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 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 Pierco all plastic

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

19. 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 Double Screen Board (Snellgrove board)

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

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?