Advanced Top Bar Beekeeping: Next Steps for the Thinking Beekeeper

by Christy Hemenway

Overview

A guide for backyard beekeepers who have advanced into their second year with top bar hives.

Bee populations are plummeting worldwide. Colony Collapse Disorder poses a serious threat to many plants that rely on bees for pollination, including a significant proportion of our food crops. Top bar hives are based on the concept of understanding and working with bees’ natural systems, enabling top bar beekeepers to produce honey and natural wax while helping bees thrive now and in the years ahead.

Advanced Top Bar Beekeeping picks up where The Thinking Beekeeper left off, providing a wealth of information for backyard beekeepers ready to take the next step with this economical, bee-friendly approach. Author Christy Hemenway shares:

• Guidance and techniques for the second season and beyond
• An in-depth analysis of the dangers climate change and conventional agriculture present to pollinators
• An inspiring vision of restoring bee populations through organic farming and natural, chemical-free beekeeping.

While continuing to emphasize the intimate connection between our food system, bees, and the wellbeing of the planet, Advanced Top Bar Beekeeping breaks new ground in the quest to shift the dominant agricultural paradigm away from chemical-laden, industrial beekeeping monoculture and towards healthy, diverse local farming. See what all the buzz is about with this must-read guide for the new breed of thinking beekeeper.

Praise for Advanced Top Bar Beekeeping

“Christy's experience and drive to further the use of top bar hives is extremely evident in this her next level work. Her first book got you into a hive . . . . I learned a few tricks from her and my top bar beekeeping improved due to her insights and explanations. But what about next year? That's where this work picks up. It gets you through winter, spring, swarms, feeding, splits, harvesting honey and then settles into the very best thing I can say about this form of keeping bees. Clean wax.” —Kim Flottum, editor, Bee Culture magazine, and editor, BEEKeeping: Your First Three Years

“[Christy’s] new book is not only essential for those who want to keep bees in top bar hives, but also for those want a deeper look on beekeeping problems and on the life of Apis mellifera.” —Paolo Fontana, entomologist / apidologist

“Here are your next steps to keeping bees in top bar hives. Thoughtful, experienced, articulate advice.” —Michael Bush, BushFarms.com

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780865718098
Publisher:	New Society Publishers
Publication date:	12/26/2016
Pages:	208
Product dimensions:	7.20(w) x 8.80(h) x 0.50(d)
Age Range:	16 Years

About the Author

Christy Hemenway is the owner and founder of Gold Star Honeybees, a complete resource for all things related to beekeeping in top bar hives. A passionate advocate for bees and the pivotal role they play in our food supply, she is a highly sought-after speaker, helping audiences to understand the integral connection between bees, food, human health and the future of the planet. Christy is the author of The Thinking Beekeeper: A Guide to Natural Beekeeping in Top Bar Hives .

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments ix

Introduction xi

"Questionnaire" Wendell Berry xiii

Part I Year Two: What to Do?

1 Year Two: How Did We Get Here? 3

2 Swarming and Splitting, or… If You've Still Got Bees, You Are About to Have Even More Bees! 15

3 Why Are My Bees So Grouchy? Or…Is the Honeymoon Over? 49

4 Combining Hives for Overwinter Success 65

5 Honey-Sweetness and Light = Food! 71

6 About That Wax That It's All About 83

7 Year Two: Your Best Resource Is Natural Beeswax Comb 93

Part II Smoke and Mirrors

8 What Is Really Going on with Bees? Or… Is It Time to Redefine the Crisis Vocabulary? 103

9 Are We Really Still Putting Chemicals in the Beehive? 109

10 Wait a Minute: Wasn't Nicotine a Bad Thing? 117

11 OMGs!!GMOs!!ABCDEs!!M-O-U-S-E!! 121

12 The Shamrock 125

Afterword 143

Glossary 147

Index 153

About the Author 161

A Note About the Publisher 162

What People are Saying About This

From the Publisher

"Anyone who encourages better handling of nature's number one livestock — bees — should be read and followed. Christy Hemenway is that guy. Read and learn."
— Joel Salatin, Polyface Farm

"Christy's experience and drive to further the use of top bar hives is extremely evident in this her next level work. Her first book got you into a hive, why it is a good thing to do, and how to make it work. I learned a few tricks from her and my top bar beekeeping improved due to her insights and explanations. But what about next year? That's where this work picks up. It gets you through winter, spring, swarms, feeding, splits, harvesting honey and then settles into the very best thing I can say about this form of keeping bees. Clean wax. If for no other reason do you begin or continue keeping bees than the fact that you have clean wax with these hives... then you have made the very best decision you can."
— Kim Flottum, editor, Bee Culture magazine, and editor, BEEKeeping: Your First Three Years

"I was amazed to find that what happened in my first top bar hives was exactly what Christy had described in her first book. Her new book is not only essential for those who want to keep bees in top bar hives, but also for those want a deeper look on beekeeping problems and on the life of Apis mellifera."
— Paolo Fontana Entomologist / Apidologist

"The loss of biodiversity on our planet is one of the greatest emergencies of our time. We can't wait any longer: several thousand species become extinct each year! Human beings must be involved in conservation of ecosystems and biodiversity. In this struggle against time, all the beekeepers can play a fundamental role. They can become the vanguard of a movement of responsible citizens involved in biodiversity conservation all over the world. And, at the head of this vanguard, persons like Christy Hemenway can have a leadership role in building a better future for all."
— Gianfranco Caoduro, Honorary President, World Biodiversity Association

"Here are your next steps to keeping bees in top bar hives. Thoughtful, experienced, articulate advice."
— Michael Bush, BushFarms.com

"Good ideas are just good ideas unless you can get a significant number of people over a sizable geography to buy into them. Christy has done just that! Advanced Top Bar Beekeeping is a treasure. For the top bar beekeeping disciples that Christy has already launched this book will support sustainability and serve to draw more practitioners into the adventure. Congratulations Christy! You have made a significant contribution to the top bar craft."
— Marty Hardison, Top Bar Pioneer