# The Complete Idiot's Guide to Beekeeping



## SwedeBee1970 (Oct 26, 2008)

Kind of a long wait for those who wish to begin this coming year. The publishers timing is off a bit.


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## Jeffzhear (Dec 2, 2006)

BeeCurious said:


> "The Complete Idiot's Guide to Beekeeping isn't being released until May 4th 2010, but I'm hoping that a little preview will be available before then..."


Maybe it's me, but I don't like the title. Most of the beekeepers I know are far from idiots and actually quite the contrary. I can laugh at myself and call myself a dummy is a comical kind of way, but not an idiot. Maybe the title can be tweaked prior to release.


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## SwedeBee1970 (Oct 26, 2008)

There's some things that deter most people, however, id10t & dummies doesn't have much appeal, especially when you go to the store and buy it.... It's probably more of a marketing ploy that gets attention. The "dummies" collection seems to have taken off like a rocket.


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## ACBEES (Mar 13, 2009)

When I got interested in bees two years ago, I read every book I could find. I even bought the "Beekeeping for Dummies" book. I guess with the publishing of the "Complete Idiot's Guide to Beekeeping" everyone is covered. One question....in the title does the word "complete" refer to the book being thorough or a person's level of ignorance??


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## BeeCurious (Aug 7, 2007)

Jeffzhear said:


> Maybe it's me, but I don't like the title. Most of the beekeepers I know are far from idiots and actually quite the contrary. I can laugh at myself and call myself a dummy is a comical kind of way, but not an idiot. Maybe the title can be tweaked prior to release.


 
Jeffzhear,

Yea, I know what you mean about the title...

But the "Dummies" and "Idiots" series are popular and I'm guessing that choosing to publish under Penguin's "Idiot Guide" may be a way to introduce a larger population to chemical free beekeeping.

That's just my guess.

I bought my first two beekeeping books back in the '70s. In the past few years I've bought many more. Even one in Hungarian! 

I borrowed "Beekeeping for Dummies" from the library but never cared to own it... To me, the book written in Hungarian is more interesting. 

I'm sure that "The Complete Idiot's Guide to Beekeeping" won't come with an Apistan book mark.


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## Swobee (May 18, 2007)

I thought I wrote the book this year. Did a lot of experimenting and it just about all failed or one manner or another didn't work. Actually some things came out just fine, but most trials were nothing but errors.


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## bigbearomaha (Sep 3, 2009)

BeeCurious said:


> I'm expecting it to have a good bit of "natural" beekeeping info in it.


Why do you expect that?

Big Bear


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## BeeCurious (Aug 7, 2007)

bigbearomaha said:


> Why do you expect that?
> 
> Big Bear


The authors are very involved in natural beekeeping...


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## pokerman11 (Feb 9, 2009)

I like natural - it fits my modus operenda - as i usualy find out it's lazery and cheeper way to do things.

I can sum up my first year of a BEEK this way. "The bees did well in spite of me". 

I think they seem to know what they are doing better than me, so I'm all about letting the bees be bees, but understand they have some challanges I need to help them with.

I pre-ordeder from amazon. Looking forward to another bee book. I don't mind the title. I'm a humble person and can take information from any source.


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## StevenG (Mar 27, 2009)

Usually there's at least one tidbit of information in a book like that which I find useful, if nothing else than to remind me of something I should have remembered. And besides, I always like looking at pictures... of bees, hives, and apiaries. :applause:


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## deknow (Jul 17, 2006)

...i should probably chime in here (i didn't see this thread until just now).

i would prefer not to confuse our "treatment free" approach with the "natural" approches that use "natural" or "soft" treatments.

the title is set in stone, it is part of a very large series of books.

the publishers were specifically interested in our approach....we were contacted to write the book specifically because of what we had written on our website.

we will likely have some kind of preorder discount from our own website, but we have to finish the book before we think about such things 

we will also have an online component, with videos, additional information, clarifications, and a forum.

in any case, we attempt to get away from a "recipe" approach to beekeeping, and try to impart an understanding what and why the bees do what they do. there are things covered that have never been discussed in a beekeeping book before.

ok, back to work....got a deadline looming 

deknow


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## laurelmtnlover (May 29, 2009)

That sounds interesting deknow. This is my first introduction to you, as a new beek. Is there any material on this site or the web where I can see more of your approach as I heal from a broken leg and await your new book?


