Beekeeping Mentor in a Book

by Donald P Studinski

Overview

This book takes you through a year of beekeeping without chemicals, with the assumption you are a complete beginner. Every other chapter is focused on a month of the year while the chapters between pick an applicable topic to explore further. This is not an idealistic view of someone who had only had a few hives for a few years, but rather it's the real experiences and wisdom of someone who has been at this a while and it shows in his writing. If you want a mentor to guide you through your first year of beekeeping with no chemicals, here is a book written for you.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781614761037
Publisher:	X-Star Publishing Company
Publication date:	09/21/2014
Pages:	248
Product dimensions:	8.50(w) x 11.00(h) x 0.67(d)

About the Author

Don Studinski, dba Honeybee Keep, is a permaculture enthusiast and member of the board of directors at Living Systems Institute (LSI) where he applies permaculture philosophy to beekeeping. Apiaries under Don's management are located from Golden to Erie, spanning about 50 miles. Honeybee Keep manages Colorado's first Certified Naturally Grown apiaries.
Don's beekeeping articles have been published in Bee Culture magazine and on-line at
Honeybee Haven, Peak Prosperity, Bee Informed Partnership and Selene River Press.
As a beekeeping mentor, Don provides advice and counsel for students throughout the United
States. You can reach him using [e-mail]. Colorado Bees for Colorado
Beekeepers is Don's "produce local bees" project which provides nucleus colonies for sale.
Learn more about beekeeping, read free articles and see all the products and services provided by Honeybee Keep at HoneybeeKeep.com.
Don has a BS in Computer Science and an MS in Computer Information Systems. He spent his computer career working for IBM, StorageTek, and McKesson as a programmer, manager and director. He has also owned and operated his own t-shirt and embroidery business.
Today, Don spends his time as a beekeeper, mentor and community building activist. He removes bees and wasps from structures, collects swarms, sells honey, performs public speaking, provides honey extraction and provides beekeeping consulting.

Table of Contents

1. Forward xvi
2. January ... Always Think Ahead 1
Expect the Unexpected 2
Dealing with Disaster 4
What Should be Ready Now 5
Making Plans 6
Thinking of Spring 8
3. Facts You Should Know 9
Queens, Workers and Drones 10
Honeybee Forage 15
4. February ... Anticipating Spring 17
Performing Postmortem 20
Swarm Preparations 22
Hive Placement 24
Planning Splits 24
Drone Frame 25
Exterior Hive Seal 26
Interior Hive Seal 27
Early Pollen 28
5. Know Your Cells 29
6. March ... The Most Exciting Time of Year 35
Dead-Out Inspection 36
First Inspection 39
More About Swarm Cycle 44
Remember This in March 45
7. Tools of the Trade 47
Bee suit and variations 48
Gloves 49
Washing 49
Treating a Sting 50
Foot Protection 50
Hive tools 51
Smoker 51
Student Questions 52
Attitude 52
Hive Types 53
8. April ... Swarms, Nucs and Packages 57
Inverting Deeps 58
Acknowledge Beekeeping Challenges 60
The Split Process 61
Splits Performed 64
Queen Cells 65
Split Progress 67
Unplanned Split 68
Swarm Season Kickoff 68
Installation 69
9. Disease, Parasite and Pest 73
American Foulbrood 74
Chalkbrood 75
Nosema 76
Small Hive Beetle 77
Varroa Mite 77
Wax Moth 78
10. May ... Building Comb 81
Brood Pattern, Managing Comb 82
Concerning Drones and Mating 86
Identifying Laying Worker or Drone Layer 87
Queen Difficulties 88
Queen Health Inspection Timing 89
Queen Health Inspections 92
Deeps and Supers 94
11. Moving and Merging 97
Orientation 98
Moving Honeybees 99
Merging Honeybees 102
12. June ... Quiet Time 105
Consider Your Varroa Load 107
Smoke Alternatives 109
Mite Control Split Planning 110
Honeybee Tummies 111
Student Questions 113
13. Superorganism 117
14. July ... Mite Control 121
Better Have Smoke 122
Varroa destructor 124
Student Questions 128
Wisconsin Questions 133
North Carolina Questions 135
15. No Poison Required 137
16. August ... Harvest Preparation 143
What You Need 144
Example Schedule 146
Bizarre Weather Impacts Bees 148
How Much Intervention? 149
Getting Bees Off Your Harvest Frames 149
Three Deeps - Why and How 150
Mouse Guard 151
17. Apitherapy 153
Bee Bread 155
Beeswax 155
Honey 155
Pollen 156
Propolis 156
Royal Jelly 156
Venom 157
18. September ... Harvest 159
Harvest 160
Picture Story 161
19. Beekeeping Income 171
Is It Work? 172
Income Streams 172
State Regulations 175
20. October ... Finalize Winter Preparation 177
Cold is coming 178
Drone Termination 179
A Mentor's Year 179
21. Eliminating a Laying Worker 181
Shake and Forget 182
Give Them Brood 182
Queen at the Wall 183
Queen in a Cage 183
Extended Merge 183
Shake and Hope 183
22. November ... No Peeking Begins 185
Feeding Honeybees 187
Let's Celebrate Solstice 191
Good Time for Laundry 191
Check In On Your Bees Regularly 192
Student Questions 192
23. Honeybee Candy 195
Glucose vs HFCS 196
Sugar 197
Recipe and Advice 197
24. December ... Candy Installation 201
Planning Winter Chores 202
Inconvenient Interruptions 203
Student Questions 204
Puttin' On the Candy 206
25. Beekeeping Industry Transition 207
26. Epilogue 211
27. Glossary 215

Editorial Reviews

Don Studinski is an insightful and dedicated natural beekeeper who consistently helps beekeeping students grow in their awareness of what is naturally happening in the day-today life of a honeybee colony. Furthermore, Don's hands on instructional approach combined with years of experience promotes the student's personal skill level. In this book
Don vividly captures years of insight, wisdom, and practice that every bee keeper will benefit from.-Chris McCune, Roost Farms, Beekeeper and student

From the Publisher