Table Of ContentThe Beekeeper’s handBook
The
Beekeeper’s
handB ook
Fourth Edition
Diana Sammataro
Alphonse Avitabile
Foreword by Dewey M. Caron
ComstoCk Publishing AssoCiAtes
a division of
Cornell university Press
Ithaca and London
Copyright © 1978, 1986 by Diana Sammataro and Alphonse
Avitabile
Copyright © 1998 by Cornell University
Copyright © 2011 by Diana Sammataro and Alphonse
Avitabile
Illustrations created by Diana Sammataro unless otherwise
noted.
All rights reserved. Except for brief quotations in a review, this
book, or parts thereof, must not be reproduced in any form
without permission in writing from the publisher. For infor-
mation, address Cornell University Press, Sage House, 512 East
State Street, Ithaca, New York 14850.
First edition published 1978 by Peach Mountain Press
Second edition published 1986 by Macmillan Publishing
Company
Third edition published 1998 by Cornell University Press
Fourth edition published 2011 by Cornell University Press
Third edition printing, Cornell Paperbacks, 1998
Fourth edition printing, Cornell Paperbacks, 2011
Printed in the United States of America
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Sammataro, Diana.
The beekeeper’s handbook / Diana Sammataro and Alphonse
Avitabile ; foreword by Dewey M. Caron. — 4th ed.
p. cm.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
ISBN 978-0-8014-4981-9 (cloth : alk. paper) —
ISBN 978-0-8014-7694-5 (pbk. : alk. paper)
1. Bee culture—Handbooks, manuals, etc.
I. Avitabile, Alphonse. II. Title.
SF523.S35 2011
638'.1—dc22
2010050047
Cornell University Press strives to use environmentally respon-
sible suppliers and materials to the fullest extent possible in
the publishing of its books. Such materials include vegetable-
based, low-VOC inks and acid-free papers that are recycled,
totally chlorine-free, or partly composed of nonwood fibers.
For further information, visit our website at www.cornellpress.
cornell.edu.
Cloth printing 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
Paperback printing 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2
Contents
Foreword to the Fourth Edition by Dewey M. Caron vii
Foreword to the Third Edition by Roger A. Morse viii
Preface and Acknowledgments ix
introduction 1
1. understanding bees 3
2. Colony Activities 20
3. beekeeping equipment 36
4. obtaining and Preparing for bees 49
5. Working bees 61
6. Package bees 74
7. Feeding bees 86
8. Winter/spring management 98
9. summer/Fall management 109
10. Queens and Queen Rearing 125
11. special management Problems 148
12. Products of the hive 168
13. Pathogens and Parasites of honey bees 189
14. Pests of honey bees 210
15. Pollination 233
Appendixes
A. Anatomy of honey bees 245
b. Pheromones 250
C. bee sting Reaction Physiology 253
D. Paraffin Dipping 256
e. Differences between european (ehb) and Africanized honey bees (Ahb) 258
F. Rearing Wax moth (Galleria mellonela) 261
g. Pointers for extreme urban beekeeping (nYC), by Jim Fischer 263
h. Varroa mite infestations 266
Glossary 269
References 279
Index 307
Foreword to the Fourth edition
by Dewey M. Caron
beekeeping is diff erent things to diff erent ing and profi table pastime. but in recent years the sci-
people . . . for some a business, or a way to ence and the art of beekeeping have changed drasti-
supplement income from the “daytime” job; cally, and this new, thoroughly updated edition will
for others, a pleasure, an intense learning experience, enable beekeepers at all levels to keep up with those
something to really delve into. some bee colony own- changes. Th is third edition brings beekeeping to the
ers prefer to take bees and their management more threshold of the twenty-fi rst century, with all its chal-
casually, although you’ll discover in the pages of this lenges.” Challenges continue and present themselves
impressive new edition of Th e Beekeeper’s Handbook anew, and beekeeping continues to change. With the
that the days of leave-it-alone beekeeping have passed. expertise of Diana sammataro and Alphonse Avita-
Th at said, you’ll also fi nd there is no one “right” way bile, the handbook has again been updated. it remains
to steward bee colonies; there are many opportunities among only a few as the very best book to use as a
to develop and personalize your own approach. tool to learn and to keep up with what is current in
surprisingly, many beekeepers/consumers have no beekeeping.