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## deknow (Jul 17, 2006)

...if you go to our website:
http://BeeUntoOthers.com/

read "no bee is an island"

if you go to the page with the 2008 organic conference recordings, watch the talks by randy quinn and kirsten ebbersten, as well as the other material there.

also, there are other videos and such.

deknow


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## laurelmtnlover (May 29, 2009)

Deknow,
Thank you very much! I look forward to the book and maybe attending this years conference..... this is exciting!
Carrie


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## deknow (Jul 17, 2006)

well, you guys are the first to know. the book is done and submitted (as of minutes ago).

deknow (reaching for a beer)


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## StevenG (Mar 27, 2009)

Congratulations deknow! Enjoy your brew- well deserved! :thumbsup:


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## jeff123fish (Jul 3, 2007)

congrats deknow looking forwqrd to giving it a read :thumbsup: :thumbsup:


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## Michael Bush (Aug 2, 2002)

>well, you guys are the first to know. the book is done and submitted (as of minutes ago).

Awesome!


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## deknow (Jul 17, 2006)

ok, once you've done something once, it's easier the next time.

so, since writing the first book, i've written a second...the final word in beekeeping. here it is in it's entirety (this is not the table of contents, this is the book):

========================================================
Keeping Bees

Chapter 1:
Learn about the bees.

Chapter 2:
Don't be stupid.

Appendix A. Further Reading:
Chapter 1
Chapter 2

Appendix B. Resources
The most complete answers possible to any question will be answered in a timely fashon by our resident artificial intelligence, The Virtual Michael Bush:
[email protected]


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## deknow (Jul 17, 2006)

...just noticed that Amazon now has a really good price for preorders. Even with our discount, we can't really compete with this, so if you are interested...ahave at it! $10.08!
http://www.amazon.com/Complete-Idiots-Guide-Beekeeping/dp/1615640118

deknow


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## SwedeBee1970 (Oct 26, 2008)

Does this book have anything on "CCD" ? 

Beekeeping for Dummies 2nd ed. has nothing on an update on the subject. We all know that Varroa mites and Ribosomes have been a great contributor to CCD, just hasn't been published yet.


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## StevenG (Mar 27, 2009)

Hey deknow! Are you autographing copies of the book? :thumbsup:


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## deknow (Jul 17, 2006)

Don't be fooled by the cover they are showing on Amazon (a stock WBC hive photo). We got the situation rectified, and have a new cover (it was literally a "stop the presses" situation).

The photo is mine, and is of one of Mike Palmer's girls (Mike, you should have a talk with the girls...this one was eager to pose when I told her i was an author...if I had said i was a casting director, she would be the centerfold) 

http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/Ks-e8PZ3ytQduBc0B79xTw?feat=directlink


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## deknow (Jul 17, 2006)

I haven't seen the final copy yet, so I don't know if there were any edits after this was submitted...but here, to give a sense of the book and our approach, is the introduction to "The Complete Idiot's Guide to Beekeeping."

deknow (who is preempting the inevitable ribbing by claiming the title of "complete idiot")

===========================

(c)Introduction
One can imagine the progression of humans’ relationship with the honeybee. Curiosity led to stinging, which drove us away. More curiosity led to the discovery of honey and, suddenly, the fear of being stung was no longer an effective deterrent. Humanity had never experienced such sweetness before, and the taste of liquid sunlight changed the world. It’s quite literally a version of the oldest story in the book (think: Adam, Eve, and a sweet, forbidden apple).

Honeybees are the most studied creature on the planet, second only to humans. Someone was the first to discover that smoke would drive bees out of their cavity and minimize alarm, what time of year there was likely to be the most honey, and that breathing on bees tends to rile them up. Such knowledge is, of course, the result of observation and study. But the bees don’t make our research easy. 

Gregor Mendel, whose discoveries described the genetic crossings of virtually every life form on the planet, was baffled by the honeybee. Even today, we are just beginning to understand certain aspects of the hive, such as the importance of the microbial components. 

No matter the accumulated knowledge, no matter the sophistication of the tools, every answer we get yields countless questions. The closer we look, the deeper we go, and it never seems to end. This is the nature of the honeybee.
Working with them, studying them, trying to unlock their secrets, is both satisfying and engaging. This is the big secret: bees are more interesting than honey.

“The bee’s life is like a magic well: the more you draw from it, the more it fills with water” –Karl Von Frisch

Don’t get us wrong, honey is great stuff, and there is nothing like sticking your finger into warm honeycomb and having a taste while bees fly around you. Not even a cherry tomato warmed by the sun and right off the vine compares. However, we love the bees most of all, and “bee fever” is a constantly recurring theme in the history of humankind. We know we are not alone. Welcome.

Unfortunately, beekeeping has suffered along with all of agriculture with the introduction of modern high-yield techniques and industrial-scale approaches. Think about monocrop farming, feedlot cattle, chickens with their beaks removed, and excessive and improper application of pesticides. Similarly, many of our attempts to manipulate the natural processes of the bees have been careless and misguided and we have treated Mother Nature’s generosity with greed. We should know better.

Modern beekeeping practices have delivered significant challenges and this book attempts to address them. Beekeeping by recipe doesn’t really work unless you employ artificial controls such as frequent feeding, chemical applications, and constant re-queening. Even with these interventions, it’s not unheard of for 90 percent of a beekeeper’s hives to die over the winter. Such solutions do not solve anything.

