine to one port beeswax. You have to be very
This could hardly be easier to make. In a double boiler careful when you're making it to ovoid fire. Always wear CD
mell together equal amounts of beeswax, cocoa butter gloves and observe proper fire precautions. -<
and almond oil. Stir thoroughly 10 combine, and then Carefully heat 500 g (lib) wax in a tin set above a
pour the mixture into a mould. If you wish you con odd 0 saucepan of water. Make sure that you keep the
lew drops of essential oil. turpentine well away from the heot source. When the
These make delightful gifts. For instance, il you add 0 wax is completely melted turn off the heat and toke it
lew drops of lavender essential oil you could decorate away to a separate place, for removed from any lIome.
the bar with a sprig of lavender flowers added to the
mould. The cream smells wonderful and is antiseptic.
Pour it into a large tin with 1 litre (1 Y. pints) pure turpentine
and stir well to combine thoroughly. Pour the worm
o
mixture into moulds and when il has set keep it in a dry,
Lip balm cold place. The mixture is flammable, so always handle it
Mix together 100 g P ~ oz) coconut oil lor almond oil or with care, but it is me very besl polish.
o mixture of me two) and 60 g (2 ~ oz) beeswax. Melt

o
0.-
c
()

k''l il! fiHswQJ( «In b. vied 10 moke a voriely of

"'111I111ic and housahokJ (NOd""" from Up bolm
~, fum'lure poIjJ,.
The bee garden
The sound of bees os they buzz from flower to flower
gathering pollen is one of the pleasures of the summer
garden. However, beekeepers will be anxious to ensure
that there are sources of food for their bees from early
spring through to autumn, whether this involves siting the
hives near to suitable plants or providing as wide a range
of plants as possible in their own gardens.
108 Bees and biodiversity
Botanists have long studied the rise of flowering plants langiosperms) but have n,
always appreciated the remarkable port that bees have played in this story.

c Bees and pollination their natural habitats, partly through pollution and partly
The honeybee and ils cousin, the bumblebee, ore ideally by moving bees from country 10 country so thai new
OJ
adopted to the iob of pollination and ore by for the most dir.eoses and problems arise so quickly that the bee 1'.0\
U important pollinators and consumers of nector. Even if little time 10 find its own solutions and defences.
there were no humans, honeybees would still be servicing In the gorden, what is good for the bees is also good
o the huge ronge of plonl5 and Rowers thol cover the earth. for other insects - butterflies, moths, hoverRies and even
0) Bees and plants exist only lor their own purposes, and it wasps - and every living creature has a place in th('
has to be said thai humans represent the greatest threat complex ecosystem that exists in every bock garden
OJ to bees. largely from pollution. These days most gardens contain conglomerations 01
OJ Most pests and diseases hove evolved w ithout the aim plants from all over the world that would never have
of eradicating their host. yet humon5 have endangered grown together in the wild, and it is up to the gardener to
-.D
bees around the world, partly through the destruction of moke this work to the benefit 01 the insects.

OJ
Left: BeeJ hove ~ fo cJre- n«1Or and
...c pollen from Rowen and ding elM!.
I-

Bum b lebee nes t box

Bumblebees are very efficient pollinators and are
wortny of encourogemenl tro the gorden, particularly
as they often struggle 10 find natural nesting sites. To
help the population Rourj~, try making a homemade
bumblebee nest box in the early ~ing.

Toke two plastic 1Iowerpots, line with ma» and :I8ClJre

the open ends together with watertight sticky tope. Site
the box in a sheltered ~ - under a hedge is ideol-
by burying one end in the ground with the drain holes
above the surloce, through which the bees will enter.
Alternatively, position the nest box under a shed.
Right MoS... yo<N' apiory 01
beoutiful OJ pou;~; ....-
//owen IIlOOI1 "..,... honey. 109

(0
L
110 Gardening for bees
Itf'c'lt: 01 ft:w III ~r ,n fob! L the LIt II..t:!'.J€1 than being
obk ) wal:h h-s ,-wn bc!:- caging n hi! )wn garden and then
eniuytng a crop Ihol olhe. p" )ple will miss' th millions of droplets
of nectar. conden~ ~ and pre )erved and converted into wonderfu l
h y, Ie r'
Ihe aoc Jr ,f If ')OIden.

Salix spp. (willow), Tilio spp. [lime} cnd Trifolium sPP

(clover)_ Bees olso visit Brossico napus (oilseed ropel ond
Erica , Col/uno and Doboedo spp. [heather, ling) A~
well as these, your garden can include a wealth of ath('1
pollen-rich plants, from Lavandulc [lavender) and
Budd/aic Ibuddleia) to roses and Lanicera spp. [honey
suckle]. There should be flowers in every mon th.
Toke the time to cultivate your plants as naturall y
as possible, and this includes your choice of species and
cuitivars. .Modern plants have been hybridi%ed and bred
for their colour, habit of growth, keeping qualities and
disease resislonce, and it is usually the older, traditional
varieties and cultivars that are richer in pollen and
nectar. Also try growing a pocket af wildHower seeds.
Beekeepers will ovoid growing double-blooming
flowers, which produce much less nectar than single·
blooming types. It is olso more diHicult for the bees to gel
Abo~_ ~ aroma of pkm/s cmcJ IIowerJ;J v«y jmpcncml II:> to the nec tor and pollen 01 flowers tha t have multiple
foroging bee. petols, which con actually exclude bees and other
pollinating insects. Also avoid F1 hybrid plants, many 01
Choosing plants which have impaired pollen production because they
In the gorden, as in nature, plonts respond to being have been hybridi%ed so that they will not set seed.
pollinated by bees cnd go to extraordinary lengths to
ovoid passing their own pollen to their sex cells. It is Techniques
known that the yield from crops is improved by 30 per Needless to soy, you should practise organic gardening.
cent if bees ore available for gorden pollination. avoiding the use of all insecticides and sprays and
The major sources of pollen and nector include Fruit al lowing your garden to develop a na tural balance 01
trees, especially Malus (apple) cnd Prunus (cherry). pests and predators.
 Best plants For early nectar III
In addition to the ornamentol plants noted here, fruit
trees, such as Malus (apple), Prunus (cherry) and
Pyrus (pear). produce bloswm in early spring and
depend on early·flying insec;l$, including bees, to
pollinate them. If you hove spoce, a couple of
Rowering cherries will keep Ihe hive busy lor a week.

• Anemone nemorosa (wood anemone)