idea what honey is or how bees “make” it. even knowl- Th e management of bees is clearly detailed and
edgeable consumers want to include pollen as an inte- off ered in uncluttered language, allowing beginners
gral part of honey—the bees, aft er all, do need pollen to readily follow colony management suggestions.
to grow their population large enough to store surplus, Colony care options are detailed and little is assumed:
and that is what allows beekeepers to gain a share of the step-by-step process of colony manipulations can
their honey. but honey and pollen are two distinct and be followed with relative ease. Th e 4th edition has
separate products. And pollen harvesting from a bee extensive information on Colony Collapse Disorder
colony is diff erent from honey harvesting. Th e “key” (CCD), Africanized honey bees, and bee mite con-
is understanding how to estimate how much honey trol. new material has been incorporated throughout.
and/or pollen the colony can aff ord to give up and still beginners will fi nd it a joy—more seasoned beekeep-
survive the winter (or dry/rainy) season. Th is book ers will fi nd rereading of benefi t as they continue to
explains the why as it shows how you can see and be master the art and the science of bee colony care.
part of the process. A strength of this handbook is the visual material.
my beekeeping mentor was Roger morse, longtime it is clear and used to illustrate major points of man-
professor of apiculture at Cornell university where i agement and colony equipment. Th ere is a good bal-
learned the basics of bees and fi rst taught beekeep- ance of text to graphics. like the management details,
ing to others. in 1998, morse wrote in the foreword the illustrations point the way clearly and patiently.
to the 3rd edition, “for two decades Th e Beekeeper’s Th e chapters are organized in a progression, and in-
Handbook has guided thousands of beginning and formation that should be included is present and can
advanced beekeepers in the how-to’s of this entertain- be found relatively easily.
vii
viii The Beekeeper’s Handbook
i do not suggest that you casually take up this keeping! Whether you are a new beekeeper or an ex-
handbook—it should become a favored and required perienced veteran, may you learn and profi t from this
reading text for your beekeeping dreams and aspira- manual. Enjoy!!
tions. if you are new, Welcome to the world of bee-
Foreword to the Third edition
by Roger A. Morse
For two decades Th e Beekeeper’s Handbook keeper, is a successful gardener, nurseryman, and
has guided thousands of beginning and ad- greenhouse manager.
vanced beekeepers in the how-to’s of this en- Th e popularity of the fi rst two editions resulted
tertaining and profi table pastime. but in recent years from a simple premise underlying both books: there
the science and the art of beekeeping have changed are many ways to do things right. And this latest edi-
drastically, and this new, thoroughly updated edition tion, too, unlike much of the genre, presents time-
will enable beekeepers at all levels to keep up with tested methods and techniques, introduces the most
those changes. Th is third edition brings beekeeping current ideas and concepts, and lets readers choose
to the threshold of the twenty-fi rst century, with all those which best suit their individual skills, location,
its challenges. and requirements. Although originally designed for
no one could do this better than authors Diana beginners, Th e Beekeeper’s Handbook will appeal to
sammataro, a noted honey bee researcher, and Al- more advanced beekeepers as well. Rather than limit
phonse Avitabile, a retired honey bee scientist and the seasoned beekeeper to traditional ways of doing
college instructor. Dr. sammataro is also a beekeeper. things, it puts forward the newest and safest methods
she produces honey, raises queens, uses bees to pol- to deal with today’s problems.
linate crops, assembles equipment, and engages in With this book, beekeeping has never been easier.
all the other activities of beekeeping. her intimate simply put, it is the best of the best of beekeeping
knowledge of honey bees is evident throughout this books.
