Transcript Introduction to Beekeeping: What's the Buzz?

Sustainable Beekeeping
Presenter: Bill Theiss
Tuesday/Thursday 6 - 8 PM (September
2,4,9,11)
Gypsy Hill Park
Syllabus
• Tuesday, September 2
– Introduction: Getting started with beekeeping
• Is beekeeping for me?
• Beginning beekeeper issues
– A history of beekeeping
– Hive types
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Langstroth
Top Bar
Warre
Observation
Nucs
Syllabus
• Thursday, October 3
– Setting Up the Apiary
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Beekeeping equipment and tools
Hive installation
Acquiring Honeybees
Watering Methods
– Honeybee Biology & Behavior
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Honeybee life cycle
Reproduction
Communication
Roles and responsibilities
Anatomy (form vs. function)
Syllabus
• Tuesday, October 8
– Honeybee disease identification, prevention &
treatment
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Most common bacterial, viral, and fungal diseases
Predators
Pests
Pesticides
Poisons
Integrated Pest Management (IPM)
Syllabus
• Thursday – Oct. 10
– Hive management procedures and techniques
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Exterior and interior hive inspection
Splits
Queen rearing
Robbing avoidance
– Pollen and Nectar
• Beneficial and poisonous flowers
– Honey and beeswax
• Harvesting, handling, packaging and storage
SVBA
Is Bee Keeping for Me?
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Will I get stung?
Startup costs
Physical effort
Time requirements
Land requirements
Zoning restrictions
Neighbor concerns
Liability concerns
State licensing and
inspection requirements
for honey and nuc sales
Purposes of Beekeeping
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Pollination Services
Species Preservation
Education
Products
– Honey, beeswax, propolis, pollen, mead,
queens and/or nucs
Propolis
• A resin obtained from poplar, conifers,
flowers, and other botanical sources
• Used by bees as a waterproof sealant
• Used by humans for
– Chewing gum ingredient
– Car wax
– Musical instrument finishes
– Medical uses (antibacterial)
Goals of the Beekeeper
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Provide shelter and protection
Disease prevention and treatment
Hive propagation
Prevent swarming
Collect and/or utilize hive resources
A History of Bee Keeping
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Beekeeping, ~15,000 B.C. - ~1600 A.D.
– Bees housed in clay pots, straw baskets,
trees or hollow logs (Skeps)
– Queen (King) bee was thought to be male
– No understanding that bees made wax or
that the bees visit to flowers had anything to
do with the formation of seeds and fruit
– Bees were typically killed in autumn to
collect honey
– Swarms were used to stock the bee yard
each spring
– Honey bees were not native to the Americas.
Colonists brought bees to America on ships
in the 1600’s
Getting Started - Preparation
• Autumn and Winter Tasks
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Buy/Build hives, assemble frames
Obtain beekeeping equipment and tools
Setup hives
Place advance order for bees
Install honeybee fresh water source
Bee Hive Types
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Langstroth
Top Bar
Warre
Observation
Nucs
The Langstroth Hive
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Lorenzo Lorrain Langstroth (1810 – 1895) is
considered the father of modern beekeeping
The Langstroth Hive
– Used by >75% of beekeepers worldwide
– Stackable hive bodies
– Moveable and interchangeable
1851 – The “bee space” phenomenon
1852 – Removable frame hive patent
1858 – The Hive and the Honeybee
Langstroth Hive Components
Langstroth Commercial Frame Sizes
• Deep: 85 lbs
• Medium (Illinois) 35 lbs
• Shallow 25 lbs
• Foundation Cell Sizes from 4.9 – 5.4 mm
Langstroth Commercial Foundation
and Frame Types
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Traditional wired or crimp wired wax
foundation with wood frames
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Plastic foundation with wood frames
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One piece plastic foundation and frame
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Pierco all plastic
Plasticell
Pierco
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No foundation with wood frame
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2” plastic foundation at top with wood
frame
Queen Excluder
• Optional equipment
• Prevents queen from
laying brood in honey
supers
• Used for “QueenRight”
queen raising method
Double Screen Board (Snellgrove board)
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Allows a weaker hive to be
placed on top of a stronger
hive and benefit from the
rising heat
Assist with preparation for
combining hives
Facilitate queen introduction
to a large hive with lots of
mature workers
Used for “QueenRight”
queen raising method
Top Bar Hives
Top Bar Hive
Moveable top bars
Africa/Southern Europe
1600’s to Present
No need to destroy hive to collect
honey
– Slanted walls are perceived by
bees as vertical
– Width of bar must be 1 3/8”.
Other bar dimensions are not
critical, but recommend having
interchangeability with Langstroth
hive frame sizes
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The Top Bar Hive
The Top Bar Hive
Top Bar vs. Langstroth
– Advantages of Top Bar compared to Langstroth
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Relatively simple and inexpensive to build
No frames to buy and assemble
No queen excluder needed
No extractor needed
Easy to inspect entire hive (no lifting of heavy hive bodies)
Produces lots of high quality beeswax
Less disturbance and stress to bees during inspection
Great for comb honey production
– Disadvantages of Top Bar compared to Langstroth
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Heavy and difficult to move
Requires comb rebuild after honey harvest
Not suited for cold climates
Comb delicate and easy to break during inspection
Hive expansion difficult to implement
Warre Hives
Abbé Émile Warré (1867-1951)
Observation Hives
Six frame double
wide
Eight frame single
width
Seven frame single
width
Nucleus Boxes (Nucs)
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Usually 4 or 5 frame (deep or shallow)
Easily carried and inspected
Great for starting new colonies (Mating nucs)
Can serve as a frame transport in the bee yard
Simple and relatively inexpensive to build
Questions?