Save the Bees with Natural Backyard Hives: The Easy and Treatment-Free Way to Attract and Keep Healthy Bees

The husband-and-wife team behind the nonprofit HoneyLove make the case that beekeeping ought to be treated as more than a hobby or money-making enterprise. It is an entrance into a complex and sometimes fierce world that must be engaged and understood on its own terms. Advocating “treatment-free” beekeeping, the authors embrace a “beekeeping backwards” framework developed by fellow beekeeper Charles Martin Simon, through 10 principles, which include “work with Nature, not against Her” and “forget everything you’ve ever learned and start observing what is really going on.” To that end, the book includes an array of chapters with accompanying color photos on such topics as hive designs (for building your own), protective clothing, how to start a hive, how to use smoke to herd a hive, and “requeening” should the hive become fierce (removing a troublemaking queen who stirs up the horde). This book lends practical advice, concrete instruction, and a philosophical approach to the daunting but ultimately rewarding adventure of beekeeping. Color photos. (Nov.)