• Aubriela (oubretio)
• AUfinio wxololis (gold dusl, yellow alyssum)
• Cyclamen coum (cyclamen)
• Eranthis hyemo/is (win ter aconite)
• Golan/hus nivalis (snowdrop)
Above: Mt,dicirlO/ pionh, like lhiJ ~ do pall 0<1_ • Hyacin/hoides non·scripla (bluebell)
of their RO'VOlJf and P'Of)eflifl 10 the /loner
• Muscari be/ryaides (grape hyacinth)
One usefu l technique that is oHen overlooked is dead· • Primula veris (cowslip) and P. vulgaris (primrose)
heading. Regularly removing pollinated flowers cuts off • Ribas songuineum (flowering curronl)
the hormone supply of the ripening seeds in the fruit or • Viola ooarola (garden violel, sweet violel)
seedhead. These hormones suppress Rower production,
ond if you deadhead you are more likely to get extra Best plants for late nectar
blooms on each plant and, consequently, more food for All the plants listed here wilillower from midsummer
your bees. and, depending on the weather, into oulumn
Get into the habit 01 feeding your plants with good. Deodhead regularly to encouroge the plonls 10
, tualily, well·roHad compost. Not only will regular produce new blooms.
II pplkations improve the ~iI quality and structure (giving
• Aster spp. and cvs. losIer, Michoelm05 doi~y)
he althier plants), but the phosphates and nitrates it
• Calendulo spp. (pot marigold, English marigold)
,ontains will encourage your plants to produce beHer
• Cenlronthu5 tuber Ired volerion)
,!ualily pollen and nectar. Pollen in porticular needs
• Echinoceo purpurea (coneflower)
n,trogenous excess, and the more there is available to
• Hedefa helix (ivy)
Ihe plant the more nutritious the pollen becomes.
• Helianthu5 onm;us 15unflower)
Keep you r plants well watered so that they do not
• lanicera 5pp. and CV! . (haneysuckfe)
·.!llIer from water stress, Wilting plants shut down pholo-
• 5edum speclobile (ice plant)
,ynthesis, and this will be reflected in nectar lIaw. If
• Solidago CV5. (golden rod)
I'<)ssible, use collected rainwater and always woter at
• rage/e5 CV5. (marigold)
tli<' roots rather than the leoves.
Remember that by surrounding yovr gorden w ith high
Willis, hedges or fences your bees will be forced to fly
I"!J" and will not bother the neighbours.
 Plants for honey fl ow
Early spring
• Alnus spp. (older)
• Populus spp. (poplar)
• Prunus avium (wild cherry) and
P. spinosa (blocklhorn, sloe)
• Salix spp. (willow)
Mid-spOng
• Malus spp. and cys. (apple)
• Prunus spp. aod cys. (cherry. plum. etc.)
Above You carl mer.- !he pnxJvaion of r.- Rowws by • Pyrus spp. and cys. (pear)
cIeodheod'rog old onct$ • Taroxocum oHicina/e (dandelion)
late spring
Planting • Aesculus hippocostonum {horse chestnut}
With some planning and forethought it is possible to • Crotaegus spp. (hawthorn)
have flowers available a t most times of the year when • Rubus idaeus and similar (raspberry, ek.)
bees are flying, from early spring to late autumn,
Early summer
The solvation of many bee colonies. because of the
• Brossica nopus (oilseed rope)
huge amounts of pollen it produces. is Ihe plant
Impatiens 91andulifera (Himalayan balsam!, a toll • Tilia spp. (lime)
annual, bearing white. pinkish or red flowers from • Trifolium spp. (clover)
midsummer to early autumn . It is however. invasive. MidSlJmmer
explosively spraying seed for metres around each porent • Filipendula ulmaria (meadowsweet)
plant. and in some areas, where it has escaped from • Lupinus spp. and cys. !Iupin)
gardens into the wild, it is regarded as a pest and must • Rulws ulmifolius (blod:berry, brambles)
be uprooted wherever it is foond . Beekeepers, however.
late SlJmmel' 10 early autumn
are delighted when they see their worker bees landing
• Col/una, Doboecia and Erica spp. (heather, ling)
on the alighting board covered in pollen as though they
have just escaped from a box of coster sugar.
Other plants that used to be called weeds have
become accepted in the garden. Buddleios, named after Useful midseason plants
the Rev. Buddie, still found growing wild on rubble and Perhaps surprisingly, midsummer is often a time when
other inhospitable places, have found a new niche as the flowering plants are in short supply. After the burst of
butterfly bush . They are equally palatable to bees, spring-flowering bulbs and shrubs there is often a lull,
however. and cultivated varieties. in shades of white, and beekeepers need to plan their planting carefully so
blue and purple, are just as useful as the species. O ther that there is a constant supply of nectar and pollen,
plants. such as fragrant Lonicera (honeysuckle). are Although they are widely regarded as a weed and
among the best providers of energy lor your bees. are dug out and cut bock in mos t gardens, Rubus
ulmifo/ius (brambles) are a great $Ource of nector for the
bees. They ore in Hower from eorly summer and are
never free of bees.
lavandula (lavender) produces huge amounts of
nector throughout the summer, especially when there is
plenty of nitrogenous material in the $Oil.
There are several types of spiraea, medium-sized
~ rubs that bear milky pink and white Rowen. They are
all prolific pollen producen full of nectar, $0 it is not
unusual to find bees on the Howers all day long.
Buddleias can be cut bock hard in early spring, delay·
ing the flowering until mid· to late summer. Cut bock the
stems to about 45 em (18 inches) high, and it will grow
to about 2 metres (6 feet) high and produce a moss of
nector-rich /lowers. If you ha ...e more than one buddleio,
prune them at different times so that you have flowers
from early summer to mid-outumn.
Flowering onions, Allium spp. and c ... s., produce
mosses of nectar and are also interesting to look at. They
bloom from early summer onwards, and you will see
bees dustering around the lIowerheods. The flowers of
the rela ted Allium schoenoprasum {the herb chives} are
01$0 rich in nector as well 0$ being use/ul in the kitchen. Above, CIlIOfie (I feost fo, bees OOtIJiJli"{j 01 (lJ lIIOIly
These plants are a voluable source 0/ the chemical diFfrN.enl Flower rn- (IS pouibl.
~ulphanamjde for the colony, because they are highly
antibiotic and important fOf the health of the hi'le. One of the bees' favourite wildllowers is the pink-
All the labiates {nettles, dead nettles, vetches, peas, flowered Chomerion onguslifolium {rosebay willow
beans, lupins and $0 on) seem to hove e ...oIved with bees herb), which is especially rich in pollen . Convolvulus
In mind. Some 01 the flowen con only be accessed by spp. {bindweed), which can be such a pest in the tidy
bees, and the blooms are a useful source of good.quality gorden, is also a great producer of pollen, as is
nector and pollen . Tara}(acum oflicinale {dandelion) in spring . Different
species of Trifolium {clo...er], now bonished from lawns,
The wildlife garden were once a major food for bees ond were widely grawn
Ideally, e ... ery garden should ha ...e on area thai is set as a green manure.
uside for wildlife, but that is not always possible in a Many herbs are allrocli ...e to bees, and a wildlife
\rnall garden. garden is a great place to grow Melissa officinalis
Howe ...er, if you ho ...e room for 0 section of your {lemon balm], whose latin nome suggests that it is the
fJor den to be devoted to wild plants, this will be a official bee plant. It is also known as bee bolm and will
I!cmendous boost for your bees, because most produce grow well in most reasonably well-droined soils, but lake
I~m toslic amounts of pollen and nector. core because, like Mentha (mint), it can be in ...asi ...e.
The beekeeping
calendar
Your beekeeping year will largely depend on whereabouts
you live and, of course, on the weather. A cold snap early
in the year may find your bees starving and freezing into
mid-spring, even if you live in a temperate area, and wet
summers might make them languish as they try to avoid
driving rain. In short, there is no such thing as a typical
beekeeper's year, and as you gain experience you will be
able to judge for yourself which actions will be necessary
under various circumstances. The folloWing are, therefore,
gUidelines only of the actions that you need to take, month
by month, to keep your bees healthy and productive.
116 Spring
Spring is the lime when the bees burst into life and get busy in the
hive. It is an exciting period for the beekeeper as he must ploy cot
and mouse with the wea ther, while hoping for a good crop of
honey from his hive.

Eany spring
The beekeeper's year begins in spring when the first
Rows of honey and pollen ore matched by on increase in
bee activity. The queen should be starling 10 loy eg9s
now, and the workers thol overwintered should be
beginning 10 forage. There will, however, slill be plenty
01 cold doys, and you should resisllhe temptation 10
open the hive, even if the bees seem to be flying happily.
Heft the hive 10 estimate how much food there is.
Consider giving the bees a feed of syrup. If your feeder is
on top of the crown board you con feed without leHing
any chill oir into the hive, but ovoid doing this on a dank,
cold doy. In a very cold spring you might need to think
about feeding pollen ar a pollen substilute.
Bees will fly on worm days, visiting apple blossom
and storing pollen and honey. The numbers of bees will
be gradually increasing because the queen will be
laying. It is hoped thotthere ore enough foroging bees
and honey reserves to motch the increasing burden of the
new young.
• Check for signs of damoge ot the entronce 10 the hive Above The IirJI ~ inspodion 01 ~ing. 0 - 0 worm day
and repair as necessary and open ",. hn. iu$llor 0 shari time.
• Change the Roor of the hive, which will ollow you to
remove any rubbish and detritus and olso to check for • Even though fruit trees should be coming inlo bloom
the presence 01 varroo mites check the weather regularly because the bees will stay
• If you find any signs of vorroo infestation opply on inside in a cold snop and may need extro food
oppropriote treotment, for which you can get help • Give 0 feed of syrup if necessary or of pollen or
from your locol bee club or inspector pollen substitute in very cold weather
Mid·spring
Wait for a worm day to have a proper inspection of the 1 17
hive, but do not linger inside because the weather can
change quickly. The purpose of this first inspection is to
check for the queen and any signs of disease as well as
10 see how much food there is.

• Toke the opportunity of a worm day to inspect the

hive and remove any obvious rubbish, such as bi~
of comb
• Look at the honeycomb and replace any that has
become dark with age
• Clean all your spore wooden frames so that they are
ready to be reused
• Remove the movse gvard
• Check the qveen exclvder, making svre that the holes
have not been filled with propolis
Abov.. : Clean old boxe. with a Rome From a bIowIor,h 10 remove IN
WOJ( and kill djSftClSft.