book. Alphonse Avitabile, also an experienced bee-
preface and acknowledgments
For this fourth edition, and aft er many folks Aft er moving back to lansing, michigan, Diana
have expressed curiosity on how the book took some classes at michigan state university with
was created, we give a short history on the Dr. bert martin, whose gentle encouragement gave
development of the book and the beekeepers who in- her the necessary direction and creative outlet to
spired and helped us along the way. learn more about bees. transferring to Ann Arbor
Diana sammataro acknowledges her parents here, in 1973, she managed to talk the Ann Arbor Adult
Joseph michael sammataro, an architect, and nelva education staff into letting her “teach” a beekeep-
margaret Weber, a landscape architect, who guided ing course (teaching forced her to learn). Th is bee-
the many interests and curiosities of their daughter’s keeping handbook was fi rst envisioned when Doug
childhood with gentle kindness and encouragement. truax of Peach mt. Press, who was taking the class,
she also remembers her maternal grandfather, george suggested making the teaching notes into a book. it
Weber, who fi rst introduced her to the world of bees was only aft er Jan Propst (daughter-in-law of room-
at the tender age of twelve in Arrowsmith, illinois. mate Claudia) created the original layout, with its
his two brothers, Fred and harry, the Weber broth- horizontal format design, that the idea of making the
ers, were commercial beekeepers in blackfoot, idaho, rough notes into a book became a reality. For that I
early in the 1900s. Diana is the only beekeeper left will always be eternally grateful. however, being only
in the Weber family line (although perhaps a newer a novice beekeeper, Diana needed wiser, more experi-
generation of Webers may take over). enced heads to help. her fi rst thought was to seek the
Diana moved back to her childhood home in guidance of Alphonse Avitabile, who had fi rst shown
Connecticut aft er graduating with a landscape de- her the wonders of beekeeping. only aft er Alphonse
gree from the university of michigan in 1970. it was corrected and added sections was the fi rst edition re-
providential that while working at the White memo- alized, consisting of only 700 hard-bound copies and
rial nature Center and museum in litchfi eld, she 1300 soft -bound copies.
met Professor Alphonse Avitabile, a local teacher and Th e subsequent editions were produced not only
beekeeper. With his guidance and charismatic inspi- to update procedures but also to address the new
ration, Diana was motivated and encouraged to be- pests and diseases that have invaded north Ameri-
gin her fi rst colony using grandpa Weber’s bee hive can shores. Th roughout these changes, the expertise
furniture, which had been chauff eured from illinois and dedication of Alphonse to maintain the high cali-
to Connecticut aft er his death. A newspaper dating ber of the book have helped make it popular and still
back to the 1930s (Th e Daily Pantograph) was found unique in beekeeping literature.
under the metal lid of the outer cover of his hive. Th is over the years since the fi rst edition, many bee-
fi rst colony, along with Professor Avitabile’s encour- keepers and bee researchers have been kind enough
agement and patience, inspired Diana to make this to express their enthusiasm and honest appraisal of
fascinating insect part of her life. this book. to all of you who personally shared opin-
ix
x The Beekeeper’s Handbook
ions, comments, photos, and observations, your kind thorough review of the manuscript was most help-
words have helped more than you will ever know; ful; thank you, good friend. Also Dr. nancy ostiguy,
thank you. a fellow quilter and one of the Penn state powerhouse
Alphonse wishes to dedicate this book to mr. team, had great comments that made this edition bet-
lenard insogna for persuading him to pursue a de- ter; thank you, too! Thanks also to bruce (currently
gree in biology; to his parents, who allowed him to a university of Arizona graduate student working in
spend most of his time in the woods and ponds near the tucson bee lab) and linda eckholm for the gift of
his home studying nature; and to his wife, Ruth, for the computer hardware on which the fourth edition
her support throughout his studies of honey bees. was created.
others who helped along the way, if not physically,
then spiritually, and deserve grateful thanks include
aCknowledgmenTs
Ruth Avitabile, Carol and Ron Conkey, eric h. erick-
both authors wish to acknowledge henry “hank” son, Doug and grace truax, Carol henderson, Dr.
hansen and his son Jonathan for allowing the authors malcolm sanford, bob and Dorothy kennedy, harry
to share their method of installing package bees with and nellie Weber, John and gwen nystuen, Dick and
the readers. ginny Ryan, Zander Alexander laurie, Rob Currie,
Diana wishes to thank the many people who were gerry and ginnie loper, gordon Waller, Judy Walker
especially generous with their time, contributions, and sabu Advani, and maryann and Jim Frazier.
and support. Ann harman helped tremendously by The authors wish to thank heidi s. lovette and
pointing out places in the third edition that needed Candace Akins at Cornell university Press for their
changing and proofing the fourth edition. Thank you, extraordinary help and guidance in creating the new
Ann. And Dr. Dewey Caron, for all your kindness fourth edition.
over our many years as friends, your meticulous and
