Backyard beekeeper kim flottum

The Backyard Beekeeper An Absolute Beginner’s Guide to Keeping Bees in Your Yard and Garden Kim Flottum Dedication This book, the process that brought it to be, and the evolution of the information provided here is hereby dedicated to Professor Chuck Koval, Extension Entomologist, University of Wisconsin, Madison—who first let me in and showed me his way of sharing information I miss his good advice and his humor, but not so much his liver and onions To Professor Eric Erickson, USDA Honey Bee Lab, Madison, Wisconsin (and Tucson, Arizona)—who made me learn about bees, and who encouraged me to learn, and to use what I learned to help those who could use that information To John Root, President (now retired), of the A I Root Company, Medina, Ohio—who hired me to shepherd his magazine, Bee Culture, and who let me bring together all that I had to take his magazine to the next generation of beekeepers CONTENTS Preface Introduction In the Beginning A New Concept Chapter Starting Right First Steps: Where Will You Put Your Hive? Bee Yards Other Than Backyards Extreme Urban Beekeeping Equipment: Tools of the Trade Frame Assembly Box Assembly The Bees Chapter About Bees Overview The Queen The Workers Foragers Drones Seasonal Changes Review and Preparation Chapter About Beekeeping Lighting Your Smoker Package Management Honey Flow Time Keeping Records Opening a Colony Honeycomb and Brood Combs Integrated Pest Management Maladies development time of, 51 finding eggs in brood cells, 64 life cycle of, 61–64 queen cell cups, construction of, 54, 57 relative size of, 50 wax production, 53 Photographer Credits All photographs by Kim Flottum with the exception of the following pages: Courtesy of A I Root Company/www.BeeCulture.com, 10; 11; 13; 55; 56; 125; 134 (bottom, left); 135 (top) Robin Bath, 154; 155; 160; 170; 171; 174; 176; 177; 182; 187; 188 Courtesy of Brushy Mountain, 134 (top, right) R Chamberlin, 51; 77 (top) Ellen Harnish, 142 iStockphoto.com, 15 E R Jaycox, 8; 63; 71; 10; 107 (bottom) Walter T Kelley, 134 (middle & bottom, right) Serge Labesque, 119 Courtesy of Mann Lake, 134 (top, left) Allan Penn, 153; 158; 181 Gwen Rosenburg, (top); 22 (top & middle) Courtesy of Shaw Traps, 121 (middle) Peter Sieling, 36; 37 Courtesy of Dr James Tew, 52 Courtesy of United States Department of Agriculture, 46; 73 (top); 108; 191 Jennifer Willis, 179; 184 About the Author Photo: Kathy Summers Kim Flottum is the editor of Bee Culture magazine He is also the author of The Backyard Beekeeper’s Honey Handbook (Quarry, 2008) He edited (with Dr Shiminuki and Ann Harman) the popular 41st edition of the ABC and XYZ of Bee Culture, the bible of United States beekeeping Kim blogs on the beekeeping world for www.thedailygreen.com, plus he is a regular columnist for the U.K beekeeping magazine The Beekeeper’s Quarterly Acknowledgments In case you aren’t aware of this, there are only two beekeeping magazines published in the United States.Only two The fact John Root chose me to carry on a tradition that was more than 120 years old when I joined his organization borders on the miraculous in my opinion (and is still considered so by some) And for more than 20 years I have had a voice in the United States, and to a degree, global beekeeping opinion Who would have thought that an adopted kid from a small town in central Wisconsin would have that opportunity? Well, Chuck, Eric, and John seemed to have a feel for this… so now you know why I wake up every day with a thank you somewhere in mind Most certainly to my wife Kathy, my best friend, helper, cheerleader, and sounding board, who has put up with this craziness three times and helped each time I couldn’t it without you Thanks, Kath…more than you know And certainly to Bob Smith, my friend, my teacher and without a doubt the stalwart beekeeping traditionalist in my life I cannot imagine my life without Bob If a person can be a father and a brother at the same time, Bob has been that person You have benefited from his wisdom, his experience, and his humor As have I Thanks, Bob Of course this is also for Buzz and Nancy Riopelle—Friends for decades, helpers forever—especially Nancy for lotions and potions and candles and wax and common sense beyond measure, and Buzz for everything beekeeping Where would we all be without Buzz and the pictures I can take and the hints he shares? Thanks, Buzz And to Jeanne and Katie, my first soap and lotion helpers and Ellen and Dave who did lotions, potions, and soap this time Aren’t they great? And Jennifer for good advice, good queens, and good humor She is a wonder to sit and listen to I hope you get the chance And for Gwen, an urban beekeeper and good friend who is way, way smarter than anybody gives her credit for Especially me And Peter Sieling, for a good sense of humor and fantastic drawings And Chloe and Sophie for entertainment—they are cats, but cats are important late at night when deadlines are large, pressure dear, and the importance of the right things in life are in question A purring cat offers a grounding that can not be ignored And most importantly, to the thousands and thousands and thousands (and even more thousands) of beekeepers in my life who have shared what they have learned, what they know, and what they have done in the rest of the world And of course, the bees Where would we be without the bees? Isn’t life grand? Yes, it is © 2005, 2010 by Quarry Books All rights reserved No part of this book may be reproduced in any form without written permission of the copyright owners All images in this book have been reproduced with the knowledge and prior consent of the artists concerned, and no responsibility is accepted by the producer, publisher, or printer for any infringement of copyright or otherwise, arising from the contents of this publication Every effort has been made to ensure that credits accurately comply with information supplied We apologize for any inaccuracies that may have occurred and will resolve inaccurate or missing information in a subsequent reprinting of the book First published in the United States of America by Quarry Books, a member of Quayside Publishing Group 100 Cummings Center Suite 406-L Beverly, Massachusetts 01915-6101 Telephone: (978) 282-9590 Fax: (978) 283-2742 www.quarrybooks.com Library of Congress Cataloging-inPublication Data available ISBN-13: 978-1-59253-607-8 ISBN-10: 1-59253-607-7 Digital edition: 978-1-61673-860-0 10 This publication is designed to provide useful information to readers on the subject of hobby beekeeping The publisher and author have used their best efforts in preparing this book Readers should protect themselves by reading and following instructions on all beekeeping equipment and products before taking up this hobby The publisher and author assume no responsibility, legal or otherwise, for an individual’s injuries, damages, or losses which may be claimed or incurred as a result, directly or indirectly, of the use of the contents of this publication Design: tabula rasa Additional page layout: Rachel Fitzgibbon, studio rkf Cover images: iStockphoto.com Illustrations on pages 18; 52; 61; 69; 74 (top); 82; and 89 by Michael G Yatcko Illustrations on pages 26; 34; and 35 by Peter Sieling Printed in Singapore ... The Backyard Beekeeper An Absolute Beginner’s Guide to Keeping Bees in Your Yard and Garden Kim Flottum Dedication This book, the process that brought... efforts of your bees and your work So again I ask, what could be sweeter? Enjoy the bees! Kim Flottum Backyards are good places to keep bees because they are close; urban areas support bees well... monotony led to additional nutritional distress The bane of beekeepers worldwide was the continued presence of varroa mites that refused to die Beekeepers kept trying to kill them by adding more and