Author(s): David Cramp

Pets & Animals

This is a practical guide to beekeeping, from setting up a colony to hive management and harvesting the honey, shown in over 400 photographs. It is a complete how-to manual on the satisfying art of keeping bees and their practical day to day care. It guides you all the way from choosing and obtaining your bees, housing them and maintaining the hive through the year, to dealing with pests and diseases, and harvesting the honey. It describes the flowers, plants, trees and crops - and their seasons - that provide the best yield of nectar and pollen. It offers a fascinating insight into the dynamics of the unique bee community. It is illustrated throughout with more than 400 photographs, including step-by-step techniques and amazing pictures from inside the hive. It explains how to harvest the products of the hive. Beekeeping must rate as one of the most interesting and satisfying hobbies. The structure and hierarchy of a beehive and the behaviour of bees is fascinating, and the end product, honey, is a fitting reward for a beekeeper's care. This book gives information on the way the hive works, handling the bees, and how to get your bees and transfer them to the hive. It provides a useful calendar, packed with information, that shows you at a glance when to inspect, maintain and repair the hive, and how to harvest the honey. It describes problems such as diseases and pests that can affect the bees, and suggests plants for a bee-friendly garden.