Bee-Skep Making: Heritage, folklore and how to make and use your own skeps

A beekeeper's guide to straw skep-building, including sections on bee history and mythology, practical skep beekeeping, and making honey and wax products.

Dating back to ancient times, the bee skep is essentially an upturned lipwork basket with a small bee entrance near the base. Offering a less intensive industrialised environment than the box hives widely used today, skeps are friendlier to the bees' way of working and – properly used – can be better for their health and resilience.

Perhap...