Late spring
The colony should be growing quickly by now and may
well need extra feeding, so make sure that there is plenty
of syrup available. If your hive is near to plenty of tree Checklist
fruits or even on orchard be ready 10 add on extra super. .. look for the qveen - is she healthy, laying well?
If you have not already done so, change the Roor if
yotJ are not using on open mesh Roor and Rome the solid
.. Check the food stores - do you need to feed? ,
replacement before putting il in the hive 10 kill onyover- .. Reploce empty frames
wintering pests and diseases. .. Check for vorroo and trear as necessary
Because swarms can happen at any time from now on
consider having on extra 'boit' hive avoiloble. This is .. Ched for signs of swarming in lare spring
•,
also the time to think about the age and health of the • Only insped the hive on worm days
qveen and 10 decide whether you will re-queen the hive.

• Begin your regular weekly inspection 01 the hive

.. Add a queen excluder and a super with fresh foundation
• Remove any mouse guards thot are still in place
• Initiate your varroo treatment regime il you have nol
already done so
.. Check the queen's health and toke occount of her age
in deciding whot to do abou t queen cells
.. Be alert to the possibility of swarming
118 Summer
Summer IS the season with the most production In the apiary.
The quantity of bees will have swelled, and they will be filling
the hive wi th nectar they will never ea t. Make sure you are
ready w ith loIs of frames to cater for the excess honey.

Early summer A healthy queen should be 01 her peak of loying. and

This is the lime to replace the cenlrol frames by moving you should see busy workers tending eg9s and grubs
them from the centre of the brood box 10 the outside of and plenty 01 copped brood. Make sure there is plenty of
the box. In a loying cycle of 21-22 days these will hove brood space available and consider adding anothe r
emptied and con then be completely replaced with new brood box. Make sure Ihot you have some spore supers.
fromes. You con reuse these fromes once they have been and remember 10 be olerllo the possibility 01 swarming
thoroughly cleansed, preferably by freezing, or you con Depending on Ihe age of your queen you mighl consider
horvesllhe wax and make new foundation or condles or artificial swarming. queen replacement or simply
any of the other beeswax products. removing queen cells.

• Place on extra super of foundation in Ihe hive if you

think the bees may need more room
• Check the brood box, which shoold be almost full of
brood by now, 10 ~e if you can take $Ome honey off
• Make sure you replace any frames or supers of honey
you remove
• Check on the queen every week
• Be vigilant about sworming
• If your bees have been on or near oilseed rope
remove the honey before it granulates on the comb
• Check regularly for vorroo

Left: A common Jighl in summer,

foroging bees vocwming 11M
ne<:/Qr from every Ibwer in
11M garden.
Midsummer Late summer
In mosl areas the Ihreol of swarming should have passed This is the lime of year when you can harvest the honey. 1 19
by now, but you should remain vig ilonl. You can odd on Remove the supers so that you can begin to extract the
exira super for honey - which you will slealloler. honey, bul make sure thol you leave the colony with at
least 15 kilograms (34 Ib) of hooey for thei r own supplies
• Check regularly for signs 01 Yorroo mite infeslolion or you will hoye to feed them.
• Check the health of the queen, especiolly if she is two
yeors old, when you migh t have 10 consider replacing • Remove supers so thaI you can begin 10 harvesl the
her by supersedure honey
• Add exira supen as necessary but make sure thaI the • Make sure thot you feed your bees to compensate lor
bees ore copping the cells in the lower super the honey you have token
• Prepare to exlrocllhe honey and make sure you have • Re move wax and render il logether with the wax you
plenty of jars ready 10 keep it in already haye
• Clean and replace dirty frames
• Close the entrance to the hive to a strip about 5 em
(2 inches) or less wide so that the bees can wi thsland
wa sp intrusion
• If you can, moye Ihe hiyes to hea ther moorland
•

C heckli s t
• Check the queen is laying well - look for patch
"'000
• Check for varroa al"ld treot as necessory

• M.ake sure there are plenty of Fromes 10 toke lots

of brood and honey

• II the weather i$ unseasonably cool for a

prolonged peliod consider feeding

• Buy honey iors ond prepare the extraction

equipment

left; Mak.. $<Ire Ihe ....1rOdot" ;5

serviced and clecmed, In 0 ,hen
while it will be~.
120 Autumn
Autumn is the time when you help the bees prepore for the
winter. Hopefully, you should now have your honey, and so
you need to make sure the bees are healthy enough to get
I.. through the winter.
('
n
~ I
o
l

0)
C- ~

u.
J)
/
,)
><
ClJ
')
-.D
Early autumn
As the lemperoture begins 10 fall and day lengths shorlen
you can slorl lo limit your hive inspections 10 once a for ..
nigh t. You will have 10 slort feeding any colonies that
need it, and you should expect 10 notice a decrease in
Ihe number of bees in Ihe brood. Feed the bees before
the wea ther turns cold so thotlhey have the opportunity
10 toke it down and evoporole it into honey.

• Remove supers from Ihe hive, clean and dry Ihem

thoroughly and store them safely for next year
• Combine colonies if necessory Above. Io<:J: CN1 fo, ""'011» wI-,g ""'Y fry 10 ;"fi/trole I/>e hiYe
• Test and treat for vorfOO when the honey has been on/heir -=h fo, honer.
removed
• Begin to offer a feed of sugar syrup your hives are secure and can withstand the worst of any
• Fit a mouse guard over the entrance winter weather. If you live in a windy, exposed area you
• Keep on eye out for wasps and robber bees should consider add ing a weight to the top of the hive to
prevent it from being blown over.
Mid-autumn
This is the lime of year when wax moths can be trouble- • Try nollo dislurb your bees
some in the hive. The larvae $Coop out indentations in the • Add some insulation 10 the top of the hive in the form
wood of the frames or sides 01 the hive, where they spin of a piece of carpel or a purpose-mode 'quilt'
a cocoon before pupoting. They then move into the • Use a strop to make sure toot the hive is securely held
combs, ond the moths loy eggs among the brood. together to protect it from both vandals and bod
winter weather
• Keep on eye out for inlestotions of wox moths
• Before closing the hive for winter give it one fina l,
thorough inspection
• Make sure that all ports of the hive lit snugly together Chec klist
to keep out droughts so that the bees do not have to • Are there enough food supplies - do you need to
expend energy in filling gaps with propelis f..d.
• Fit a mouse guard il you oove not already done so
• Decrease the entronce 10 0 s.moll gop to deter mice

Late autumn • Cleon away old drOt\es ejected Irom the hive
By this stage of the year you will have stopped feeding
• Do not inspect as frequently and ollow the bees 10
the bees altogether. Now is the lime to make sure thot
glue up the hive

• Make sure Ihe hive is protected from bod weather

Lelt, Anti..-orroo strip' pIoced beIween tho
fromes 01 " brotxJ bo...
122 Wi nter
In winter the hive 15 asleep, the bees huddle together In their
brood chamber ond hove glued themselves a worm space
where draughts are kept 10 a minimum. But there is plenty for
the beekeeper to do.
o
• Check the hive regularly fOf storm damoge
• Check the hive for signs 01 damoge by woodpeckers
, • If you have nol already done so, strop and weigh
down the colony so that il cannot be easily kicked
over by vandals or animals or blown over by slrong
prevailing winds

Midwinter
Even though Ihe weolher may make you wonllo stay
indoors, remember to check the outside 01 your hive
regularly to make sure Ihol it has nol been damaged by
foiling branches or tiles . Bees will fly on worm doys in
winter, and if there is snow on the ground they ma y
become confused by the extra ultraviolet light, so moke
sure that you brush away any snow from around the hive
Above, Gi... your eqvipmen' 0 good d.>n wi'" ....., and and erect a shade over the entrance.
....",." os well en disin1edonl
• Brush awoy any snow from the enlrance and from
Early winter around the front of the hive
Now is the lime to catch up on all your records and to • Check hives regularly for storm ond wind domage
make sure thol everything is brought up to dOle, • Make sure that the mouse guard is still in place
especially if you hove been applying Yorroo treatments. • Check that overhanging branches have not been
Toke the opportunity to read and study, ond inspect the damaged by storms and that they cannot drop on to
outside of the hive only, but keep a watch for a build-IJp the hive
of dead bees and leaves at the entrance. • If you have a WBC-type hive look under the roof to
Winter is on excellent time to dean oul and maintain make sure there is nothing hibernating there
your equipment. Make yourself a customized utility box • look out for signs 01 flight on worm doys, and observe
ond build your frames 01 foundation for next year. any Hying bees for vitality
 C hecklist
• Cleon your equipment
• Build new fromes and hives
• Read up on beekeeping
• Walch out For sigl'ls of attock by mammals-
mice, bodgers or people

Late winter
In lole win ter the queen will be beginning to lay agoin to
produce the house bees thol will loke advan tage of the
first pollen flows of spring. This con a difficult time lor
your bees, but yOu must resist the temptation to open the
hive. If you ore really worried about starvation, get mme
help from on experienced beekeeper.
This is usually a quiet lime of year, so lake the
opportunity to repair any spore hives, bring your records
up 10 dole and prepare fromes with foundation.

