Book Review - The Beekeeper's Guide: Building Skills and Knowledge - Princeton University Press

           Four eminent beekeepers, two British and two American, have combined their talent and experience to create a formidable manual for beekeepers large and small. There has been a growing interest in recent years in apiaries, both as a hobby, and in the form of large for-profit operations essential to the pollination of many crops. In response to the pervasive and systematic destruction of the environment, and the widespread desire for people to do their part in remediating it, (sometimes ephemeral it must be said), keeping bees and producing honey seems both "easy" and "natural." Many newbies quickly discover that successful beekeeping requires capital investment, dedication, the acquisition of knowledge, hard work and commitment, with no guarantee of getting honey, and they quickly fall by the wayside.

     

      Touched on but briefly is the danger of swamping areas with hives of honey bees, thereby posing a serious threat to resident populations of native bees. Rarely, if ever, is the amount of available habitat and biomass of food assessed before hives are located, and there is no control on their proliferation. The hot topic of "beewashing" is not addressed at all. There are many companies offering to rent and maintain hives for you; their only goal (despite protestations to the contrary) is to make money. 

     It has become popular in cities to install rooftop hives. A few hives, perhaps with its own rooftop garden of pollinator plants, are quickly joined by others as companies seek to burnish their image, and in short order honey bee populations outstrip resources. Rather than installing more hives, planting pollinator gardens would be a wiser choice.

     In fairness this book is not intended as a polemic on the state of bee populations writ large, but it would seem logical, reasonable and ethical that every concerned beekeeper would have the interests of all pollinators at heart.

     The book covers everything you could possibly wish to know to ensure that you have a successful experience keeping bees, from the clothing to wear, the tools to use, the design and construction of hives, beekeeping groups and clubs you can join, winterization of a hive, the recognition and control of parasites and diseases, the collection of honey...and on and on. There is not a single aspect of the practical hands-on experience of beekeeping that is not enunciated in clear detail. The text is well-written, constructive, precise and informative.

     If you are a beekeeper now, or contemplating becoming one, please read this book. It is filled with sage advice for veteran and newcomer alike. You cannot help but benefit from it.

The Beekeeper's Guide: Building Skills and Knowledge - Princeton University Press

Meredith May, Claire Jones, Anne Rowberry, and Margaret Murdin

Hardcover - $24.95 USD - ISBN: 9780691263564 288

288 pages - 6 x 8.5 inches (15 x 21.25 cm)

239 colour and black-and-white illustrations

Publication date: 05 November, 2024