This is likely the first time you’ve ever heard that most beekeepers actually put chemicals in their beehives, or that beekeepers (yes, even the sweet old man at the end of the dirt road who sells honey out of his garage) feed their bees sugar or high fructose corn syrup. It’s shocking that beekeepers don’t question these practices, and that some treatments are so common that beekeepers don’t even consider them treatments anymore[md] they’ve become baseline beekeeping.

In addition to serving as an introduction to beekeeping, this book is intended for beekeepers of all levels of experience who want to keep bees on a system that is different than how most people are taught today. What we offer here is a treatment free approach. We say “treatment free” because even “organic” and “natural” beekeeping (as they have come to be defined) allow for chemical treatments and management practices that are detrimental to the long term health and vitality of the honeybee. 

We don’t pretend to present a recipe. What we hope to convey is an understanding of how bees live, some overall management techniques and goals, and an overview of how bees function in the natural world so you can develop a mutually beneficial relationship with them.

A beekeeping recipe is the fish that one gives a man instead of teaching him to catch his own. We endeavor to impart to you the knowledge you need to create your own management approaches based on what the bees need at any given time. We encourage you to draw on the resources we point to in the appendixes, as other perspectives, other ideas, and other goals can do nothing but allow you to yield a greater understanding of the whole.

To help you assimilate such a complex assembly of information, ideas and practices, this book is divided into four parts.

Part One will introduce you to the bees, their fascinating lives, both as individuals and members of the dynamic colony, and the microbes they can’t live without. You’ll learn a lot of new words, some bee biology, tour a hive and figure out what equipment and supplies you’ll need to get started with your own bees.

In Part Two, you’ll find out where to find bees, how to get them and what to do with them when they arrive. You’ll learn how to select locations, make sure the bees get the food they need and what to do as the colony begins to expand.

Part Three explores a treatment free management approach. We’ll look at the importance of cell size and unlimited broodnest and how microbes impact the hive in both sickness and in health. You’ll get a crash course in honeybee sex, understand how breeding can make or break honeybee populations and learn how to replace a queen when circumstance demands it.

In Part Four you’ll learn when and how to harvest honey, get some ideas for satisfying your bee cravings during the off-season and start to make plans for growing your beekeeping operation. Opportunities for expanding your bee knowledge abound and before you know it, it will be spring again[md]time for you to share what you’ve learned, and your bees, with others.

Last but not least, we have created a website to support our readers.

http://www.TheCompleteIdiotsGuideToBeekeeping.com contains additional information, updates, clarifications, educational videos, commentary from other beekeepers and an interactive forum so that readers can communicate with one another[md]and with us. We hope to see you there!


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## Michael Palmer (Dec 29, 2006)

deknow;490990
"no bee is an island" [/QUOTE said:


> "No bee is an island. NO Bee Is An Is-Land..."
> 
> She's a penninsula!
> 
> ...


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## peterloringborst (Jan 19, 2010)

Jeffzhear said:


> Maybe it's me, but I don't like the title.


Same here. But maybe it's fitting. Only an idiot would think they could learn how _TO DO_ something from a book. Imagine learning to drive with a book, or running rapids in a canoe, playing a piano, making love.

Nothing worth doing can be learned by reading a book (don't get me wrong, I like books; they are great for learning how to write ... )


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## deknow (Jul 17, 2006)

well, i can't say that all other things being equal that it is the title i would choose...but all things are not equal.

1. we weren't trying to write a book, we got a cold call from a literary agent who found us on the web, and offered us a contract _and_ an advance to write the CIG book for Penguin. i tried to get out of it by telling (the agent and the publisher) that we would not write a standard beginning beekeeping book (there are a number of good ones out there already), but would write it from our treatment free persepective, and we would hold no punches....guess what? this is what the publisher had in mind (and why they contacted us).

2. the CIG series has a huge amount of marketing/shelf space at its disposal.

3. we were fortunate to work with real professionals in terms of editing and production.

and of course, peter is correct, writing a book is a wonderful way to learn how to write. starting in about 94 (when i first got "online") my writing has been improved by writing posts on the internet....putting a full book together brings things to "a whole 'nother level".

most of all, i am blessed to have a partner who writes with the "same voice" as i do. the book could not have gotten done if only one of us did the writing, or if we weren't also working our butts off selling honey while we were writing the book (on an incredibly tight deadline). some of the book was written by one of us sitting in a cafe or graveyard while the other was selling honey at the farmers market.

deknow


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## deknow (Jul 17, 2006)

Michael Palmer said:


> Jefferson Airplane...sort of.


hey mike...you should wait until after 9am to put that stuff in your coffee!

deknow


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## deknow (Jul 17, 2006)

btw, the website referenced in the intro is live, but is also under construction....really it is not necessary to be "complete" until may (when the book is released).

i used joomla! to create the site (never having used a content management package before), and would highly recommend it to anyone as a platform.

deknow


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## bigevilgrape (Aug 21, 2008)

In defffence of the title, I have found that the dummies and idiots series are some of the easiest to read books around. They take out all the confusing buzz words and explain their subject matter clearly in plain english. Its a series I gravitate to, and I have picked up from my readings on the interweb that people really like beekeeping for dummies, I see no reason to shy away from a book in either serries.


