Homegrown Honey Bees: An Absolute Beginner's Guide to Beekeeping Your First Year, from Hiving to Honey Harvest

by Alethea Morrison, Mars Vilaubi (Photographer)

Overview

Discover the joys of harvesting honey from your own backyard.  Alethea Morrison outlines what you’ll need to know to make it through the first year, while stunning macrophotography by Mars Vilaubi brings the inner workings of the hive to life. With in-depth discussions of allergies, colony hierarchy, bee behavior, and more, this approachably informative guide bursts with enthusiastic encouragement. Keep your own bees, and enjoy the sweet buzz.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781603429948
Publisher:	Storey Publishing, LLC
Publication date:	01/29/2013
Pages:	160
Sales rank:	1,081,631
Product dimensions:	7.12(w) x 8.82(h) x 0.65(d)

About the Author

Alethea Morrison is the author of Homegrown Honey Bees. She lived in San Francisco with her husband, photographer Mars Vilaubi, before stepping into the wild yonder of rural Massachusetts together to raise their son, keep bees and chickens, brew beer, sew clothes, grow heirloom beans, and otherwise slow down to smell the flowers of a handmade life. Their experience raising chickens was chronicled in Chick Days. Morrison works as the Creative Director at Storey Publishing and serves as president of the Northern Berkshire Beekeepers Association.

Photographer Mars Vilaubi chronicled the adventures of his three backyard hens from their first days out of the egg through their first days laying eggs in Chick Days. He lives in western Massachusetts.

Table of Contents

Preface

1 Why Bees?

2 What Am I Getting Into?

3 Bee Life 101

4 How Do I Get Started?

5 The Gear

6 The First Month

7 The First Season

8 The First Harvest

9 Congratulations or Condolences

Glossary

Appendix: Parasites, Diseases & Ailments

Resources

Index

What People are Saying About This

author of Barnheart and Made from Scratch Jenna Woginrich

The book I so wish I had when I started out with my first hive. Lessons learned the hard way could have been saved with this friendly and informative book.

ScientificBeekeeping.com Randy Oliver

A delightful book by a successful new beekeeper. Accurate information—not too little, not too much—charmingly presented. A great first year beginners book!

Editorial Reviews

Homegrown Honey Bees introduces the basic procedures, possibilities, and pleasures of keeping bees. Spectacular macro photography brings the inner workings of the hive to life, while the passionate, playful text leads the beginning beekeeper through the first year. All the primary concerns and questions are addressed, from allergies, permits and restrictions, and potential issues with the neighbors to hive structure, colony hierarchy, and bee behavior. Beekeepers Alethea Morrison and Mars Vilaubi chronicle the happening in their own hive and share the challenges of their first year, from replacing a failing queen bee to sustaining a colony over a cold winter, as well as the reward of tasting their first honey harvest. Beginners, dreamers, families, and educators will find this highly visual reference an indispensible guide to becoming a confident, happy beekeeper.

—Jenna Woginrich, author of Barnheart and Made from Scratch

This book is exactly what its subtitle describes it as - an absolute beginner's guide to keeping bees. Written and illustrated in full color by a couple who not too long ago were neophyte beekeepers themselves, it aims to first capture readers' interest in the fun and fascination of this hobby and then give them basic information needed to get through their first year keeping bees.

From the Publisher

Homegrown Honey Bees introduces the basic procedures, possibilities, and pleasures of keeping bees. Spectacular macro photography brings the inner workings of the hive to life, while the passionate, playful text leads the beginning beekeeper through the first year. All the primary concerns and questions are addressed, from allergies, permits and restrictions, and potential issues with the neighbors to hive structure, colony hierarchy, and bee behavior. Beekeepers Alethea Morrison and Mars Vilaubi chronicle the happening in their own hive and share the challenges of their first year, from replacing a failing queen bee to sustaining a colony over a cold winter, as well as the reward of tasting their first honey harvest. Beginners, dreamers, families, and educators will find this highly visual reference an indispensible guide to becoming a confident, happy beekeeper.

author of Barnheart and Made from Scratch Jenna Woginrich

This book is exactly what its subtitle describes it as - an absolute beginner's guide to keeping bees. Written and illustrated in full color by a couple who not too long ago were neophyte beekeepers themselves, it aims to first capture readers' interest in the fun and fascination of this hobby and then give them basic information needed to get through their first year keeping bees.

Hobby Greenhouse

Homegrown Honey Bees introduces the basic procedures, possibilities, and pleasures of keeping bees. Spectacular macro photography brings the inner workings of the hive to life, while the passionate, playful text leads the beginning beekeeper through the first year. All the primary concerns and questions are addressed, from allergies, permits and restrictions, and potential issues with the neighbors to hive structure, colony hierarchy, and bee behavior. Beekeepers Alethea Morrison and Mars Vilaubi chronicle the happening in their own hive and share the challenges of their first year, from replacing a failing queen bee to sustaining a colony over a cold winter, as well as the reward of tasting their first honey harvest. Beginners, dreamers, families, and educators will find this highly visual reference an indispensible guide to becoming a confident, happy beekeeper.

American Bee Journal

Beekeeping has been moving from farm-centered spaces to urban rooftops, and beekeeper Morrison walks readers through the first year of the process of setting up a hive, from getting the colony together to honey extraction. Synopses of honey bee life cycles, equipment, and many firsts (i.e., first month, first season, and first honey harvest) are laid out, with examples from beekeepers all over the United State to highlight the ups and downs of this growing pastime. The last chapter reminds readers that beekeeping is not always a winning hobby or business, considering the rise of colony collapse disorder (CCD) and issues like starvation or varroa mites, yet Morrison demonstrates how keeping your own hive can be a worthwhile endeavor with numerous health and personal benefits.

Verdict As urban farming continues to grow, this simple beekeeping reference guide with a personal perspective will be a welcome addition to the shelves, both for novice apiarists or those just starting to explore the topic.—Kristi Chadwick, Emily Williston Lib., Easthampton, MA
(c) Copyright 2013. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

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