Bees, Beekeeping and Honey

A great clearing house of info for organic and other beekeepers - Halifax Honey Bee Society

Bee pollinator decline of all species of bees is real and needs attention.

This information pathfinder is for beekeepers, farmers, growers and the general public, providing good information on beekeeping of the familiar European hive bee as well as our 400 species of native bees in BC. Special effort was made to assemble links for organic honey bee beekeepers. Since colony collapse disorder and disease threatens the existence of hive bees, pathways to information on the nature and management of our native bees is also provided. Web sites for commercial bee businesses have not been included. Many of these have good information as well. Please send suggestions for improvement.

Bee news:

• Honeybee problem nearing a ‘critical point’
• "Zombie" Fly Parasite Killing Honeybees
• Monsanto buys bee health solutions company, Beeologics
• DIY honey craze sweeps New York
• The Beekeeper's Lament: Book review
• Honeybees' alarming mortality rate leaves beekeepers looking for answers
• Honeybees 'entomb' hives to protect against pesticides, say scientists
• Global report on bee decline: 'Tip of the iceberg'
• Bees in freefall as study shows sharp US decline
• What a scientist didn't tell the New York Times about his study on bee deaths
• Have We Really Solved the Mystery Behind the Shocking Die-off of Bees?
• Bumblebees prefer stripes and red flowers, research suggests
• Native Bees to the Rescue
• Island beekeepers stung by fear of mainland disease
• Climate Change affecting Bees
• Bees face 'unprecedented' pesticide exposures at home and afield
• Bayer ‘Disappointed’ in Ruling on Chemical That May Harm Bees
• No Single Villain Behind Honey-Bee Colony Collapse
• Fears for crops as shock figures from America show scale of bee catastrophe

CBC video documentary: To Bee or Not To Bee, on The Nature of Things, with David Suzuki
The sudden and drastic disappearance of bee colonies around the world has scientists scrambling to find a cause - and an antidote. Watch online. To Bee or Not to Bee web site.

Introduction
Organic Honey Standards in Canada
Beekeeping for Beginners (Government of Alberta)
Honey Bees and Beekeeping: Rounding Out the Year (eXtension)
World of Beekeeping
Commercial Beekeeping course: Grande Prairie Regional College
Beekeeping in BC
Apiculture - Bees and Pollinators (BC Ministry of Agriculture and Lands)
Note: All hive locations need to be registered with the BC provincial apiarist
Terminology
Beekeepers Glossary (The Beekeeper's Home Pages)
Beekeeping Glossary (Apiservices)
Where to Get Bees
BC Bee Breeders Association
BC Honey Producers Association
Attracting bumblebees. There are many species of bumblebees; all of them dwell in small underground hives which they build in abandoned burrows, and they have queens who live for several years and workers who live only one. The limiting factor in their case is not homes, but homes safe from predators such as field mice, who like to dig down into hives and eat the larvae. . . . Take a small wooden box full of cotton wool, and with a short piece of old garden hose extending from a hole in the side maybe six inches. Bury the box in the ground in a secure, fairly dry place, so that the end of the hose just pokes out of the ground. Once a newly hatched queen finds it – which rarely takes more than a single spring – you'll have a bumblebee hive full of pollinators who will do their duty for your garden and the wild plants around it as well. - The Archruid Report.
Beehive and Bee-Keeping Equipment
Bee Keeping Equipment You Must Have (EzineArticles)
Hives - what to look for (Government of Alberta)
Build It Yourself (Beesource)
Drawings of Hives and Hive Parts (Dave Cushman)
Warré Hives
How to Keep Bees
Bee-keeping and bee breeding (Dave Cushman)
Beekeeping (Beesource)
Beekeeping (Wikipedia)
Organic Honey (Bee Culture Magazine)
Beekeeping (Bad Beekeeping)
Scientific Beekeeping (Randy Oliver) One of the best, up-to-date reviews of important topics in beekeeping today.
Pollinator toolkit for organic farmers (Xerces)
Organic farming offers many benefits to pollinators but some common organic-approved pesticides and practices can be potentially just as harmful to bees and other pollinators as conventional farming systems. The Xerces Society has developed Organic Farming for Bees (PDF/3.6M), a tool kit for organic growers that includes guidance on how to minimize disturbance to pollinators from farm activities, and on how to provide nest sites and foraging patches. In particular, two fact sheets provide information on toxicity to native pollinators for all major organic-approved insecticides and about pollinator-friendly organic farming practices.
Honey Bee Forage Map (HoneyBeeNet)
Visual Aids
YouTube videos:

Beekeeping / Honey Industry Periodicals
American Bee Journal
Bee Culture
Canadian Honey Council
Beekeeping Networks, Newsgroups and Forums
International beekeeping forums (Beemaster)
Natural Beekeeping Network
Warré Beekeeping Network (Yahoo Group)
Bee Guardian
Colony Collapse Disorder (CCD)
Important: Symptoms for CCD observed in the USA have not been common in Canada where hive decline has mostly been attributed to disease pressure especially via Varroa mites
Colony Collapse Disorder (Wikipedia)
Scientists Untangle Multiple Causes of Bee Colony Disorder (Environment News Service)
Colony Collapse Disorder Prevention" - Video Search for title if it doesn't auto-open. (Paul Wheaton's Permaculture)

We appreciate being notified of any faulty links.
E-mail us