sustainable beekeeping

Sustainable Beekeeping

Presenter: Bill TheissTuesday/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

• Langstroth• Top Bar• Warre• Observation• Nucs

Syllabus• Thursday, October 3– Setting Up the Apiary

• Beekeeping equipment and tools• Hive installation• Acquiring Honeybees• Watering Methods

– Honeybee Biology & Behavior• Honeybee life cycle• Reproduction• Communication• Roles and responsibilities• Anatomy (form vs. function)

Syllabus• Tuesday, October 8– Honeybee disease identification, prevention &

treatment• Most common bacterial, viral, and fungal diseases• Predators• Pests• Pesticides• Poisons• Integrated Pest Management (IPM)

Syllabus• Thursday – Oct. 10– Hive management procedures and techniques

• 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?

• 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

• 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

• Provide shelter and protection• Disease prevention and treatment• Hive propagation• Prevent swarming• Collect and/or utilize hive resources

A History of Bee Keeping• 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– 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

• Langstroth• Top Bar• Warre• Observation• Nucs

The Langstroth Hive

• 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

• Traditional wired or crimp wired wax foundation with wood frames

• Plastic foundation with wood frames– Plasticell

• One piece plastic foundation and frame– Pierco

• No foundation with wood frame

• 2” plastic foundation at top with wood frame

Pierco all plastic

• Optional equipment• Prevents queen from

laying brood in honey supers

• Used for “QueenRight” queen raising method

Queen Excluder

• 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

Double Screen Board (Snellgrove board)

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

The Top Bar Hive

The Top Bar Hive

Top Bar vs. Langstroth– Advantages of Top Bar compared to Langstroth

• 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• 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

Abbé Émile Warré (1867-1951)

Warre Hives

Six frame double wide

Observation Hives

Eight frame single width

Seven frame single width

Nucleus Boxes (Nucs)• 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?