NORTHERN BEE BOOKS

The importance of the role played by honey bee pests in the world is becoming more recognised each year, not only because of attention given to the pest species, such as the varroa mite and small hive beetle, but also because of the increasing realisation that honey bees are extremely valuable to nature and humanity.

The most up to date and recent book about the Small Hive Beetle highlighting the danger that they pose to honeybees and suggesting some control methods.

Management methods and beekeeping technique are featured in this volume, emphasizing those in Italy and France as the European Union was forming. The content focuses on the development of apiculture in both the New and Old World, reflecting on similarities and differences, and based on the principle that “all beekeeping is local.” It features conversations with unique personalities, as well as reports of various scientific and beekeepers’ meetings. Descriptions of visits to research laboratories and distinctive European beekeeping settings round out this unique contribution to the apicultural literature.

Translated from the French by Dr. Mark Pettus
Gold Medal BEST BOOK AWARD
National Agricultural Society, France
Learn natural beekeeping from Europe’s foremost beekeeping authority. Georges de Layens, inventor of the world’s most popular horizontal hive, shares a lifetime of experience on how to
• get started in simplified beekeeping
• choose the best hive model for you & your bees
• manage your hives with just two visits per year
• take advantage of horizontal hives & deep frames
• avoid unnecessary complications & procedures
• increase an apiary with natural or artificial swarms
• transfer bees from one hive model to another
• enhance bees’ health drug-free
• do without requeening, feeding & other chores
• understand honey plants and honeyflows
• make award-winning mead (foolproof formula)
• use foundation less frames, make wax foundation
• handle traditional hives (skeps, log hives, etc.)
• keep bees sustainably using local strains
• and MUCH more
Layens’ simple beekeeping boasts over 100 years of successful use, with 7 million hives in use today. Bee-friendly, productive, and fun, keeping bees can be easier than you ever imagined!

In 2005, beekeepers in the United States began observing a mysterious and disturbing phenomenon: once-healthy colonies of bees were suddenly collapsing, leaving behind empty hives full of honey and pollen. Over the following decade, widespread honeybee deaths -some of which have come to be called Colony Collapse Disorder {CCD) -have continued to bedevil beekeepers and threaten the agricultural industries that rely on bees for pollination. Scientists continue to debate the causes of CCD, yet there is no clear consensus on how to best solve the problem.

This is an account of a first year of beekeeping using Warre, Top Bar and Flow Hives.

A Beekeeper’s Year follows the progress of three novice beekeepers with three different types of hive, as they navigate their way through their first year of beekeeping. Follow their journey as they set up and manage their Top Bar, Warre and Flow hives – from obtaining bees to inspecting their hives, extracting honey and closing down the hive for the winter.


A Beekeeper’s Year is an ideal introduction to backyard beekeeping, with everything you need to know about what equipment is required, managing your hives, keeping your bees healthy and pest and disease control. It is packed with stunning yet practical photographs to help you understand these fascinating creatures that are essential to the production of our food.

There are plenty of books on the biology of the honeybee for all, the scientist, the beekeeper, and the layman. This one stands out, since it is a book not on ,,the honeybee”, but on the honeybee colony -one of the most significant biological structures in nature Accordingly, this book is not intended as a reference book on honeybee biology, but is meant as a new conceptual framework of an ,,old” biological understanding of the honeybee colony on the basis of modern biological analysis and recent theories. The honeybee is presented as it lives and thrives in its social unit – the colonial superorganism. With 76 Figures and 19 Tables.

The crucial role that bees play in the Earth’s ecosystem is well known. Over the last decades a dramatic decrease in bee health has been seen on a global scale. This deterioration is seen on a global scale in both domestic and wild bees, precipitating a wider ecological impact. Veterinarians, animal scientists and bee husbandry specialists increasingly need to be provided with the skills to investigate and understand the situation; Managing Bee Health aims to provide an overview of the health of bees at individual and hive level, covering common and emerging diseases and preventive measures.


Beginning with an overall analysis of bee anatomy and physiology, the book then deals with the main diseases and pathogens of bees and colonies and how to treat and control their clinical impact. Providing insights on bee nutrition, insect interaction with flowering plants, and presenting helpful points of contact to report suspected conditions, such as the World Organisation for Animal Health (OIE). The book looks at the global pathogen status of bees, including not only the honeybee (Apis mellifera) but also other members of the Apis family.


Managing Bee Health is a most useful guide for beekeepers, advisors, veterinarians and beekeeping enthusiasts, showing practical ways to understand bee health, treat sick or compromised hives and enhance the wellbeing and welfare of these wonderful creatures.


John Carr B.V.Sc., Ph.D., D.P.M., DiplE.C.P.H.M., M.R.C.V.S, is a specialised population medicine veterinary surgeon. He has taught production medicine and bee medicine at several universities around the world.


John also runs a consultancy practice with clients in the Americas, Europe,
Asia, Australia and Africa.

Following the Wild Bees is a delightful foray into the pastime of bee hunting, an exhilarating outdoor activity that used to be practiced widely but which few people know about today. Thomas Seeley, a world authority on honey bees, vividly describes the history and sci­ence behind this lost pastime and how anyone can do it. Following the Wild Bees is both a unique meditation on the plea­sures of the natural world and a guide to the ingenious methods that compose the craft of the bee hunter.
Seeley explains how one finds a patch of flowers humming with honey bees, captures and sumptuously feeds the bees, and then releases and fol­lows them, step-by-step in whatever direction they fly, back to their secret residence in a hollow tree, old build­ing, or abandoned hive. The bee hunt­er’s reward is a thrilling encounter with nature that challenges mind and body while also giving new insights into the remarkable behavior of honey bees liv­ing in the wild.
Drawing on decades of experience as a bee hunter and bee biologist, Seeley weaves informative discussions of the biology of wild honey bees with colorful historical anecdotes, personal insights, and beautiful photos. Whether you’re a bee enthusiast or just curious about the natural world, Following the Wild Bees is the ideal companion for newcomers to bee hunting and a rare treat for arm­chair naturalists,

It has always been a well-known fact that products from the beehive are good for human health. However, recent scientific research has proved that various substances produced by honeybees, as well as innumerable possible combinations with plant material, possess real medical properties.

Ten years after its first publication, this book has become a work of reference in its field. Translated by Francine Sagar, this new edition tells us more about the Cuban venture, and brings essential clarification to what has, at last, been recognised within the scientific community as a true solution to natural health.

We have recently taken into stock this Australian title which we consider to be the most up to date publication, (and probable with Woodward – Queen Bee, the best two titles currently available) on all aspects of Queen Bee production & selective breeding for colony improvement.