Reference Books ..

[Cellectronic]

Morning All
Having being a Forum member for a few years now I would like to ask you guys can you recommend any seriously good reading books on beekeeping ?

I own 2 or 3 already but I am finding that some of the info you guys provide to questions posted are not in my books which makes me wonder what you all read.
Example, I started a thread on " Dummying Down" and there have been some good answers to some of my earlier threads..
Many thanks.

 

[Erichalfbee]

The Buzz About Bees by Jürgen Tautz
Honeybee Democracy by Thomas D Seeley

 

[B+.]

I would like to ask you guys can you recommend any seriously good reading books on beekeeping ?
I am finding that some of the info you guys provide to questions posted are not in my books which makes me wonder what you all read.

A lot of things never make it into the beekeeping literature for some reason. Also, the books become out-of-date very quickly. I usually refer people to Coloss as it is up-to-date and free (http://coloss.org/beebook/I).

A few of the books I would recommend are:
Dade, H.A., Anatomy & Dissection of the Honeybee, International Bee Research Association, Cardiff ISBN: 0-86098-214-9
Morse, R.A., Honey Bee pests, predators and diseases, Cornell University, London ISBN: 0-8014-2406-2
Woodward, D., Queen Bee: Biology, rearing and breeding, Balcuth, New Zealand (Norther Bee Books may stock this) ISBN: 978-0-473-11933-1
Laidlaw,H.H., Page, R.E., Queen rearing and bee breeding, Wicwas Press, Connecticut, USA ISBN 1-878075-08-X
Mesquida, J., Elements of genetics with special reference to the bee, OPIDA (BIBBA translation by Rd E. Milner) ISBN: 2-90-5851-02-3
Apimondia, Controlled mating and selection of the honey bee, International symposium - Lunz am see, Austria 1972, Apimondia, Bucharest, Romania
Ruttner, F., Breeding techniques and selection for breeding of the honeybee, BIBBA(translation by A & E Milner), ISBN: 0-905369-07-6

 

[BeeJayBee]

The best way to increase your beekeeping knowledge is by keeping bees, or to see other people keeping bees. Take every opportunity you can to see other beekeeper's hives, and don't be scared about trying things yourself - almost anything you do to your bees will be undone by them in about a week!

... but I am finding that some of the info you guys provide to questions posted are not in my books which makes me wonder what you all read.

The thing about beekeeping books is that there is a very small market, worldwide. A lot of books for new beekeepers contain mostly regurgitated stuff from previous ones, along with novel, crazy, and sometimes very bad, ideas that appear from time to time. Matchsticks and crownboards have to be the very worst 'innovation' ever. Books take time to get published, so are often out of date before you read them. Tautz and Seeley should be on every beekeepers wish list.

The internet is much more up to date, stuff is online before it gets into the books - as B+ says, refer to coloss if you can and ...

Dave Cushman is the 'go to' UK site. http://www.dave-cushman.net/
Michael Bush http://www.bushfarms.com/bees.htm and Randy Oliver http://scientificbeekeeping.com/ are worth reading. Take away what's useful to you, dismiss the rest.

Blogs and videos have their uses, you'll soon spot when somebody is talking rubbish, and will see beekeepers making mistakes that would never appear in the books - so seeing a 'bad' video, or reading about a failed 'something' on a blog, isn't always a waste of time. It could save you making the same mistake.

There are 4 UK-based forums. The 2 main US ones are Beesource and Beemaster. Bee-L is good, but rather awkward to navigate. There's good and bad information on all of them, but you'll soon learn who is talking rubbish and who gives the best advice.

 

[wessexmario]

One of the best books for beginners is the Haynes Bee Manual
ISBN 978-0857330574

It's a good introduction to beekeeping, with lots of colour photos to illustrate the text.
If you had to choose a single first book for a new beekeeper, this would be in the short list.
It also has the advantage in the world of beekeeping books of being relatively recently written so doesn't contain outdated advice.
(maybe not advanced enough for the OP, but useful for others for this thread subject.)

 

[user 6228]

When consulting U.S. beekeeping resources be aware there is a fundamental difference in approach.
The U.S. after 1945 went for very large colonies (3Kg ~ 4kg overwintering) with very little insulation(zero) and high levels of ventilation, The UK and Europe goes for more shelter/insulation and smaller colonies (Overwintering ~ 1.5Kg). Beware of mixing the two. Some things are common some are not.

 

[domino]

One of the best books for beginners is the Haynes Bee Manual

This is the book I recommend to people starting, it really is excellent.

 

[Cellectronic]

One of the best books for beginners is the Haynes Bee Manual
ISBN 978-0857330574

Started off with that one , I would recommend it to any new beek.

 

[Al-In-Italy]

The Buzz about Bees: Biology of a Superorganism by Jürgen Tautz isn't much use as a practical guide for working with bees, but it made me appreciate even more just what amazing creatures they are.