What is the best overall Bee Keeping book?

Question

i want to keep bees soon, but i want an over all good bee keeping book. not just beginners and not just advance, both.

Answer 1

http://www.amazon.com/Natural-Beekeeping...

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0486433...

Most county extension offices offer a class which would pertain to your local climate as well.   Have fun and good luck!

Answer 2

http://www.amazon.com/Beekeepers-Handboo...

Answer 3

I had to laugh when I read your question.  I'm afraid there is not "best overall" book on bees.  It rather depends on how, where, and why you want to keep bees.

By the way just to let you know, being an bee keeping is the SECOND MOST WRITTEN ABOUT TOPIC IN THE WORLD.  The first is of course religion.  There are more books to choosefrom on the subject of bees than any other topic, except religion.  

I own about 50 books on bees myself.  One was written in the 1700's.  Most are much more modern than that one, dating from the 1920's, forward.

I hate to say it, but even the very old books can give you wonderful insites, and lost knowledge on how things were done before the modern hives, and certainly before all the drugs were used on bees.

Countryside And Small Stock Journal (a magazine) just ran a serries of well written articles in their magazines last year.  Tons of usefull information there, and resources for books, and places to buy supplies for the apiarist in the articles also.  You can buy back copies of the magazine if you wish.

Find a yahoo group on bee keeping also, and join them.  Books can teach you tons....humans who have "been there, done that, got the T-shirt" can teach you more.

~Garnet

Permaculture homesteading/farming over 20 years

Orchard Mason Bees are awsome!

Answer 4

One of the best books I can recommend is

Honey Bee Biology and bee keeping.

by Dewey M, Caron

Wicwas Press

ISBN 1-878075-09-8

You will also buy additional books after you get your first hive.

If you have a bee association in your area, attend a meeting and get the best information available.

Answer 5

Not knowing where you reside, your best bet is to get hooked up with any of the closest Universities that offer courses in apiculture. Having found them, what you are looking for is any text that is dated no earlier than this year. The reason is the changes in culture due to CCD, which seems to be mainly a problem in the methods used in the rearing of bees. Latest research seems to indicate that the symptoms are related to practices, namely materials used to keep hives clean, and the development of large sized strains of the insect, as well as stresses put on them to work and travel. I have not been up on the most recent but I can tell you that all best management practices have been revised over the last year. Best thing to do is take a course and most Universities now offer them on line with books available threw the mail. Check with their agricultural studies departments (at UMASS here it is Plant and Soil Sciences Dept.)