Best Book about Bees!
930158
i highly recommend this book to EVERYONE! anyone that wants to know ANYTHING about bees should absolutely check it out! I plan on buying a copy for everyone I know!
2288960
This is a wonderful, educational book. I am all for learning a thing or two while reading. The information you get is great and it opens endless opportunities for additional learning. The illustrations are realistic and not cartoonish. I really like how they throw in actual photos of Unkle Ray. I must admit that I learned a thing or two about honey bees from reading this! My son is only 3 but I know this will be a well used learning tool for me.
2902599
This is a excellent book. Well written and easy to understand. Everything is step by step with so many of my questions answered. This is going to save me a lot of time managing my bees. Especially helpful is his ideas on record keeping and marketing my honey
1076631
Excellent!  Full of photos and easy to read and follow.  A must have for any beekeeper
813050
Very informative book on natural methods of beekeeping. If there could only be one book on beekeeping I would recommend this 3 book series
3001487
This book would be great for students, those interested in beekeeping and those who are current beekeepers.  It is a very easy read and simple enough for a young student to understand, and interesting enough for adults!  The complete guide to Beekeeping clearly defines the different types of bees and their roles in the hive. I was not particularly interested in bees and now I find them fascinating!  The author, Cindy Belknap, gives clear guidance and case studies for current beekeepers, which is very helpful.  I would definitely recommend this book to anyone, not just beekeepers!
1033566
A book that has all the answers to the questions you could have on bee keeping.
3028866
Wealth of knowledge in this book.  Wonderfully organized, great graphics, and thorough history.  Perfect for getting started with bees
1633697
"Beekeeping For Dummies"
  by Howland Blackiston

Book Review by Jay Gilbertson

Though I would hardly suggest that if you are indeed a beekeeper, that you're a dummy, for me this wonderful book was just the right place to begin a new (and really sticky) hobby. Since author Howland Blackiston has been an actual beekeeper for over 20 years, I felt that alone was enough proof that the guy knows his bees. Boy does he!

  The layout of this particular beekeeping guide was the real deal-clincher when trying to find the one-and-only. There's an enormous collection to choose from and since this is truly my first stab at beekeeping, this book laid out a practical foundation. Blackiston takes you through the process from picking up your bees, to setting up a bee apiary (or bee yard), observing your hive from spring through summer, to fall honey harvesting and wintertime's slumber. Of course, Blackiston reminds you, that though the bees rarely leave the hive in the winter, the worker bees are working like crazy to keep the queen warm and make sure her every need is met.

  One of the many great surprises about Blackiston's approach was that throughout the book he tosses in a great deal of history as well as oodles of useful hints and advice from just where to put your hive, to different methods of harvesting honey, to properly tucking in your hive(s) for winter. Some of the more interesting facts are that beekeeping has been around for at least 5 thousand years, yet not until October 30, 1851 did the actual practice of beekeeping become a more standardized, and thus teachable, trade/hobby due to a fellow named Langstroth. Reverend Landstroth was the one responsible for devising the interchangeable hives that are still in use today.

  As with any all-inclusive guide such as this, there are a few things that disappointed. The main issue I have is that Blackiston doesn't suggest many alternatives to drugs for disease management. I have always been leery of jumping on the medication train especially since I have learned (from local Beekeeping expert; Bee-Bob-Wright) that there are some really successful techniques available. Such as using powdered sugar to rid your bees of the pesky Varroa Mites instead of the more aggressive approach using chemicals such as fluvalinate or coumaphos. With names like that, wouldn't you be a bit apprehensive seeing as everything that goes into your hive, ends up in the honey?

  One aspect of beekeeping that Blackiston does really hammer home is the need for more of us (hint, hint) to consider becoming beekeepers. The reason we need more hives is the mysterious onset of the yet-to-be solved issue of CCD or Colony Collapse Disorder. In short, CCD is the strange phenomenon of an entire hive of bees simply--one day for no apparent reason--disappearing. A literal army of apiculture extension specialists, researchers, and government officials has come together to work on CCD.
Here are some numbers to consider as to how dang important bees are to us as gardeners and farmers:

* Apple tree without bees--25 apples/tree--with honey bees--1,200 apples

* Alfalfa without bees--62 lbs. seed/acre--with honey bees--220 lbs. seed/acre

Beekeeping isn't just for dummies, and I don't know about you, but I can't imagine a summer without them.

For more information on CCD research: [...] or [...]

