Here are a few Resources on Bees and Beekeeping — Associations, Books, Articles, Web Links.

For Beekeeping Lingo — those terms such as Nucs, Supers, Langstroth, Top Bar Hive, and others — you can check below under “Beekeeping Basics” and “Beekeeping Naturally”.

The two main magazines are the American Bee Journal and Bee Culture.  Members of local bee clubs receive a discount for subscriptions to those magazines (contact our secretary once you join for the discount forms).

The Virginia State Beekeepers’ Association

The Virginia State Beekeepers’ Association (VSBA) site gives information on state meetings, local beekeeper groups across the state, beekeeping classes, and other good information for Virginia Beekeepers. Members of local groups receive a discount on the yearly dues for the VSBA.

The Beekeepers Guild of Southeast Virginia

Virginia’s first Beekeepers Guild (located in Chesapeake, Virginia) prioritizes sustainable beekeeping practices, local nucleus colonies, and local queen honey bees.  They were mentioned in the December 2010 issue of Bee Culture Magazine.

Apitherapy

Randall Henniker, in the Richmond City area, has written an essay for this web site about the tremendous health advances he experienced after using the bee acupuncture therapy to fight his to fight his Multiple Sclerosis .  According to Randall, about 75% of people with MS can be helped with this therapy.  The book he used as his guide is How Well Are You Willing to Bee?  The Beginner’s Auto Fix-it Guide, by Pat Wagner, and it is discussed at her web site .

Top Bar Hives

Dr. Wyatt Mangum’s book on this subject is due out soon.  A long-time beekeeper, he writes a monthly column in the American Bee Journal, and lives in Virginia. He has a new book out, Top Bar Hive Beekeeping : Wisdom and Pleasure Combined. In the many chapters, the book even shows how to modify top-bar hive equipment for queen rearing in keeping with your local queen production for more sustainable beekeeping.  Queen production from top-bar hives is quite efficient.

In addition, the site also shows my top-bar hive apiaries, which he thinks are unique in the bee world.

The Barefoot Beekeeper is another resource, a free e-book on Kenyan top bar hives, and includes a forum run by Phil Chandler in England.  The title is a philosophical thought, since he does Not advocate being barefoot with bees!  One can also download plans for building a top bar hive from his web site.

Beekeeping Basics

A free e-book on Beekeeping Basics is available here.

Also, a few other books to consider looking for at your public library, or at beekeeping suppliers, would be the following:

The New Starting Right With Bees, A Beginner’s Handbook on Beekeeping, 21st Edition, Revised and Edited by the “Bee Culture” magazine staff, published by A. I. Root Company, 1997.

First Lessons in Beekeeping, by Keith S. Delaplane, in the tradition of C.P. Dadant’s 1917 original, published by Dadant and Sons, 2007.

The Backyard Beekeeper, An Absolute Beginner’s Guide to Keeping Bees in Your Yard and Garden, Revised and Updated, Kim Flottum, published by Quarry Books, 2005, 2010.

Natural Beekeeping, Organic Approaches to Modern Apiculture, by Ross Conrad, published by Chelsea Green Publishing, 2007.  He writes a monthly column in Bee Culture magazine.

The Magic School Bus, Inside a Bee Hive, published by Scholastic Books.  This is a great book not just for children, but also for adults.

Beekeeping Naturally

Michael Bush in Nebraska provides on Beekeeping Naturally, information on a variety of topics including Langstroth hives, various top bar hives, foundationless frames, equipment to build, simplified beekeeping, terms used, and more.  This is a very helpful, and easy to understand, web site, with photographs.

Bees and Climate Change

The Buzz: What Bees Tell Us About Climate Change, in the Johns Hopkins Magazine, June 2, 2010, article by Sharon Tregaskis.

Honey Bees — Video

In this short video, A Plea for Bees, which one may download for free, leading apiarist Dennis vanEngelsdorp uses facts and humor as he looks at the important place of honey bees in nature, and the mystery behind their alarming disappearance.

He also points out the importance of having meadows, not lawns, to increase the forage (food) available to the bees.

Dennis vanEngelsdorp is Acting State Apiarist for Pennsylvania’s Department of Agriculture, studying colony collapse disorder — the alarming, worldwide disappearance of worker bees …

A Varina Beekeeper’s Blog

Jones Tyler, an avid gardener and enthusiastic beekeeper, gives his interesting and informative views on a newish beekeeper’s adventures in A Varina Beekeeper’s Blog.