Bee Hive to Beekeeper - 2nd Edition

Bee Hive to Beekeeper

Both this volume and its companion, Bee Space to Bee Hive, have been extensively revised and expanded to cover the syllabus of the new British Beekeepers’ Association ‘History of Beekeeping’ examination module. They continue to give a comprehensive view of the development of beekeeping, from hives to equipment to research and beekeeping methods.

Undoubtedly one of the major discoveries that changed practical beekeeping was the recognition of the bee space by Revd LL Langstroth and Petro Prokopovych. This volume describes the formation of important beekeeping organisations, significant areas of bee research, the introduction of bee strains to the UK and influential authors.

The first section details the establishment and development of the oldest beekeeping journals in the UK, two major beekeeping equipment suppliers and important beekeeping organisations. Our beekeeping understanding and activities would not have developed without research and section two describes that into parthenogenesis, bee behaviour, diseases, piping, the fat body, mating outside the hive, pheromones, the colony as a superorganism and swarming. The final section describes publications by significant authors.

This second, substantially revised and expanded edition includes additional material on equipment supplier EH Thorne, Bee Craft magazine and important organisations such as the National Honey Show, the Central Association of Bee-keepers and the National Diploma in Beekeeping. Significantly more information is given about the behaviour of swarms, the fat body, hive entrance behaviour, diseases, and the colony as a superorganism. New authors include Ahmed Zaki Abushady, Harry Arthur Dade, Revd Joseph Digges, Lesley Goodman, Roger Morse, Robert Evans Snodgrass and Jan Swammerdam.

While this book is based on the module syllabus it will be of interest to any beekeeper curious to know how beekeeping has developed over the centuries and how equipment and methods have changed as more knowledge is gleaned about bees over the years.