Table of Contents
Introduction 8
Chapter 1 Beekeeping Basics 10
1 I don't know how to start beekeeping 12
2 I'm unsure when is best to start beekeeping 14
3 I don't know where to get my first bees 16
4 I'm concerned that my apiary is in a poor site 18
5 My new bees arrived during a cool, rainy period 20
6 Beekeeping equipment is expensive 21
7 I'm not sure how to buy an established colony 22
8 My nextdoor neighbors are afraid of bees 24
9 Some bees were crushed during a hive examination 26
10 My bees are aggressive toward garden machinery 28
Chapter 2 Beekeeping Equipment 30
11 My hive equipment doesn't match 32
12 I'm concerned about hive equipment theft 34
13 The paint finish on my hives is failing 36
14 The inner cover of the hive is glued down 38
15 Plastic hives accumulate water during the winter 40
16 Beeswax foundation is difficult to install 42
17 I don't have the right tool to open up the hive 44
18 The queen excluder is disrupting colony function 46
19 My bee gloves make hive work difficult 48
20 The beehive smoker will not slay lit 50
21 The handles on my bee boxes are inadequate 52
22 A hand truck loaded with a colony tipped over 54
23 My observation hive is not thriving 56
24 I'm confused by differing foundation cell sizes 58
25 I'm unsure which bottom board design to opt for 59
26 A loaded hive stand has accidentally collapsed 60
Chapter 3 Biology and Behavior of the Colony 62
27 My bees item to sting more often than is normal 64
28 A swarm has clustered beneath the parent hive 66
29 There are few egg and larvae in the brood nest 68
30 There is cross comb on the foundation inserts 70
31 The bees keep scouring the hive entrance 72
32 Some capped brood ceils have small openings 74
33 Healthy bees are lying dead in front of the hive 76
34 The brood combs have turned heavy and dark 78
35 There are many dead drones at the hive entrance 80
36 There are two queens in the brood nest 81
Chapter 4 Managing and Manipulating Hives 82
37 The bees have built combs in empty spaces 84
38 The bees are gathering on the front of the hive 86
39 The brood nest is overcrowded 88
40 The brood nest has been built across multiple boxes 90
41 The hive is bulging with too many bees 92
42 A large number of bees died off in the winter 94
43 The bees are visiting neighbors' water sources 96
44 The colony looks too weak to survive winter 98
45 My apiary has been flooded 100
46 The hive lower entrance is often blocked in winter 101
47 Brace combs have stuck the hive boxes together 102
48 The bees have built many swarm cells 104
49 Rain has stopped pollen and nectar flow 106
Chapter 5 Queen Production and Maintenance 108
50 I need to store a replacement queen 110
51 I don't know where to look for the queen 112
52 The queen is not a good egg producer 114
53 Some cells have multiple eggs 116
54 Finding the queen takes a long time 118
55 The queen is difficult to cage 120
56 Larvae won't slide off the grafting tool 122
57 Too few drones are available for queen mating 124
58 Some of my queen mating nucs have failed 126
59 My replacement queen was killed 128
Chapter 6 Diseases and Pests of Honey Bees 130
60 There are mice living in the beehive in winter 132
61 There are multiple problems with the colony 134
62 Varroa mites have overrun the colony 136
63 There are ants nesting beneath the outer cover 138
64 Small hive beetles have invaded the colony 139
65 There are signs of AFB in the hive, but no foul odor 140
66 Chalkbrood is affecting colony productivity 142
67 Wasps are attacking the bees 144
68 Animals are visiting the apiary at night 145
69 The brood smells foul and has punctured cappings 146
70 Wax worms are destroying the combs 148
Chapter 7 Pollen And Pollination 150
71 Too much pollen is packed in the brood nest 152
72 There are drones snick in the pollen trap 154
73 The bees are pollinating weeds 155
74 The pollen I have collected is decaying 156
75 My pollination colonies are mixed sizes 158
76 Too few bees are pollinating the target crop 160
77 The bees won't eat certain types of pollen 162
78 The bees won't consume pollen supplements 164
79 Many bees are lost during a hive move 166
80 The bees are struggling to find good forage 168
Chapter 8 Producing and Processing Honey 170
81 The bees worn: leave full honey supers 172
82 Some honeycombs do not have wax cappings 174
83 The extracting room is cramped and inefficient 176
84 Many bees are coming to the extracting area 178
85 Honey has granulated in the comb 180
86 My comb honey crop is disappointingly small 182
87 The honey filter keeps getting clogged 184
88 I'm unsure how to guarantee varietal sources 186
89 Liquid honey has accidentally been spilled 188
90 Extracted honey has granulated in jars 190
91 My bottled honey is not selling well 192
Chapter 9 Beeswax, Propolis, and Specialty issues 194
92 Beeswax is firmly stuck to plastic foundation 196
93 Propolis is difficult to gather and process 197
94 I can't get my beeswax candles out of the mold 198
95 My pure beeswax candles have a cloudy film 200
96 Bee stings are painful and cause swelling 202
97 My honey soap is not setting up properly 204
98 My neighbor has found bee droppings on their car 206
99 Spots of beeswax are hard to remove 207
100 Rendering beeswax over a flame is a fire hazard 208
Glossary 212
Index 218
Further Resources 222
Image Credits 223