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## beemandan (Dec 5, 2005)

bigevilgrape said:


> They take out all the confusing *buzz *words


Nice pun


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## bigevilgrape (Aug 21, 2008)

Glad you picked up on that.


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## StevenG (Mar 27, 2009)

peterloringborst said:


> Same here. But maybe it's fitting. Only an idiot would think they could learn how _TO DO_ something from a book. Imagine learning to drive with a book, or running rapids in a canoe, playing a piano, making love.
> 
> Nothing worth doing can be learned by reading a book (don't get me wrong, I like books; they are great for learning how to write ... )


hmmm well, when I bought my first hive in 1971, I got the idea from a member of my church who just bought a hive from Montgomery Wards. There was no one around to teach me. The only way I learned was by reading a book! Specifically Dadant's _First Lessons in Beekeeping_ followed by Walter Kelley's _How to Keep Bees and Sell Honey_. Then I bought the "bibles" - _ABC's and XYZ'x..._ and _The Hive and the Honey Bee_. Then I subscribed to _Gleanings in Bee Culture_. It was 12 years that I kept bees, 16 colonies, and marketed honey to small grocery stores in neighboring towns in rural Kansas. I _learned_ from the books, and gained _experience_ by doing. Because I read and studied, I was able to help the lady with her bees, who first got me interested.

Of course I have benefited greatly by associations with beekeepers, but that followed the beginning.
Regards,
Steven


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## peterloringborst (Jan 19, 2010)

Just my opinion. Opinions are like bellybuttons. Everybody has them, but they don't hold much water.


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## DigitalBishop (Nov 11, 2009)

peterloringborst said:


> Same here. But maybe it's fitting. Only an idiot would think they could learn how _TO DO_ something from a book. Imagine learning to drive with a book, or running rapids in a canoe, playing a piano, making love.
> 
> Nothing worth doing can be learned by reading a book (don't get me wrong, I like books; they are great for learning how to write ... )


Funny, I learned the basics of my current career from books. I laugh all the way to the bank now knowing I'm one of the top individuals in my field of work. I've parlayed information *read from a book* in to something lucrative, and I'm going to do it again. From books you learn the basics, then comes the experience from triumphs and failures. You certainly can learn how _TO DO_ something from a book. 



peterloringborst said:


> Just my opinion. Opinions are like bellybuttons. Everybody has them, but they don't hold much water.


Hmm, yea. Good thing.


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## deknow (Jul 17, 2006)

actually, it would be great if everyone could learn beekeeping via a club or mentor...we did, and i'm not sure i would have had the nerve to actually order packages of bees without the bee club. joining a local bee club and finding other beekeepers is stressed in the book.

i hate to think of anyone with a package, swarm or cutout in one hand, and a book in the other...but i know lots of beekeepers who did start that way, and they all laugh (usually there is a ladder with a prominent role in the story...michael bush has a good one).

i hope that the book will appeal to experienced beekeepers as well, but as i said, we didn't pull any punches, it will not appeal to everyone.

deknow


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## deknow (Jul 17, 2006)

ramona's in the tub, and she just pointed out that her bellybutton _does_ hold a lot of water.

deknow


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## Countryboy (Feb 15, 2009)

Books can't give you experience, which is invaluable. If you have a basic foundation, you can learn how to do things by reading a book. Books can also teach you how to do things better.

For example, I learned how to do some advanced plant propagation techniques from a book. I've also learned how to successfully graft with different methods, all by reading a book. I've learned how to do different woodworking techniques, all from a book. I even learned how to cut threads on a lathe, just by reading a book.

I already knew how to make plants grow, or how to run a saw, or make a lathe turn. If you have the basics, you really can learn how to do things by reading books.


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## winevines (Apr 7, 2007)

peterloringborst said:


> Same here. But maybe it's fitting.


Peter, I know I will look forward to meeting you one of these days!
Karla


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## peterloringborst (Jan 19, 2010)

winevines said:


> Peter, I know I will look forward to meeting you one of these days!
> Karla


ditto, I'm sure!


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## KQ6AR (May 13, 2008)

Just finished reading my copy of the book,
Its a refreshing new view for the beginner beekeeper.
I'm going to try, & get my clubs library to buy a couple copies.


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