• Check your hives for signs of storm domoge

• look oul For signs of activity in the hive as winter·
Rowering bulbs come into bloom
• Moke sure that you provide food for the hive
• Make sure thai your bees have access to unfrozen
waler in a sunny spot

~ighl: The beehive ill willter ,'5

,Iill; you would hordly know
/here were Iwnd,ecJ. of bee.
olive iMide !he bo;c.
Recipes
If you are one 01 the many people who enjoy honey on
toast for breakfast but then put away the jar when you are
cooking, it's time to think again Honey has been used to
sweeten dishes from the times 01 the ancient Egyptians,
and if you have your own supply you can use it in
numerous dishes, ranging from simple breakfast cereals to
sticky cakes and delicious ice cream.
126 Orange Flower and Honey Baklava
Prep time 40 mins, plus coolillg 1 Moke the syrup. Combine all the ingredients in (]
Cook time about 1 hour small saucepan and heat gently, stirring occasionally,
Makes obouI20 pieces unlillhe sugor has dissolved. Increase the heat slightly
cnd leave to bubble gently, without stirring, for oboul
250 9 !8 azl blanched almonds 20 minutes until il forms (] light, sticky syrup. Remove
1509!5 azl blanched hazelnuts the pan from the hetlt and allow the syrup to cool in
75 9 P azl coster sugar the pan, Cover the pan and chill in the refrigera tor,
150 9 15 azl unsolted butter, plus exira lor greasing without straining.
50 ml [2 A azl extra virgin olive oil 2 Meanwhile, put the almonds, hazelnuts and sugar in
22 sheets, about 300 9 [10 azl, fila po$lry (thawed if a food processor or blender and procen until the nuts
frozen) are chopped but root ground.
3 Melt the butler with the olive oil in a hetivy-oosed
SYRUP saucepan over a low he<lt and brush a sheel of 'ilo
300 9 [10 azl coster sugar pastry with the mildure, keeping the remaining pastry
250 mt [8 II azl water covered with a damp lea towel. Butter a 20 x 30 x
50 ml (2 II azl extra virgin olive oil 5 em (8 x 12 x 2~ inch1 tin and line it with the pastry,
50 mt (211 azl orange flower waler trimming it 10 fit the tin bUl leoving a little exIra to allow
finely grated rind of 1 lemon for shrinkage during cooking, Repeat the process with
3 tablespoons deor honey 4 more sheets of pastry, brushing them with the butter
I cinnamon slick and oil mixture as you layer them.
4 $cotter one-third of the nuts over the pastry and cover
them with 5 more sheeb of pastry, brushing each with
the buller and oil mixture as you work, Add half the
remaining nuts and cover them with 5 more sheets
of pastry, the remaining nuts and then the remaining
7 sheets of pastry. Brush the tap liberally with the
remaining butler and oil mixture. Use a sharp knife to
cut through the top few layers of pas try in a crisscross
pattern to make about 20 diamond shapes.
5 Bake in a preheoted oven, 190°C (375°F), Gas
Mark 5, for about 40 minutes until golden. Remove the
cinnamon and lemon rind from the syrup, and 0$ soon
as you toke the baklava from the oven pour the syrup
evenly over it. leave to cool, then cut the baklava into
the scored diamonds.
127

r
r
128 Honeyed Cereal
Prep time 10 mins
Cook time 20 mins
Serves 4

4 toble~poons sunflower or safflower oil

2509 (8 oz) cleor honey
250 9 (8 oz) millet, rye or barley Rokes
250 9{8 oz) rolled 00"-
50 9 (2 azl sesame seeds
509 12 azl dried peoches, banana slices, pears or
figs, chopped
125 9 {4 azl sultanos or seedless raisins
25 9 P azl coconut shavings
50 9 {2 azl pumpkin seeds
milk, to serve

1 Heal the oil in a small roosting tin, then slir in the

honey, flakes, ooh ond sesome seeds. Cook in a
preheated oven, 180°C (350°F), Gas Mark 4, for
20 minutes, stirring occosionally $0 the mixture
browns evenly.
2 Remove the lin from the oven ond leave to cool. Mix
in the dried fruit, sultanas or raisins, coconut shavings
ond pumpkin seeds. Store in on airtight conloiner until
required , then serve with milk.
Honey Cinnamon Carrot, Honey and 129
Biscuits Sultana Squares
Prep time 15 min!, plus chilling Prep time 10 mins, plus deco rating
Cook time 12-15 min! Cook time 20-25 mins
Makes 20 biscuits Make s 15 cokes

125 9 {4 o:} plain ROtH 150 mll ~ pint) sunflower ail, plus extra for gr80$ing
759 (3 oz) unwhed butter, diced, plus extra fOf" 3 eggs
greasing 125 g 14 az) set or clear honey
y. teaspoon ground cinnamon 50 g (2 oz)light muscovado sugar
3 tablespoons set honey 200 g V oz) wholeme<ll self·raising Hour
2 teaspoons baking powder
ICING 3 carrots, about 200 g (7 oz) in total, peeled and
250 9 [8 oz} icing sugor grated
1 tab lespoon deor honey 100 g [3 ~ oz) sultanas
lemon iuice
pored rind of 1 lemon (optionol) TO DECORATE
100 9 [3 ~ oz) unsalted butler, at room temperature
1 Sift the flour into 0 bowl and rub in the butter. finely grated rind and juice of ~ orange
Add the cinnamon and mix in the honey to make 0 200 g V oz) icing sugar, sifted
soft dough. Shope the dough into 0 roll about 20 em large and small candy.cooted chocolate sweets
18 inches) long and wrap il in dingfilm. Chill until firm.
2 li9h~y grease 2 baking sheets. CUIlhe dough into 1 In a large bowl mix together the oil, eggs, honey and
20 slices ond ploce them slightly apart on the baking sugar. Add the Rour and baking powder and mix well,
sheets. Bake in 0 preheated oven, 1 we (375"fl . Gos then stir in the grated carrots and the sultanas.
Mark 5 , lor 12-15 minutes. Leave on the baking sheets 2 Ughrly grease and line a rectangular baking tin . Pour
10 cool slightly, then transfer to 0 wire rock to allow the the coke mixture into the tin and smooth fIot. Bake in a
biscuits 10 cool completely. preheated oven, 180"C 1350"Fj. Gas Mark 4, for
3 Make the icing. Sift the icing sugar into a bowl and 20-25 minutes until it is well risen and golden brown
gradually beat in the honey and enough lemon juice to and the top springs bock when lightly pressed. leave
make a thick glace icing. Spread a little over e<lch the coke to cool in the tin for 10 minu tes, then turn out
biscuit and le<1ve to set. Decorate the biscuits with fine on to a wire rock. Remove the lining poper.
strips of boiled lemon rind, if liked. 3 Make the icing. Mix together the butter and orange
rind in a medium·sized bowl. Gradually mix in the
icing sugar and enough of the orange juice to make a
soft, spreadable icing. Spread on the coke and cut in to
15 squares. Decorate each square with the sweets.
130 Really Fruity Pear, Cardamom
Flapjacks and Sultana Cake
Prep time 15 mins Prep time 20 mins
Cook time about 20 mins Cook time 1!4-1~ hours
Makes 15-20 Aapjocks Serves 12

100 9 (3 ~ 0%) unsal ted butter 125 g [4 a::) unsa lted buller, softened
100 9 P ~ 0":) light muscovado sugar 125 g [4 a::) soft light brown sugar
5 tablespoons cleor honey 2 eggs, ligh~y beate n
375 9 (12 oz) porridge oats 250 g (8 a::) self-raising Aour
759 (3 oz) reody-Io-eot dried prunes, chopped 1 teaspoon ground cardamam
759 (3 oz) reody·lo-eol dried apricots, chopped 4 tablespoons milk
c 759 (3 azl raisins or sultanas 500 g (lib) peors, peeled, cored and thinly sliced
2 eggs, lightly bealen 125 g (4 a::) sullona$
1 tablespoon dear haney
1 Pullhe bu tter, sugar ond honey in 0 small, heavy-
bosed saucepan ond heol gently, stirring . Remove from 1 In a large bawl mix together the buller and sugar
the heal ond mix in the 001$, prunes, opricots ond until they are pale and light. Beat in the eggs a lillie at
raisins or sultanos until evenly mixed. Beat in the eg9s. a time. Sift together the Aaur and ground cardamom
2 lightly grease a shallow 28 x 23 em (11 x 9 inch) and fold them into the creamed mixtvre together with
baking ' in. Turn the mixture into the lin and level the the milk.
surface. Bake in 0 preheated oven, 180°C j350°F), 2 Reserve oboul ane-third of the pear slices and
Gas Mark 4 , lor 20 minutes or unlil turning pole roughly chap the resl. Fold the chapped pears into the
golden . creamed mixture with the sultanas.
3 leave in the tin until olmost cold. then cut inlo fingers 3 ligh~y oil and base-line a I kg [2 Ib) laof lin and
and transfer to a wire rack until they are completely spoon the mixture into the tin. Smooth the surface,
caol. The flapjacks can be stored in an airtight mak ing a small dip in the centre. Arrange the reserved
container in a cool place for up to 5 days. pear slices down the centre of the coke, pressing Ihem
in gently. Bake in a preheated oven, 160°C [325°F),
Gas Mark 3, for 1Y..... l ~ hours or unlil a skewe r
inserted into the centre comes oul dean .
4 Remove the cake from the oven and drizzle ove r the
honey. leave to cool in the lin lor 20 minutes and then
transfer 10 a wire rock until it is completely cool.
 13 1

