sustainable beekeeping

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Sustainable Beekeeping Presenter: Bill Theiss Tuesday/Thursday 6 - 8 PM (September 2,4,9,11) Gypsy Hill Park

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Sustainable Beekeeping. Presenter: Bill Theiss Tuesday/Thursday 6 - 8 PM (September 2,4,9,11) Gypsy Hill Park. Syllabus. Tuesday, September 2 Introduction: Getting started with beekeeping Is beekeeping for me? Beginning beekeeper issues A history of beekeeping Hive types Langstroth - PowerPoint PPT Presentation

TRANSCRIPT

Page 1: Sustainable Beekeeping

Sustainable Beekeeping

Presenter: Bill TheissTuesday/Thursday 6 - 8 PM (September

2,4,9,11)Gypsy Hill Park

Page 2: Sustainable Beekeeping

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

Page 3: Sustainable Beekeeping

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)

Page 4: Sustainable Beekeeping

Syllabus• Tuesday, October 8– Honeybee disease identification, prevention &

treatment• Most common bacterial, viral, and fungal diseases• Predators• Pests• Pesticides• Poisons• Integrated Pest Management (IPM)

Page 5: Sustainable Beekeeping

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

Page 6: Sustainable Beekeeping

SVBA

Page 7: Sustainable Beekeeping

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

Page 8: Sustainable Beekeeping

Purposes of Beekeeping

• Pollination Services• Species Preservation• Education• Products– Honey, beeswax, propolis, pollen, mead,

queens and/or nucs

Page 9: Sustainable Beekeeping

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)

Page 10: Sustainable Beekeeping

Goals of the Beekeeper

• Provide shelter and protection• Disease prevention and treatment• Hive propagation• Prevent swarming• Collect and/or utilize hive resources

Page 11: Sustainable Beekeeping

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

Page 12: Sustainable Beekeeping

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

Page 13: Sustainable Beekeeping

Bee Hive Types

• Langstroth• Top Bar• Warre• Observation• Nucs

Page 14: Sustainable Beekeeping

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

Page 15: Sustainable Beekeeping

Langstroth Hive Components

Page 16: Sustainable Beekeeping

Langstroth Commercial Frame Sizes

• Deep: 85 lbs• Medium (Illinois) 35 lbs• Shallow 25 lbs

• Foundation Cell Sizes from 4.9 – 5.4 mm

Page 17: Sustainable Beekeeping

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

Page 18: Sustainable Beekeeping

• Optional equipment• Prevents queen from

laying brood in honey supers

• Used for “QueenRight” queen raising method

Queen Excluder

Page 19: Sustainable Beekeeping

• 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)

Page 20: Sustainable Beekeeping

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

Page 21: Sustainable Beekeeping

The Top Bar Hive

Page 22: Sustainable Beekeeping

The Top Bar Hive

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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

Page 26: Sustainable Beekeeping

Abbé Émile Warré (1867-1951)

Warre Hives

Page 27: Sustainable Beekeeping

Six frame double wide

Observation Hives

Eight frame single width

Seven frame single width

Page 28: Sustainable Beekeeping

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

Page 29: Sustainable Beekeeping

Questions?