Resources and info to do it yourself Beekeeping. Click a link at left for those topics.
Listed below are notes that we list as we find them: How to Help the Bees Help Bees - This document that tells you what you can do to help the bees... even if you are not a beekeeper. Bee Plants - This document is from the IN State Apiarist, Kathleen Prough and discusses bee-friendly plants and what else you can do to help the bees. Hive Body Cut Guide Here is an excel sheet provided by Jim Orem and Rick Orr that enables you to understand the lumber you need to buy in order to make X number of hive bodies. Please note, you will need to adjust your security settings in the "macro" settings in Excel for this sheet to work.
Select the Tools menu option and then select Macro, then Security. Download the worksheet Queen Grafting Calculator. Smart, Simple & Sustainable Beekeeping. Mead Exam. VarroaMites.pdf. Ontario Beekeepers’ Association, Technology-Transfer Program Orchard Park Office Centre, Suite B47, 5420 Highway 6 North, Guelph, Ontario, Canada, N1H 6J2 519-836-3609 obatechtransfer@rogers.com Varroa Mites Biology: The varroa mite (Varroa destructor) is an external parasite of the honey bee.
It will infest adults, larvae and pupae. Female mite will enter brood cells, soon to be capped, to reproduce. VarroaMites.pdf. Bee_record_chart.xls. Latest Deals. Pics. 200 Top-Bar Hives: The Low-Cost Sustainable Way. Opening Hives » 200 Top-Bar Hives: The Low-Cost Sustainable Way. On this page, I show some typical colony inspections and routine seasonal manipulations with pictures that complement the book.
First a few preliminaries. The combs of a top-bar hive are arranged in a row like slices of bread in a loaf as shown in the hive below. The beekeeper can open the hive from either end and look through the combs, but you cannot pull up a comb in the middle of the hive first without working your way to it. By the way, good old hive 99 shown below was built in the late 1980′s and spent about ten years in the fields of North Carolina where her bees pollinated cucumbers, watermelons, and cantaloupes, then went on to do other service in my bee operation. Now I am using number 99 as a demonstration hive. Below is a pair of hives on a stand. The stand also provides storage room under the large hives. Because of a past experiment, the bees fly from the pair of hives in opposite directions.
The next pair of brood comb pictures shows a pattern of emerging brood. Beekeeping in Top-Bar Hives (tbh's) An Alternative to Conventional Beekeeping What's New This website is devoted exclusively to collecting and distributing information about beekeeping with top-bar hives (tbh's).
Tbh's offer many beekeepers an inexpensive but satisfying way of keeping bees that produces less (but better) honey and more beeswax. Enjoy your visit to this website, learn about tbh's, and give them a try. These top bar hives are on a stand, which permits them to be worked without bending over. Organization of the information Files of frequently asked questions (FAQ's) are maintained at this website to answer most of your questions about this method of beekeeping. These files of "frequently asked questions" and "not so FAQ's" pertaining to beekeeping in top bar hives (tbh's) were compiled and edited with the help of many others, especially Joel Govostes. James D. Top Bar Hive Beekeeping. Is it a swarm cell or a supersedure cell? During spring build-up, beekeepers often search for swarm cells in order to determine if the hive is preparing to swarm.
But what is a swarm cell and how is it different from a supersedure cell? First of all, the term “cell” usually refers to an oversize structure attached to the comb in which a queen will be raised. This can be confusing to new beekeepers, because there are regular “cells” all over the place—in fact, a comb is nothing more than a series of interconnected hexagonal cells. Confusing as it may be, however, when beekeepers talk about “cells” they are usually referring to queen cells. Drone cells are often in the vicinity of swarm cells but should not be confused with them. Queen cells are very different.
Now, more confusion. Now, in case there are people who can actually follow this description, I’ll add another layer of confusion. Supersedure cells are often begun after the eggs are laid. Rusty. Gold Star Honeybees - Top Bar Hive Kits - your first choice for natural beekeeping equipment. Southern Tier Beekeepers Association. Beekeeping Supplies from Pigeon Mountain Trading Company. Special Projects Archives - Art and Home by Jon PetersArt and Home by Jon Peters. Learning Beekeeping. Top Bar Hive Lessons Top Bars present several advantages to beekeepers, yet they have drawbacks as well.
Like most things in life, the correct choice is about a trade off. . . The Backyard Top Bar Hive. The BackYardHive Top Bar Hive is an Easy Way to Keep Healthy and Productive Bees Without the Need for Special Equipment or Invasive Practices The Backyard Hive Top Bar Hive has many advantages to the backyard beekeeper.
This hive is easier to use, inexpensive to purchase, and it requires much less equipment and expertise to get into the adventure of bee keeping. With this unique "holistic" bee hive, you will find that a beekeeping hobby is safe, fascinating, and easier than you might think. No Moving Parts = Long-Term Durability and Simplicity As I've mentioned before, traditional hives have many parts and are more complex than the Backyard Hive, requiring these parts to be continuously replaced as they wear out.
Southern Tier Beekeepers Association.