· ~ . ~.--­ ------_.
132 Lavender Honey Figs with Yogurt
Ice Cream and Honey
Prep time 20 mills, plus chilling and freezing Prep time 5 mins
Cook time 15 mins Cook time 10 mins
Serve s .4 5erve 5 -4

6 tablespoons Iovender honey 8 ripe figs

4 egg yolks -4 tablespoons plain yogurt
1 teaspoon cornAour 2 tablespoons honey
1 tablespoon casler sugar
300 ml !~ pint) milk 1 Place the figs on 0 foil·lined grill pon and cook them
300 mll~ pint] double or whipping croom a
under a preheated medium grill for minutes, turning
lavender sprigs, 10 decorate [optiooal] occasionally, until they are charred on the outside.
Remove and cuI them in hair.
1 Put the honey, egg yolks, cornflour ond sugar in a 2 Arronge the halved figs on -4 plates and serve with a
bowl ond whisk lightly 10 combine. spoonful of plain yogurt and !tOme honey spooned over
2 Put the milk in a heavy-based saucepan ond bring it the top .
to the boil. Pour the milk over the egg yolk mixture,
whisking well until it is combined. Return the mixture to
the saucepan and cook gently, stirring, until the custard
has thickened and cools the bock of the spoon thinly.
3 Transfer the mixture 10 a bowl and cover with a
round of greoseproo/ paper to prevent a skin from Walnut and
forming. leave to cool, then transfer 10 the refrjgerator
to chill. Honey Yogurt
4 Transfer the custard 10 on ice cream maker and odd
the cream. Churn until frozen. Alternatively, beat the Prep time 2 mins, plus chilling
custard and cream together and put in the freezer, 5erve 5 1
beating the ice cream after on hour to break down any
ice crystals. 1 dessertspoon honeycomb
5 Serve the ice cream in glosses decorated with 100-200 g (3~7 ozl low.fot, thick naturol yogurt
lavender sprigs, if liked. 6-7 walnut halves

1 Cut the honeycomb into pieces to release the liquid

honey from the cens.
2 Stir the honey into the yogurt with the walnuThalves
and chill until ready to serve.
133

,
(
t
134 Hot Honey and Mead
Lemon Drink Prep tim e 2 hours plus 1 yeor to mature
Makes approximately 5 lilre bolile
Prep time 2 mins
Serve s 1 5 lilres !1. 1 gollons) water
1.2 kg {2 ~ Ibl honey
2 tablespoons lemon juice juice of 1 lemon
2 tablespoons set honey 1 vitamin C toblel
bailing water 1 teospoon wine yecut

1 Mix together the lemon juice and honey in 0 mug. 1 Put the water, hooey, lemon juice and vitamin C
2 Gradually pour in the boiling water, stirring 10 tablet in a lorge, heavy·bosed soucepon and bring to
dissolve Ihe honey, until the mug is almost full. Drink the boil to kill the natural yeasts. (You can sterilize the
r as hot as you can, but remember to allow it to cool mixture with the appropriate number of proprietary
for children . sterilizing tablets if you prefer.)
2 leave the liquid to cool, then transfer it to a sterilized
demijohn. Add the wine yeast and close with a
sterilized airlock.. The fermentation will toke place for
around 2 weeks and then the lees will start to settle.
3 Rock (siphon) oH the liquid into onother sterilized
Banana and demijohn ond store in a cool, dark place. (If you can
manage to store it on a heavy stone ROOf the sediment
Honey Shake will fall more easily.) Rock oH the mead again.
4 When the liquid is clear transfer it to bottles and
Prep time 2-3 mins store for 01 leost a yeor - if you can manage to resist itl
Serve s 2

2 bananos
2 tablespoons cleor honey
300 ml ! ~ pint) milk
2 ice cubes

1 Peel and slice the bananas and put them into a

liquidizer or blender. Add the honey and milk and
process until smooth .
2 Pour the mixture into individual glo$ses and add on
ice cube in eoch . Serve with drinking straws.
135
136 Glossary

