Sustainable Beekeeping

1. Sustainable Beekeeping Presenter: Bill Theiss Tuesday/Thursday 6 - 8 PM (September 2,4,9,11) Gypsy Hill Park

2. 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

3. 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)

4. Syllabus • Tuesday, October 8 • Honeybee disease identification, prevention & treatment • Most common bacterial, viral, and fungal diseases • Predators • Pests • Pesticides • Poisons • Integrated Pest Management (IPM)

5. 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

6. SVBA

7. 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

8. Purposes of Beekeeping • Pollination Services • Species Preservation • Education • Products • Honey, beeswax, propolis, pollen, mead, queens and/or nucs

9. 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)

10. Goals of the Beekeeper Provide shelter and protection Disease prevention and treatment Hive propagation Prevent swarming Collect and/or utilize hive resources

11. 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

12. 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

13. Bee Hive Types • Langstroth • Top Bar • Warre • Observation • Nucs

14. 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

15. Langstroth Hive Components

16. Langstroth Commercial Frame Sizes Deep: 85 lbs Medium (Illinois) 35 lbs Shallow 25 lbs Foundation Cell Sizes from 4.9 – 5.4 mm

17. Langstroth Commercial Foundation and Frame Types Pierco all plastic • 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

18. Queen Excluder • Optional equipment • Prevents queen from laying brood in honey supers • Used for “QueenRight” queen raising method

19. Double Screen Board (Snellgrove board) • 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

20. 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

21. The Top Bar Hive

22. The Top Bar Hive

25. 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

26. Abbé Émile Warré (1867-1951) Warre Hives

27. Six frame double wide Observation Hives Eight frame single width Seven frame single width

28. 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

29. Questions?