Wisconsin Bee-formation: [...]
4167481
Rob Moses is a brilliant writer!  My kids and I fell in love with bees and the story!
Thank you for inspiring us all to believe in our selves and for loving bees!
3554200
We live in a once rural area increasing in suburban buildup. When we first moved to the area, there were so many insects, especially bee types I never saw before. At the time, I couldn't find a overview of what those bees might be. This is an excellent book for identifying the wild bees and even some wasps and flies that imitate bees in appearance. Picture by picture, close up, behavior, nesting and forage preferences, presented in an easy to read format. This is like a "dictionary" of bees. Almost an encyclopedia, but more compact. I so appreciate the in color photos. In these days, there is no excuse for sketchy line drawings. It's good sized paperback, heavy with information. I can now see, for example, bees that are called Sweat Bees, and Leaf cutter bees. Leaf cutter bees make cute moon shapes in rose leaves. I don't use any poison in my area, and they are welcome to the few leaves they nibble. These are all pollinators, and with the decline in honeybees, we need to encourage these bees, with very little effort--mostly by not fearing them, and leaving them "bee". This is the best insect manual I've seen, and is at a fantastic price. No one ever mentions how drastic the new fire regulations are for bees. Forage is removed, and the ground, where many bees, like bumble bees, nest, is pounded by weed whackers until only dust is left, or sprayed with poisons. It's desolate, barren, and lifeless. We need more compassionate weed abatement. The bees in variety and quantity have dropped drastically. But, I can still identify those that remain.
3384959
I got interested in Beekeeping lately as a friend of mine started one in his backyard as is  harvesting quite generously. I'm planning to have one for my own to serve as training ground before I proceed to a much bigger scale. This book will help me a lot for me to start in the right way. I will surely keep this as my reference. Very well done!
3774295
I have been toying with the idea of doing a little hobbyest bee keeping and I have developed something of a library of references.  Nearly everyone book I have has a building plans section, but none can hold a candle to this book.  The Illustrations are nothing short of amazing.  I wish the "Look Inside" feature showed at least one exampled of the way the plans are illustrated. They are crisp and concise.  The dimensions are clear and the exploded views of the hives make assembly obvious.  I just checked and the illustrations are from Felix Freudzon and he deserves his name on the cover as well for his contributions.  I read a lot of woodworking magazines and books and this book has some of the finest build plan illustrations I've seen.

But I don't want to belittle the author. You can tell this is a labor of love. The writing reads easily and clearly. I was drawn into it and basically read it in one sitting. There was some skimming on the plan materials but even the basic carpentry was worth reading. Also, I have never seen any Dummies author use the tips and reminder icons as much as this author. I really think he did a great job of focusing his topic and laying out a stunningly elegant book.

Pros
+ Amazing Plan build illustrations
+ Concise focus on building hives
+ Great Diversity of hive plans
+ Flexible hive plans (i.e. gives 8 and 10 frame measurements)
+ Bonus sections on additional related projects
+ Easy and educational read

Cons
- For what this is, I really don't see any cons. I want to be clear that this is not a complete bee keeping guide. Its focus is on constructing hives and it excels at that, but you will need to have another resource for beekeeping.
- If I was pressed to find something that I was disappointed in, it would be that he only has one paragraph on queen excluders and he does not show it on his illustrations.  But truly, that is about the only fault I could find.

Summary
I see this book as being a long time reference for any beekeeper.  The plans are absolutely over the top good, and doable (Although many require more than a beginners woodworking ability, especially the designs with lots of dadoes, rabbits and finger joinery.)  But all in all, this should be on the bookshelf of every beekeeper who makes their own hives.
46296
Excellent study for new-bees and veterans alike, written in common English and easy to understand.  Each section is well illustrated with color photos.  I studied this book when I checked out a copy from the NEOBA Club library last year, and found myself referring back to it on my hive construction projects.  I just had to have my own copy to refer to so I could write in the margins and doodle my thoughts inside.  One of these days this book will become a treasured heirloom.  Get one of your own.
934276
I have to say that this was the most fascinating information I've ever been introduced to on the subject of bees. It gives you the A, B, Czzz of all things bees. Although, I have always found bee-havior fascinating, there were details about the habits of bees I was not aware of before. For instance, they may arbitrarily leave the nest, or other bees may try to take over the hive.

If you don't know what the Buckfast, Starline or Midnight bees are, you'll find out in this book. Bees are big business, but you may be surprised to learn that you can start a bee hive for under $1,000. If you don't have the space for beekeeping, there are other options that could involve your neighbors, or even your entire community.

I learned a lot of new things about bees, like the Bee Year, bee enemies and pests, and illnesses that can harm bees. I loved the fact that you can raise honey bees naturally. One thing I would like to have seen is a real example of what a business case would look like to start a simple bee business. Only general basics and links were provided. The two bee-specific links only went to general beekeeping websites, instead of beekeeping business case examples. Other than that, I thought the book can definitely be used as the authority on bees, the Bible of Beekeeping!
3688145
This is a fantastic book! I plan to start beekeeping this year and this answered a lot of my beginner questions.
4933450
Very comprehensive & easy to understand for anyone curious about bees, and a great starting place if you are interested in keeping bees.