Acaricide A preparation used 10 their ceUs, the cell cops (il smaller) or honeycomb (if
destroy mites. appearing darker and sunken lorgerl, enabling the beekeeper
and often perforated. There is no easily 10 remove the frames . The
Acarine A dis&05e caused by known treatment, and infected space was first identified by the
miles (Acoropis woodij thot hives, both stock and fromes, Rev. lofenzo lorraine longstroth,
affects a bee's breathing must be destroyed. See 01$0 o beekeeper in Philadelphia, in
lubes. II is sometimes known European fool brood. the early 18505.
J
, as Isle of Wight disease
because it was first seen Anther The pori of a Rower that Beeswax A substance produced
there in 1906. releases poUen. by eight glands on the underside
of the abdomen of worker bees
Africoniz:ed bees Also, Bee brush A very soft brush or a cnd used by bees to cap cells
colloquially {if misleadingly), large feather used to remove and build comb.
known as killer bees. A hybrid bees fro m the frome or to coax
between the African honeybee them in to a confined space. Bottom bee space hive A hive
{Apis mellifera sculellolal and in which the frames hang in the
severol European honeybees. Bee cage A device for solely boxes with a space between the
These bees. which have a introducing a new queen inlo a bottom 01 the frames and the
reputation lor being more hive. It is a mesh cage. which box. This style is most often seen
aggressive in defence of their enables the other bees 10 lick the in Notional.type hives. See also
hives than European honeybees, queen and pass her pheromones top bee spoce hive.
have spread both north and around the hive without harm ing
$Outh from Brazil, where the her. The cage can be positioned Brace comb A bridge of wax
hybrids first occurred, and it is between the frames of the brood built between surfaces within
not known. given dima te chamber. The queen is kept the hive.
change, how much further inside the cage by a plug of
they will spread. newspoper or sugar candy, Brood The immature stage of the
which the beekeeper con remove bee {eggs, larvae and pupoel in
American foul brood A after a few days or allow the ceUs that may be uncapped or
notifiable disease, which may bees themselves to chew oway. unsealed {eggs and larvael or
occur anywhere in the world, copped or seoled {larvae that
AF8 is caused by Paenibocillu$ Bee space The spoce of 7-8 mm will pupa te in to adult beesl.
larvae, a spore-producing {about Y. inchl between the
bacterium . The spores develop frames and walls of a hive thai Brood box The por t of the hive in
in the gut of larvae, which die in wi ll not be filled with propolis which the queen is confined {by
 a queen excluder) and the brood dovcloplflg larvae ond competes Guard bees Bees that wait ot the
is reared. A hive may contain With IhcIIl lor food. Not all entrance to the hive 10 protect it 13 7
more than one brood box. IIllnetad 101 vae will die, and bees Irom foreign bees, wasps and
oholl 0loct the infected larvoe animals. These bees re lease
Candy A $olid food mode from thcnnclvos. However, if infected pheromones to alert the other
sugar, more frequently used to IClivoe $ulvive to the pre--pupal bees in the hive if the colony
separate queens in a new hive. stooe, ~res will be voided into is threatened.
tho cells, IIlfeeting other larvae.
Chalk brood A fungal inlection, A hoovdy infected hive should be Hefting The practice of lifting your
caused by Ascosphoera opis, deslioyod, but in the early slages hive with the roof on but wi th
which 'mummifies' larvae in the of Inlcellon shaking the swarm no supers in it os a way 01
brood frame. Although it is Into a new hive is likely 10 be establishing its weight. With L
occasionally confused with cflochvc See also American practice, this enables Ihe V
American loul brood, it is not as foullxood beekeeper 10 determine the
serious and may often be weight of the colony ond its
overcome by re-queening. Exoskeleton The hard outside food supplies.
covelll1g of on insect's body thai
Clearer board A boord used to plotcets and supports the insect. Hive tool A me ta l tool used by
remove bee$ Irom supers belore beekeepers for levering and
the honey is harvesteel. The Feeder One of two types are separating frames.
board will have one or more bee usually ur.ed, 0 large rectangular
escapes, which allow bees 10 or smaller round version. They Hoffman frame A type of ~11
pass through but prevent them 010 filiod with sugar syrup to spacing frame.
Irom returning. food tho bees.
Honey flow The period dUring
Crown board Also known 05 the Flight board The wooden strip which the supply of nectar from
inner cover. The board that is III front of the hive on which Rowers is at its peak.
placed on the lop super and bees land
below the rool of the hive. Landing board Also known as
The board has a hole in it lor Foundation A wax sheel alighting board. The strip of
ventilation. embossed wi th a hexagonal wood tha t is attached to the
pattern used as the bosis lor bees bottom of the hive on which OOcs
Drone A mole bee. Unlike queen to build comb. land before they enter the hive It
and worker bees, a drone has enables the beekeeper to see
no sling. Frame A wooden or plastic whot bees ore removing Iram
structure that holds the wax comb the hive.
European foul brood A ond allows the beekeeper to
notifiable disease, EFB is caused remove the comb from the hive longstroth hive The most
by the bacterium Melissococcus to IIlspect it. The beekeeper commonly used type 01 hive in
pluton, which infecls the gub 01 usually makes thei r own frames. North America.
 Mouse guard A grid allowing wild bees bu t could well destroy (horse chestnut), and used in Ihe
138 bees in and out of the hive while your own colony. construction of the hive.
excluding mice.
Open mesh floor A fine mesh Queen The sexually developed
Nasonov gland A glond on the floor that is used to both improve female bee that lays eggs.
abdomen o f a worker bee thaI ventilation in the hive and help
secretes a substance ur.ed to control vorroo mites, which fall Queen cell A large cell on the
ollrocl bees bock to their hive. through the mesh bu t are unable face or battom of the frame thai
to return to the hive. houses a grub deslined to
National hive A square, single- become a queen.
walled hive; it is the most widely Pistil The female reproductive
used hive in Britoin. organ of a Rower. Queen excluder A screen with
slots or a mesh that allows
Nectar The sugary substance thai Pollen The dust-like groins that are worker bees to pass through il
is produced by plonts in order to produced by a flower's anthers but can be positioned 10 exclude
altract pollinating insects and (the mole part of a flower) and the queen and drones from ports
thol is mode into honey by bees. thol ore used to fertilize the of the hive.
fema le ovule .
Nosema A disease caused by a Queen marking grid A device
protozoan (Nosema opis), which Pollen basket Also known as for holding a queen on the frame
offecb the gut of adult bees. pollen soc. The area on the hind surface allowing you 10 mark her.
leg of a bee in which pollen is Marking sets the queen's oge
Nurse bee The nome given to a transported to the hive. The and makes her more visible.
worker bee thot helps 10 reor basket, actually a hollow in the
brood in the hive. tibia, is surrounded by brush-like Robbing The taking of honey from
hairs, wh ich enable Ihe bee to a hive by wasps or bees from
Oilseed rape The yellow flowers scrape the pollen caught on its another colony.
ollhis important agricultural body hairs inlo the basket.
crop, B(055 ;CO nopus, ore a Royal jelly Also known as bee
good source of pollen, but the Porter bee escape A one-way milk. The substance secreted by
honey produced crystallizes bee escape, oHen used on Ihe worker bees and fed to
quickly and sets so hard thol clearer boards, thaI onow bees rulure queens.
bees cannot get it oul of the 10 exil bul not return.
combs. If your bees are near Soc brood A viral disease thaI
crops of OSR you musl be ready Propolis Also known os bee gum causes lorvoe to die before their
10 lake Ihe honey from the hive or bee glue. The reddish or fina l moult. Re-queening is
early in the season. Also bear in block-brown resinous substance usually effective.
mind that formers are likely 10 thaI is collecled by bees from
apply pesticides 10 their OSR plants, such as from the buds of Skep An old·foshioned type of
crops, which will not only kill Ae5Culus hippocostonum hive, mode of wicker or slrow
 and withO\lt movable frames , Su lphur candle A device for Wax moths Both the lesser
which the beekeeper can use to ~ ,lIl n~1 "II n whole colony if IAchroio grise/Io) and greater 139
toke swarms. ,," "'In II"I'W.C problem makes (Gollerio mel/onello) wall moth
It !If I flt'llly are serious pests in the hive,
Smoker The device used by where they damage stored
beekeepers to introduce cool Swa nn II 11\(155 of bees thaI is not comb. The larvae manage to
smoke into a hive to calm bees HI {I I"v/l 11lc bees could be scoop out indentations in the
before the hive is opened. (llI,lf11 ptUl{j to establish a new wooden sides of frames and
Suitable materials to burn include (olony <lI f'Sfo ping from on hives (including those that are in
wood shavings, newspaper, egg "m( I,, ~fCl< tory hive . Ideally, a storage) where they pupote.
boxes, old hessian socking, dried lW(Uon Ill. kldes a mated queen.
conifer clippings and dried wac hive A double-walled hive,
grass cultings. To p Me space hive A hive in designed by William Brooghton
whl' h tho Iromes are suspended Carr in 1890, which is often
Stigma The part of a Rower's pistil so ,11111 th{'lc is a spoce between included in gardens because of
that receives the pollen during tho lop of the frames and the top its attractive, pagoda-like
pollination. a ltho IXl II . Ihis arrangement is appearance.
l1Iost oftun seen in longstroth-type
Sting Queen and worker bees, h,vQS S(l(l 0150 bottom bee Worker An immature female bee.
but not the drones, have a spoco 111vc Worker bees are the most
borbed sting. When the sling is numerous residents of a hive.
used, it is left in the wO\lnd Varroo d estructor The mite thot
together with parts of the bee's bl oods In sealed brood cells.
viscera . This means thot after the
bee has stung it will die. Vorroo s trips A plastic strip
Impregnated with insecticide that
Sugar syrup A solution of 50:50 WIll selcctively kill vorroo mites in
sugar: water, used to feed bees the hive
in times when no nectar is
flowing or honey supplies Vorroos is The diSCCIse of bees
are low. caused by the parasitic mite
Vorroo destructor.
Super The chamber 01" chambers
above the brood box in which Woggle dance A circular ar
honey is kept. figure-of-eight dance performed
by the bees. They use this
Superse dure The process of movement to communicate with
removing a queen and replacing other bees the distance and
her with a new one without the direction of a food source from
colony swarming. the hive.
 in$p«ting 76-7, 85 coo.mling obility 01 boo. 17

