Beekeeping Mentor in a Book

1. Forward xvi 2. January ... Always Think Ahead 1 Expect the Unexpected 2 Dealing with Disaster 4 What Should be Ready Now 5 Making Plans 6 Thinking of Spring 8 3. Facts You Should Know 9 Queens, Workers and Drones 10 Honeybee Forage 15 4. February ... Anticipating Spring 17 Performing Postmortem 20 Swarm Preparations 22 Hive Placement 24 Planning Splits 24 Drone Frame 25 Exterior Hive Seal 26 Interior Hive Seal 27 Early Pollen 28 5. Know Your Cells 29 6. March ... The Most Exciting Time of Year 35 Dead-Out Inspection 36 First Inspection 39 More About Swarm Cycle 44 Remember This in March 45 7. Tools of the Trade 47 Bee suit and variations 48 Gloves 49 Washing 49 Treating a Sting 50 Foot Protection 50 Hive tools 51 Smoker 51 Student Questions 52 Attitude 52 Hive Types 53 8. April ... Swarms, Nucs and Packages 57 Inverting Deeps 58 Acknowledge Beekeeping Challenges 60 The Split Process 61 Splits Performed 64 Queen Cells 65 Split Progress 67 Unplanned Split 68 Swarm Season Kickoff 68 Installation 69 9. Disease, Parasite and Pest 73 American Foulbrood 74 Chalkbrood 75 Nosema 76 Small Hive Beetle 77 Varroa Mite 77 Wax Moth 78 10. May ... Building Comb 81 Brood Pattern, Managing Comb 82 Concerning Drones and Mating 86 Identifying Laying Worker or Drone Layer 87 Queen Difficulties 88 Queen Health Inspection Timing 89 Queen Health Inspections 92 Deeps and Supers 94 11. Moving and Merging 97 Orientation 98 Moving Honeybees 99 Merging Honeybees 102 12. June ... Quiet Time 105 Consider Your Varroa Load 107 Smoke Alternatives 109 Mite Control Split Planning 110 Honeybee Tummies 111 Student Questions 113 13. Superorganism 117 14. July ... Mite Control 121 Better Have Smoke 122 Varroa destructor 124 Student Questions 128 Wisconsin Questions 133 North Carolina Questions 135 15. No Poison Required 137 16. August ... Harvest Preparation 143 What You Need 144 Example Schedule 146 Bizarre Weather Impacts Bees 148 How Much Intervention? 149 Getting Bees Off Your Harvest Frames 149 Three Deeps - Why and How 150 Mouse Guard 151 17. Apitherapy 153 Bee Bread 155 Beeswax 155 Honey 155 Pollen 156 Propolis 156 Royal Jelly 156 Venom 157 18. September ... Harvest 159 Harvest 160 Picture Story 161 19. Beekeeping Income 171 Is It Work? 172 Income Streams 172 State Regulations 175 20. October ... Finalize Winter Preparation 177 Cold is coming 178 Drone Termination 179 A Mentor's Year 179 21. Eliminating a Laying Worker 181 Shake and Forget 182 Give Them Brood 182 Queen at the Wall 183 Queen in a Cage 183 Extended Merge 183 Shake and Hope 183 22. November ... No Peeking Begins 185 Feeding Honeybees 187 Let's Celebrate Solstice 191 Good Time for Laundry 191 Check In On Your Bees Regularly 192 Student Questions 192 23. Honeybee Candy 195 Glucose vs HFCS 196 Sugar 197 Recipe and Advice 197 24. December ... Candy Installation 201 Planning Winter Chores 202 Inconvenient Interruptions 203 Student Questions 204 Puttin' On the Candy 206 25. Beekeeping Industry Transition 207 26. Epilogue 211 27. Glossary 215