Bee Books

I hand-picked for you some good beekeeping books. Simply click on the image or the link below it to read more and to order.

Updated: An Absolute Beginner’s Guide to Keeping Bees in Your Yard and Garden [Paperback]
List Price: $24.99 Price: $16.49 & eligible for FREE Super Saver Shipping on orders over $25

Book Description
The Backyard Beekeeper, now revised and expanded, makes the time-honored and complex tradition of beekeeping an enjoyable and accessible backyard pastime that will appeal to gardeners, crafters, and cooks everywhere. This expanded edition gives you even more information on “greening” your beekeeping with sustainable practices, pesticide-resistant bees, and urban and suburban beekeeping. More than a guide to beekeeping, it is a handbook for harvesting the products of a beehive and a honey cookbook–all in one lively, beautifully illustrated reference. This complete honey bee resource contains general information on bees; a how-to guide to the art of bee keeping and how to set up, care for, and harvest honey from your own colonies; as well as tons of bee-related facts and projects. You’ll learn the best place to locate your new bee colonies for their safety and yours, and you’ll study the best organic and nontoxic ways to care for your bees, from providing fresh water and protection from the elements to keeping them healthy, happy, and productive. Recipes of delicious treats, and instructions on how to use honey and beeswax to make candles and beauty treatments are also included.

Customer Review

Great book!
By

“If you can only buy one or two books on beekeeping, buy this one! I’m a beginning beekeeper, and this book is great, plus the author has a fine sense of humor which comes through in his writing style. You may not agree exactly with everything he recommends, but this book is FULL of good information. The structure seems a little haphazard to me (it’s hard to find something I know I read and want to re-read), but it is an easy read and flows well.”

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Beekeeping For Dummies [Paperback]

List Price: $19.99 Price: $13.59 & eligible for FREE Super Saver Shipping on orders over $25

Book Description
Now updated — your guide to becoming a successful backyard beekeeper
Interested in raising honey bees? This friendly, practical guide presents a step-by-step approach to starting your own beehive, along with expert tips for maintaining a healthy colony. You get the latest on honey bee medication and treatments, harvesting and marketing your honey, and the impact the sudden disappearance of the honey bee has on our environment and economy.
•    To bee or not to bee? — understand the benefits of beekeeping and whether it’s right for you
•    Build your first hive — gather the right equipment, obtain your bees, and transfer them safely to their new home
•    Get up-close and personal — see how to open and close the hive, inspect your bees at the right times, and know what to look for
•    Handle common problems — from swarming to robbing to pesticide poisoning, find simple solutions
•    Understand Colony Collapse Syndrome — learn what you can do to help save the honey bees
•    Gear up for the golden harvest — use the tools of the trade to extract honey, store it, and sell it

Praise for Beekeeping For Dummies
“The information a beginner needs to keep bees with confidence.” — Kim Flottum, Bee Culture Magazine

Open the book and find:
•    The various types of honey bees and the role each plays in a colony
•    Hands-on instruction in building a hive
•    How to keep bees healthier and more productive
•    Guidelines for all phases of honey production
•    New information on raising your own queens
•    Plenty of helpful, illustrative pictures to guide you
•    The safest ways to inspect and enjoy your bees

Customer Review
Good for Dummies!
“Keep in mind this book has a “dummies” slant. It’s a great beginner book and I own a copy. I recommend it. Lots of conversational plain english, funny cartoons, photographs, etc. But, buy another book as well to round out your knowledge. For example, Howland doesn’t explain *why* you need an inner cover… just says it’s part of the hive. He only provides *one* technique for queen introduction (albeit a good one), when there are several others. Then he perpetuates the myth that you should scrape a bee’s stinger away rather than pinch it away (Discover magazine, et. al., now dispute this), and when discussing *moving* a hive, he leaves out the “3 mile rule” and the “1 foot per day” approach, etc. He suggests using motor oil moats to prevent ants (works great), but doesn’t mention that vegetable oil and Tanglefoot work great also. Like I say, great book, buy it, but get some others too.”

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The Beekeeper’s Handbook, Fourth Edition [Paperback]

List Price: $29.95 Price: $19.77 & eligible for FREE Super Saver Shipping on orders over $25

Book Description
“From the foreword Beginners will find The Beekeeper s Handbook a joy, and more seasoned beekeepers will find rereading of benefit as they continue to master the art and science of bee colony care.” Dewey M. Caron

Praise for the third edition
The Beekeepers Handbook has guided thousands of beginning and advanced beekeepers in the how tos of this entertaining and profitable pastime.