140 index temperoture

Brother Ado", 21
29 crop ~ield. 3.4-5
crown boord. 27, 50
buckets 57 cuI comb honey 102
A Suckk..j bee 21
abdomen 22 buddleio, 112. 113 D
occ6nt1 15, 9S bumblebees 20, 108 Dodont hive 47
African bee 17, 21, 39 "",I bo~ lOS dcndejion.63
olerm pheromones 73 dar.. honey 102
ollerg;'; reoctionl 19 C deodheoding 111
American foul brood 92, 95 candy 81 de><lrO>e 32
onolomy 01 f>oneybee. 22-3 copped cell. 27, 28, 30, 76 diSf'.live 'r.fern 23
oochoring hi ..... .\2, 51 removing the cop 99 no"""" 95
androecium 35 copping knife 99 diseoseo "'" pe.t. ond di"", •.(!1
antennae 22, 23 cop. 57 di.inleclont 57, 92
on~oxidon" 32, 103 Corniolan bee 21 di.soIving propoli. 103
~il meJljfero 20-1 carro!, honey and .ultana squares \ 29 double'bIooming Row..o-. 110
orthri~1 19 ,ave paintings 13 drawing pin. 57
ortifi.:~ nectar and pollen 31, 83 cell. dron ... 2.4, 25, 39, 85
ortilied '''"',,,m. 86 copped 27, 28, 30, 76, 99 dy.entery 81
D.>em~jng" frome 52-3 egg cell, 79
",,,,,,iot""" 7, 8 qo.;eeo cell. 79, 85 E
autumn flow 63 size 17 egg cell. 79
outumn tabs 120-1 wper....dure ceU, 85 egg. 2", 27, 28, 76, 116
feeding 80 "nc"pped 27, 76 Egyplion beekeeping 13
cellular chemi,lry 19 Ein.tein, Albert 15
•
boiling the queen 88
Chi"...., beekeeping 13
choleuerol 32
elo.tic bond. 9
enlmn<:e to hive. 38, 60, 66
bonono ond honephoke 13.4 choo.ing" hive 42, 64-5 eq~iprnent 9, 54-7
boo bru.r. 9, 56 choo'ing pIont. 11 0 bee btu ... 9, 56
bee poinl 57 cirrolor feeders 82 bee point 57
bee!opOCs 1.4, .4.4, .49 do,.i~ootion 01 honeybee. 20-1 boot. 5..
boo wil9, 36, 5.4 deonlintl •• in hi"",. 28 bucket. 57
dipp<ng k.gs 88 copping kn ife 99
boo'. 0'"
'""""" JI
12
beeswnx 104-5
dipping wing. 86
doth .quclre. 57
COf» 57
doth .quore. 57
block boo 2\ clothing 9, 36, SA clothing 9, 36, 5..
blending honey 102 dub. or.:! o$Socialions 7, 8 di.inleclont 57, 92
blood "",.eI. 22 cold """f ""-up 66 drawing p1n. 57
body 01 boo. 22-3 col lecting honey 13. 15,98-101, eIa.tic bond, 9
bolus 27 119 Iorcep.57
Bornbu.20 collecti"9" .warm 69, 87 glove. 9, 36, 5"
colony collop ... syndrome 17 hive too! 9, 56
boon "
bottom bee!opOCe.49 coIon~ life 17 honey extroclor. 9, 99
broce combs 68, 78 colour coding qucetl. 88 noIe pod one! pen 56
brein 22, 23, 24, 29 colour vision 17 nucleu. boxes 90
brombles 1\ 3 Commerci~ hive 43, 47 queen coge 57, 89
breolhing22 Concorde 18 rubbe<- .quo.s. 57
Bri~sh bbck boo 2\ conlocl f..ed.en 82 ..:;..or.57
brood bo>c 27, .48, 65 cool one! colm mOm>er 8 >econd·hond equipment 65
con/iningthequeen 1.4, 15 corbiculo 23 .mokers 9, 36, 38, 55, 61, 73
...Iobli.hing the nudeu. 67 OO$m(!!ics 105 .1or"9" 9
 oeil.9, 36, 54 G ropped ,ell. 27, 28, 30, 76
_oItoh .... gor9ion22,23 .....,..,ng tho. <:q> 99
EUfO!*'" IouI brood 92, 95 gordIm 108-13 choosing 0 h"'e42, 64-5 14 1
ucnI.eIeIorI 22 d.oo.ing pb-n 110 deor.Iinn. 28
e><peI'ng !he Me. 98 decw:hading I 11 eomn-.:ioI hioe 43, 47
lIlttfaclon9,99 doo.Al!e'b!ooming Rowen 110 crown boom. 27, 50
~ 22, 23 Fl hybrid pIonT$ 110 DodonT hive 47
eorIy tu- 13
, feeding pion!> 111
heros 11 3 et1To'once 38, 60, 66
F1 hybrid plonl'l 110 mid_.."" pIonl'l 112-13 one! fDeding 27, 50
Jailing ~s 79, 85 orgon;'; gordo.oing 110-1 1
Roo. "
fanning duTies 29 poIlinoTion 34-5, 108 fmmes 52-3, 66, 78-9 1
1e.der.82-3 woIering 111 kn:Iing boord 27
leeding 27, 50, 68, 80-3 wilclile gorden. 113 longslrolh h"'e15, 43, 44 )
1eo""',101iof,19 gounllel. 9, 36, 54 lods 27, 50
fig. with yogu<1 end honey 132 e-- lfIqII8fICing 21 IcxoIing 9, 60-3
'D
rJ-n 9, 36, 5-4 ~
Rap.achl30
Roc. alh ..... 48
~ng onion. 113
food 30-3, 67
...,.."
Greek t-leeping 13-14
guoro:l duties 29
"""';ng 90-1
NotionoI hive 43, 46
opening 72-0
pointing 51
ortifi.:iol nector one! pollen 31, 83 guT22-3 Porieo' bee escope 50
in ovtu<M 80 gynoecium 35 polllioning 9, 60-3, 66
1-ler.82-3 propolized gop' 14, 27, 33, 44, 49, 103
feeding 27, 50, 68, 80-3 H PVC hive, 42
honey 32-3, 81, 98-102 hoemoIymph 22 queen exdo.der 27, 44, 49, 65, 73, n
mineroldl hond ueom 105 reW'oining $Irop. 42, 51
_19,30,62-3,110,111 ho..... ~ng honey 13, 15, 98-101, 119 section.d hi_ 14
poI.n 12, 30-1, 35-6, 62-3, 83, hob 57 .t..p. 14,44
110 hoy r.- 18 Smi" hive 47
propeIis 12, 14, 23, 33, 103 heod 22, 23 ~""""i_1'I9
quoMry rec,..ired 83 heoIing ~ 12,32 Wndordiwfion 42-3
royal jelly 24, 28, 31 orthriti. 19 otond. 48, 66
sorting by ooIo.K 17 hoy r-r 18 <1n>p142,51
in opring 80, 81 of honey 32 wpen 27, 42, 50, 65, 67, 85, 99
wgc>I conely 81 of pollen 12 lOp,bor 14, 44
WQOr syrvp 8 I 01 propoIi. 12, 33, 103 urocopped cell. 27, 76
WOTolr 83 .kin uicen 18 WBC hi .... 46
in wintel' 80 of venom J2 woodeo hi ...... 51
Ioroging by worloen29 '-!he< moon 63 _ 0/.., brood be".
Ion:eps 57 hefting 83, 116 honey 32-3, 81, 98-102
IouI brood 92, 95 IwI» 113 "" bee food 33, 81
ioundohon comb!. 15, 52 Himoloyon boIsom 11 2 blending 102
From. '-len 83 Hippocr<>leo 13 CUI comb honey 102
from.. 52-3, 66, 78-9 hislOr)' of beekeeping 12-15 dark honey 102
egg a.Il. 79
lilT;ng 78-9
~ c.II. 79, 85
removing hone)' 98
$Upenedu.. cell. 85
Chino 13
fgyprion. 13
Greek. 13-14
Romon, 14
hive 10<>1 9, 56
--"
expelling Ihe bees 98

horvM~ng

"""
13, IS, 98-101, 119

mo king from nectar 3Q

worm one! cold way "T'up 66 hivel 26-7, 40-53 meI~n9 seI hooey 102
pIonl'l lor honey flow I I 2
""""" "
furn;lu .. poIi... 105
onchori"9 42, 51
bee~ 44, 49 recipes 126-34
 ......aYing coppingl 99 lihing the Frome 78-9 ocori,..15,95
retnOYing /rom fro.nes 98 u""""" (Cor! YOn ~J 20 A,net~ foul brood 92, 95
142 repIocing wi'" sugcor Iyrup 98 lip boIm lOS dyHnllry 81
... 01", heeling propeme. Iocoting a hive 9, 60-3 Europeon foul brood 92, 95
honey arch 27 lung. 22 hygiere92
honey cinnomon bjlCuit> 129 ond im...........),>!eml 19, 21
honey ftlClmdor. 9, 99 M mice 94
honey and oronge Rower boklovo 126 main Row 63 noserno 95
honey .tomoch 22-3, 30 makingo~ 24 rdilioble dilOO_ 92
".."..,.." morIcing a ~ 57, 76, 88-9 pyreIhroid iI'Io«ticide !reo1meOl 93
beebread 31 mead 13" ocon:hing wood.n hives 51
brace combs 68, 78 w..hring. Johc.r.ne. 52 omoI M.. b.etI. 92
(QfI""-'dion 23 ",./Ii." 20--1 Iropibelop. 92
Iourdolion (ombs 15, 52 melting beeswo>< 104 __ roo milM 15, 17, 92-4
rigidi!)' (,,·,,:I$treng .... 18 melring lei honey 102 wo~94-5
W(llel' ~rion 30, 80 mice 94 wo~ mol!,. 95
SH "Iso cell. mi_ol.31 woodpecken 92
honeyed cereal 128 mile' 15, 17, 92-4 petroleum j.Iy 49
hot honey and lemon drink 134 .,.....00'100 ... 24,39,73
1Iybrid. 21, 68, 84
hygiene 92
~ .. "
moIh.95

............. 23
po/iih 105
poIwo 12, 3()-1, 35-6. 62-3, 83, 110
hypocftIorile92 ..-i"9 a hrve 9()-1 arti/;ciol 31. 83
mu.de. 22 heoI'ng properties 12
WXI 23, 72
i<::e <.lIOm 132 N poI linolion 34-5, 108
immune '~'"""I 19, 21 Norionoillive 43, 46 poIlvlion 61
inO«lic,,* 93 ""'tor 19, 30, 62-3, 110, l' 1 Par"" IMe eKOpIt 50

