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 author Christy Hemenway’s 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. 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 well-being of the planet, Advanced Top Bar Beekeeping breaks new ground in the quest to shift the dominant agricultural paradigm away from chemical-laden, industrial monoculture and toward healthy, diverse local farming. See what all the buzz is about with this must-read guide for the new breed of thinking beekeeper.

Modern beekeepers, take notice! Here we have the answer to one of the most common beekeeping questions: What do I do with all of this beeswax? The possibilities are seemingly endless: As beeswax has multiple holistic and decorative uses, projects can vary from beauty and health products to household items. Beeswax Alchemy is your first step toward using excess beeswax to make beautiful, useful gifts for friends, family, and even yourself. It offers a basic introduction to the art of extracting and purifying beeswax, as well as countless ideas for what to make with it. These include skin care creams, candles and other home products, such as beeswax ornaments and wax fabric. So, get ready to suit up and collect some beeswax. There's so much that you can do with it … and now you know how!

Backyard beekeepers everywhere agree: a successful colony is a thing of beauty.

Thousands of beekeepers have started beekeeping thanks to Kim Flottum's first book, The Backyard Beekeeper, and they have added to their repertoire of skills with The Backyard Beekeeper's Honey Handbook. Now, Better Beekeeping answers the question, "What do I do now that I'm a beekeeper?" This book takes serious beekeepers past the beginning stages and learning curves and offers solutions and rewards for keeping bees a better way. Better queens, better winters, better food, and better bees await any beekeeper willing to take on the challenge of having the right number of bees, of the right age, in the right place, in the right condition, at the right time.

About the Author
After receiving a degree in production horticulture from the University of Wisconsin, Kim Flottum began a career in honey bee pollination research with the USDA and a life-long interest in the multifaceted hobby and business of beekeeping. He next used his acquired skills to raise apples and vegetables in Connecticut, before moving to Medina, Ohio, in 1986 to become editor of the 132-year-old magazine, Bee Culture.

Tony Pisano's step-by-step illustrated instructions show you how to build everything you need, including hive bodies, supers, covers, hive stands, frames, swarm catchers, feeders, and more.

Beekeeping isn't just for the professional farmer-bees can be kept in any situation, from the simple backyard patio and garden to large expanses of farmland. A comprehensive and attractive beekeeping guide from Hobby Farm Press (the same folks who bring you Hobby Farms and Hobby Farm Home magazines), Honey Bee Hobbyist takes readers from finding their bees, housing them, collecting honey and using their produce for pleasure and possible profit. This colorful book includes entertaining chapters on the history of bees and beekeeping, and serves as an extensive introduction to help novice beekeepers fully understand this exciting hobby!

Learn natural beekeeping from Europe's foremost beekeeping authority. Georges de Layens, inventor of the world's most popular horizontal hive, shares a lifetime of experience on how to get started in simplified beekeeping; choose the best hive model for you and your bees; manage your hives with just two visits per year; take advantage of horizontal hives and deep frames, and much more.

Keeping Bees in Towns and Cities features everything an urbanite needs to know to start keeping bees: how to select the perfect hive, how to buy bees, how to care for a colony, how to harvest honey, and what to do in the winter. Urban beekeeping has particular challenges and needs, and this book highlights the challenges and presents practices that are safe, legal and neighbor-friendly.

The text is rounded out with profiles of urban beekeepers from all over the world, including public hives at the Maryland Center for Horticulture; beekeeping on an office balcony in Melbourne, Australia; and a poolside hive at a hotel in Vancouver, British Columbia.

Ross Conrad brings together the best "do no harm" strategies for keeping honeybees healthy and productive with nontoxic methods of controlling mites; eliminating American foulbrood disease without the use of antibiotics; selective breeding for naturally resistant bees; and many other detailed management techniques, which are covered in a thoughtful, matter-of-fact way. Now revised and updated with new resources and including full-color photos throughout, Natural Beekeeping offers all the latest information in a book that has already proven invaluable for organic beekeepers. The new edition offers the same holistic, sensible alternative to conventional chemical practices with a program of natural hive management, but offers new sections on a wide range of subjects.

Learn how to plan a hive, acquire bees, install a colony, keep bees healthy, prevent new diseases, harvest honey crops and more. You’ll also find useful information on colony life, colony-collapse disorder, honey bee anatomy and behavior, and apiary equipment and tools.

Swarming is a powerful instinct, one that most successful beekeepers have encountered by their second year. Swarm Essentials outlines the ramifications of swarming behavior (highlighting the often overlooked benefits), proven management techniques, and how to recover and even prosper from a successful swarm attempt. Author Stephen J. Repasky's inaugural publication marks the latest addition to the Essentials series from Wicwas Press and is an excellent read for any beekeeper who hopes to make it past their first year.