“Simply put, it is the best of the best of beekeeping books.” Roger A. Morse

Since 1973, tens of thousands of first-time and experienced beekeepers alike have relied on The Beekeeper s Handbook as the best single-volume guide to the hobby and profession of beekeeping. Featuring clear descriptions and authoritative content, this handbook provides step-by-step directions accompanied by more than 100 illustrations for setting up an apiary, handling bees, and working throughout the season to maintain a healthy colony of bees and a generous supply of honey. This book explains the various colony care options and techniques, noting advantages and disadvantages, so that beekeepers can make the best choices for their own hives. This fourth edition has been thoroughly redesigned, expanded, updated, and revised to incorporate the latest information on Colony Collapse Disorder, green IPM methods, regional overwintering protocols, and procedures for handling bees and managing diseases and pests such as African honey bees and bee mites. The book explains not only how but also why each step is part of the transformative process that results in the magnificent creation of honey. This essential guide is a beekeeper s most valuable resource.

Colony Collapse Disorder has renewed our recognition of the importance of small-scale beekeeping and the critical role of bees in the production of our food supply. For the growing number of beekeepers looking to set up hives for either a rewarding hobby or a profitable commercial enterprise, this updated and revised essential how-to guide includes:
step-by-step directions for all stages from setting up an apiary to harvesting honey;
approximately 100 illustrations featuring techniques, equipment, and bee biology;
information about how to manage new pests and diseases including Colony Collapse Disorder;
coverage of new trends and changes in beekeeping including green IPM techniques and new laws for urban beekeeping;
the most up-to-date bibliography and list of resources on the topic; and
a new user-friendly book design that clearly highlights instructions and other important features.

Customer Review

5.0 out of 5 stars : Best Beekeeping book I’ve seen!
“I have most of the “standard” beekeeping books in my library, but this book is the best! The most logical and complete book I have seen yet, and very well illustrated. Logically written and yet interesting just to sit down and read. But it also does a great job of covering details of beekeeping and answering both basic and more complex questions of the hobby. Highly recommended!”

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Homemade Living: Keeping Bees with Ashley English: All You Need to Know to Tend Hives, Harvest Honey & More [Hardcover]

List Price: $19.95 Price: $13.39 & eligible for FREE Super Saver Shipping on orders over $25

Book Description
Heard the buzz? Beekeeping is back! Neighborhoods across the country have embraced it as a source of sustainable food and environmental goodness. For those who want to join the “hive” of keepers, Ashley English has the lowdown on the key issues, from space and time considerations to local ordinances to the basics of acquiring, housing, maintaining, and caring for bees year round. Plus, get 10 tested honey-centric recipes!

Customer Review
A great book for beginners.
“I have been waiting for this book to be published ever since I purchased the first two books in Ashley English’s “Homemade Living” series. I have been researching bee keeping for about a year now, mostly because I plant a garden every year and would like to give it a boost, but also because I am fascinated by honeybees and would like to have my own honey source. I love this book because it is packed with great information but is not overwhelming. English tackles the most important lessons of beekeeping and stays on task. After reading this, I definitely think I can manage a couple of hives, and I am really excited to get started. Bottom line: if you’re thinking about keeping bees, read this book first.”

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Langstroth’s Hive and the Honey-Bee: The Classic Beekeeper’s Manual [Paperback]

List Price: $18.95 Price: $12.37 & eligible for FREE Super Saver Shipping on orders over $25

Book Description
The first descriptive treatise of modern bee management. In a reader-friendly, enthusiastic style, Langstroth addresses every aspect of beekeeping: bee physiology; diseases and enemies of bees; the life-cycles of the queen, drone, and worker; bee-hives; the handling of bees; and many other topics.

Customer Review
5.0 out of 5 stars: Indispensable beekeeping primer
“After reading this book, I can fully appreciate why Rev. L. L. Langstroth was dubbed “the father of modern beekeeping”. As a novice beekeeper, I am always on the look out for “how to” books on beekeeping. I wish that I had read this book BEFORE I setup my first hive; I would have been able to get my bees through their first year with a lot less stress on them and me. The book explains the reasons behind the bees behavior – this is invaluable information, for just like training a dog or a horse, if you can understand what is motivating their actions you can better shape the results to your needs and desires. I highly recommend this book to both novice and experienced beekeepers – get the book, read it, and practice its principles – you will be glad you did!!”

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Honey Bees and Beekeeping: A Year in the Life of an Apiary, 3rd Edition [Spiral-Bound]

Price: $24.90 & eligible for FREE Super Saver Shipping on orders over $25

Book Description
Beekeeping is enjoyable and satisfying, whether you’re a professional or a novice. With a bit of ingenuity and a little knowledge, anyone can successfully raise honey bees. Learn how to set up and maintain your own honey bee colony from Keith Delaplane, Ph.D., one of the nation’s foremost entomologists as he guides you through each step, from buying tools and selecting healthy bees, to harvesting and selling honey.

Customer Review

5.0 out of 5 stars: Great for new beekeepers!
“I have many beekeeping books. This is one of the best, especially for new beekeepers.”
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