So what's your FAVORITE Bee BOOK ??

[BeeHopper]

I'm am always in the market for a new book, but for some unexplained reason, I keep going back to the first book I have ever purchased on the Honeybee, and happens to be my favorite. " The Beekeeper's Handbook" 3rd Edition by Diana Sammataro and Alphonse Avitabile, foreword by Roger A. Morse. All my other books just collect dust. How 'bout you ??

[bee whisper]

Hi beehopper!
I dont have many books yet.I have The Backyard Beekeeper,and The hive,and the Honey Bee. Both very good books. I have read a few more at the libary.I do plan to get more.Do you recomend any?

[thegolfpsycho]

The ABC & XYZ of Beekeeping

[Brian D. Bray]

If you have Lanstroth's "The hive and the Honey Bee" and "the ABC & XYZ of Bee Culture" you don't need any more references.  I've operated for over forty years without any manual except the one I wrote as an English Project while in high school until this year when I finally purchased both of the books mentioned.  I did learn more on parasites (mites), queen rearing, and conditiions in other areas of the country than I knew before.

[Dick Allen]

'Bees & Beekeeping: Science, Practice & World Resources'
by  Eva Crane is my all-time favorite. It’s one of those larger books measuring 11 x 8 inches and its 614 pages make it about 1 1/2 inches thick. It was published by Cornell University Press in 1990 and is out of print, but copies can be found from used booksellers over the internet. Unfortunately it’s not a cheap book and likely will run at least $100.   A copy can probably be located for check-out through an inter-library loan. That’s what I usually do first before spending my hard earned cash on books I’m not familiar with.

[swingbyte]

With Beemasters forums, you probably don't need any books :lol: However, I have found ABC&xyz, The Beekeepers manual and the Dummies book - although the more I learn, the less I like that one.  There is a lot of information on the Web - just try to verify some of it before you use it
:?

[Dick Allen]

>There is a lot of information on the Web - just try to verify some of it before you use it

Which is precisely why you need some good books available.  :lol:

[Michael Bush]

Here:

http://www.bushfarms.com/huber.htm

And it's free.  :)

Fifty years among the bees is also on the net several places and is also very good and also available at Amazon.com

ABC & XYZ is ver nice as well.

[BeeHopper]

Indeed the Web is an excellent source of info., unlike a laptop or PC, a good book does not need batteries or an electrical outlet and you can take it anywhere  :D

[BeeHopper]

Here:

http://www.bushfarms.com/huber.htm

And it's free.  :)

Fifty years among the bees is also on the net several places and is also very good and also available at Amazon.com

ABC & XYZ is ver nice as well.

Excellent  :D

[Dick Allen]

ahhh BeeHopper, I see you like free.....
here's another publication on the internet that's a pretty decent reference source, also for free:

http://www.fao.org/docrep/w0076e/w0076e00.htm

[Dick Allen]

> Fifty years among the bees is also on the net....

Here’s one site:

http://bees.library.cornell.edu/cgi/t/text/text-idx?c=bees;idno=5017631

and here is a favorite quote of mine, from the book, about swarming:

“If a colony disposed to swarm should be blown up with dynamite, it would probably not swarm again, but its usefulness as a honey-gathering institution would be somewhat impaired.”

[Michael Bush]

>“If a colony disposed to swarm should be blown up with dynamite, it would probably not swarm again, but its usefulness as a honey-gathering institution would be somewhat impaired.”

Dynamite is also a very effective Varroa control.  :)

[Brian D. Bray]

To be honest my favorite bee book is the one I'm writing.  It will cover areas of beekeeping that are not addressed in more traditional tomes plus focus on natural methods of parasitic controls.

[Kathyp]

i read everything in the library.  even the old books.  i liked "dummies" and i like "honey bees & beekeeping"  both were easy reads and had lots of info.  i got the tapes for the second.  the book and tapes were done by Dr Keith Delaplane from the university of Georgia.  he's easy to follow and pretty down to earth in his teaching.

i talked to local beekeepers and took a local class.  

then....i read lots of stuff on the net.  

i found that there is good info in all.  some of it works for me.  some of it doesn't.  i think you find that you'll take bits and pieces of what everyone does, and make your own plan.

[Michael Bush]

If you want an absoulte beginners book how about: The Backyard Beekeeper by Kim Flottum.

My problem with recommending a bee book is I disagree with much of what is in most of them.  If a beginner buys most any of those books they will end up with a beginners kit with a lot things they don't need and virtually none of the things they do need.  They will end up with boxes too heavy to lift, a mismatch of frame sizes, a queen excluder that the bees won't go through and a very expensive extractor that gets used for a few hours once a year.  Basically they will waste a lot of their money going down a road they will probably later regret.  Not the bees, but the choice of equipment and the choice of foundation.  I went down several paths of investment in bee equipment that I regret.  Some of it is still in my basement.  Some of it I sold.  Some I gave away.  But it was a waste of money, time and energy.

The other thing was they books made me think my bees would die if I didn't fill the hive with chemicals.  It took me two years to convince myself they were wrong.

[Bill the Beekeeper]

My favorite book on the art and science of beekeeping is "Honey Bee Biology and Beekeeping" by Dewey M. Caron

My favorite book on those fascinating creatures - honey bees - is
"The Honey Bee" by James L. Gould & Carol Grant Gould. It is absolute superb.

It introduces readers to "the astounding complexity of honey bees, explaining how they are able to make complicated food decisions, navigate with precision, memorize the odor, color, shape, and pattern of each species of flower they harvest, communicate through intricate dances, even formulate plans and create mental maps!"

[Dick Allen]

>My favorite book on those fascinating creatures - honey bees - is....

Well, my favorite book on their "operational aspects" is Lesley Goodman's 'Form and Function in the Honey Bee'

A great book about honey bees just to sit down and read is Longgood's 'The Queen Must Die'

[TwT]

we have a few of the free book links here on this site plus some good articles........ look at the sticky's on the first 6 post....

Sticky: The History of Bees (1634) -- excerpt

Sticky: George Imirie's Pink Pages

Sticky: Breeding the Honeybee By Brother ADAM

Sticky: All "Walt Wright" Articles

Sticky: New Observations, on the Natural History of Bees

Sticky: C.C. Miller - 50 Years Among the Bees

http://www.beemaster.com/beebbs/viewforum.php?f=56

[Dick Allen]

'Control of Varroa A Guide for New Zealand Beekeepers' is another FREE downloadable book. It's a good reference source on varroa mites and various treatment options:

http://tinyurl.com/dpo3z

(It runs 120 pages and takes 3 or 4 minutes to download on dial-up.)

Dynamite is also a very effective Varroa control.

The book does not cover using dynamite against varroa mites.  

The full compete URL is:

http://www.biosecurity.govt.nz/pests-diseases/animals/varroa/guidelines/control-of-varroa-guide.pdf