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Beekeeping

Bee Stings

The two greatest risks from most insect stings are allergic reaction and infection.

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Are the flowers in your garden not blooming as you expected? Keeping bees can give your flowers the boost they need to flower all season. A beekeeping hobby does not require large amounts of money, time or space. It can even help you make money.

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Plan bee : everything you ever wanted to know about the hardest-working creatures on the planet
Susan Brackney.
New York : Penguin, 2009.
Honeybees get their due in this delightfully illustrated, fact-filled work that offers a guided tour through the history, folklore, and function of the hardest-working creatures on the planet.
     
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A short history of the honey bee : humans, flowers, and bees in the eternal chase for honey
images by Ilona ; text by E. Readicker-Henderson.
Portland : Timber Press, 2009.
  1. Includes bibliographical references (p. 161-163).
  2. The first taste -- The magic -- In the hive -- Dancing with bees -- From nectar to honey -- Living with bees -- The sting -- The danger -- The fragrant work -- Beyond honey -- The taste of the world.
     
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Keeping bees : a complete practical guide
Paul Peacock.
Neptune City, NJ : T.F.H. Publications, c2008.
Bees play an inestimably vital role in our lives, pollinating the plants we need to sustain ourselves as a race. However, current environmental assaults are causing many to die. In this book, you'll find information on how you can create and manage a thriving hive and keep your bees healthy and happy.
     
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A spring without bees : how colony collapse disorder has endangered our food supply
Michael Schacker.
Guilford, Conn. : Lyons Press ; c2008.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
     

Here are some tips for you to keep a healthy busy hive:

  • Before you start keeping bees find out if your community prohibits or restricts beekeeping, or requires registration of your hives.
  • Started in the spring. You can purchase equipment used, new, or even make it  yourself.
  • Conduct inspections to determine the productivity of the colony. Look for signs that the queen is alive and laying eggs. 
  • Make sure the bees have access to a water source. They use large amounts of water to regulate temperature and moisture levels in the hive. 
  • Your healthy hives will reward you with sweet honey. You can save it for yourself, give as gifts to family, friends or neighbors, or make a little cash by selling it at your local farmer’s market.
  • Add more to your income by renting your bees to farmers to pollinate their crops.

As the bees buzz in your garden, they perform the necessary job of pollination, transferring pollen that allows plants to reproduce. Not only giving your plants that blooming boost but all the flowers in the neighborhood.

Article by: St. Louis Public Library staff