.......,n
in~ng the colony 72-7

rebuilding ... hive n

OrIificioi 31, 83
1.0".. ,,,,1;0,,19
kKnong ink> honey JO
p=liconing lIiYoeI9, 60-3, 66
Prolcopawych, PMo 4.4
propoIi. 12, 14, 23, 33. 103
,nwronce 9 -shbour.61-2 healing~ 12, 33, 103
~ .. nati""..1 Pollinotors Initiotiv. (IPI) 35 _OS propoIiud gaps 14, 27, 33, 44, 49,103
I~ 01 Woght di<ea .. (000"".115, 95 ""'- pod and I*' 56 PVC II;.,... 42
lloo lion bee 21 ootiliooe disecse. 92 pyre/l,roid iru.octicide treolmenr 93

_38
J
;"'''
n....:leu. 67, 68
nucleu. bo.es 90

o
oil...! 'Of>" 63
~o.14

Q
.-
boiling by -un 88
K opening " hi.e 724> dipping leg. 88
killerbws 17, 39 weo!h.r condi~, 72 dipping wing. 86
orange flc.-. end honey bokkMI 126 colour cod ing 88
L orson;'; gardening 11(}'-1 I COf'lining in 0 brood box 14, 15
landing board 27
, egg kr)o ing 24, 27, 116

.... "
L.ong.troIh hive 15,43, 44

IovencIer 113
~ honey ice aeom 132
pcMnling
IMe poil'll 57
colour code. for ~ 88
/oiling~" 79, 85
~illed by ""OI'ker. 88
...:oIo.ing 0 cp.-. 24
.....n.ing 57. 76, 88-9
leg. 22, 23 hi..... 51 ~nizing 24, 57, 76
clipping 88 ~,~ ond wllono roke 130 ~ing (~e) 12, 24, 79, 88-9
lieb 27, 50 p,"lic'de. 35, 63 ~~UOI .-.production 12. 24. 84
lif.lpon of bee. 24 pe.~ ond disoo~1 12, 15, 33, 65 Sling 39
 V(JC(J/lng the h;v. 8<1 0I~139 vi""" 9, 36, S"
""" also .worm'ng and ",...,lIs 38 ¥On frisch, Karl 16-17
'~'"'" (09" 57, 89 -.c.n ..,.; 23, 29 143
'f""'" cell. 79, 85 warning sign. 39 w
.......... exdudor 27, -"', <19, 65, 7J, 77 . . . . . ."...9 WO!J9I. done:. 16-17

, IIrOp$ "2, 51
IIrcrw ~ 1",.t4
.....I.... and hon.y yogurt 132
worm --r ,.....'P 66
.n ..-'ng 12, 2", 79, 8&-9 ...b.pKies 21 wolpf 9"-5
•...."lruoty 1IoppcI.. 130 ...ao..31,32 _occess83
, .......Idong tt. hiYI 77 "'9'" candy 81 ...-..opororion 30, 80
''''''P''I126-3'' "'9C'" .yrup81, 98 ~ng gorden. 111
"''-<9',ZJngo ~ 2", 57, 76 wnvnorlbw63 """" moIh. 95
'",-ard keeping 56, 77 ~ job. 118-19 wee ......<16
''''''''''''''9 COPP'''9' 99 ""1*127, "2, 50, 65, 67, 85, 99 wiklile ~ 113
'''''''''''ng t.on.y In:trn " - 98 ~"2 willow tr_ 63
'''''''''''Ing !oIropl"2, 51 ~no 12,24, 79, 8&-9 wi"9' 22, 23
,,>IX- bee. 81, 92 wpe<-luno cell. 85 dipPing 86
1/,,,,,,,,, beekeeping 1" lWQrming 8, 61, 6<1, 8<1-7 winter jobs 122-3
"~lcIIy U, 28, 31 orti!;ciol.worml86 .ing80
,ullll(!< 57
>qI>O<M ~Iect;ng o.worm 69, 87 wooden hr- 51
introducing inle" hive 69, 86 woodpeck •., 92
s ~~ng85 wM:.M beel 2"-S, 28-9
",et,I,I", clo..ifi<:oI;on 20-1 ",0\0<1' for 8" deoning duli •• 28
throwing <) .worm 87 fanning duties 29
...;.""".57
...:",<:I"ng woocIen 51h,_ .ytup 81, 98 feeding duties 28
"":0".1 f>oo-d equ ,pment65 loroging 29
_,~h""'l" T Irorn egg 10 b. 28

_n
",.uoI,ept'oducrion 12,2", 8" Io.ta recepI<>n 21 guard dutieI 29
,~.".. 1", "" thor ... 22 killing N qo..- 88
.l,U, .equlred 8 throwing 0 .worm 87 lifespan 2", 29
,~.n ..Ieerl 18 ~ .... req.oiremenll 8 lIing 39
..noll ...... b.fIe 92
....... r-.plon 21 lop b. opac. <19 T
.......,_ <rod IIongs 38 lop-bar beehNe. 1",.u ~132
5m,~h_"7
""""' 22
"""""',9,36,38,55,61,73 ocorine 15, 95
"""",*Of>$ 6J troy '-*"
83
.nIor exlrOCIon 10" Ir'OpiIoeIops 92
Sou!h Afocon b. 21 type> 01 bee. 2..-5
~ American b. 17
'IIOC" 'equir.nentl 9 u
'I",ode. 22 ~ cell. 27, 76
'I" "'9 fIq.., 63 u<bon ~ng 61-2
'1"ong jobs 116-17
!""ding 80, 81 v
'.ItJndord,w"on <12-3 vondoI.62
"""d. for hive. "8, 66 ...,,"'" miles 15, 17,92-"
'1'9"'" 35 veill 9, 36, S"
'lingS 23, 36-9 ~38
olletgic reoctionl I 9 hea ling proper!ies 32
deaI'ng wiil> <) Iting 38-9 ..,.; 23, 29
ondl~~38 Virgil 1"
144 Acknowledgements

Special thanks to Rachel Graham, Maggie

Bohme, John Gresty, Kei th Hibbert, Derek
Picture Acknowledgements
Hartington, fan Molyneux, Manchester ond District Commissioned Photography:
Beekeepers Association (www.mdbko.com) C OctopU$ Publishing Group ud/Poul Peococlc.

Othe r Photography:
Alomy/Renee o'.-\orris 6; IRes Drinkwater 5 lop centre, .41 .
b:ecutive Editor Jessica Cowie Clive Nichols 42, 43 right.
Corbis UK ltd/Engquist Elso 43 left.
Editor Kerenzo Swift
Falolia/Khorr 32; /Mikhoil Tobtoy 97;
Exe cutive Art Editor leigh Jones
jPhilippe Sim ier 61.
Designer Ginny Zeal Getty Imoges/Michoel Durham 11.
Senior Production Controller Simone Nouerth islodphoto.com/Koren Mossier 44; (TOf$len Koroc::k 62.
Picture Researcher Sarah Smithies Leigh Jones 32, 35, 54, 63, 125, 135.
Odopu~ Publi~lng Gtoup limiled/Goreth Sombidge 133;
/Gu~ Filgate 127; /Ian Wallace 131 .
Rochel Green 15.
<
Shutter~tock/Adam TInney 1; /Hwoy Kiong Um 19;
/Mike Tolstoy 102.
The Gorden Collection/Roger Benjamin 60.
The Trustees 01 the British MU5-eum 13.
Zachary Huang 20, 2B, 93; /M V Smith 95.
 Paul Peacock is a keen beekeeper and
gardener and has published articles for
numerous mogozines and newspapers,
including Country Ufe and the Guardian.
He is the editor of Grow IfI magazine and
has written several books, including A Good
life, a biography of John Seymour, 'the
father of self-sufficiency' .

Jacket photograph y: Alamy/David Rowland (front);

o Octopus Publishing Group LimitedIPaul Peacock (back)

www.octoDusbOOkS.Co.uk
Keeping bees is a wonderfully relaxing and rewording pursuit.
Whether you have a large garden, small backyard or roof
terrace there is enough room for a hive or !wo - and that is
all you need to produce delicious honey.
Suitable for both the beginner and the experienced
beekeeper, this practical gUide covers everything from seHing
up and locating a hive to harvesting haney and wax.
Step-by-step photographs on how to handle and
check your bees
• Seasonal tasks and checklists tell you what you
need to do and when
Delicious recipes using your homemade honey

.,

•
, ,