A scientist before he was a beekeeper, Mark L. Winston found in his new hobby a paradigm for understanding the role science should play in society. In essays originally appearing as columns in Bee Culture, the leading professional journal, Winston uses beekeeping as a starting point to discuss broader issues, such as how agriculture functions under increasingly complex social and environmental restraints, how scientists grapple with issues of accountability, and how people struggle to maintain contact with the natural world. Winston's reflections on bees, beekeeping, and science cover a period of tumultuous change in North America, a time when new parasites, reduced research funding, and changing economic conditions have disrupted the livelihoods of bee farmers."Managed honeybees in the city provide a major public service by pollinating gardens, fruit trees, and berry bushes, and should be encouraged rather than legislated out of existence. Our cities, groomed and cosmopolitan as they appear, still obey the basic rules of nature, and our gardens and yards are no exception. Homegrown squashes, apple trees, raspberries, peas, beans, and other garden crops require bees to move the pollen from one flower to another, no matter how urbanized or sophisticated the neighborhood."

Add some visual zing to your new beekeeping hobby with the very first graphic guide! These fully illustrated pages, perfect for visual learners, offer you complete, easy-to-understand whys and how-tos on every aspect of beekeeping, plus an entertaining approach. Hundreds of detailed line drawings teach all you need to succeed with beekeeping, whether your goal is honey, beeswax, a backyard adventure, plant pollination, or all of the above. Detailed drawings let you peer closely at the bees' world, in terms of seeing their anatomy, close-ups of their food sources, and the microscopic world in the hive. Covers choosing location, equipment, the best hive types, bee types, and other options; the beekeeping year and its tasks; keeping a healthy hive (or dozens); what to do when something goes wrong; how to harvest and process your honey, pollen, propolis, wax, royal jelly; and more.

The Backyard Beekeeper, now in its 4th edition, makes the time-honored and complex tradition of beekeeping an enjoyable and accessible backyard pastime for urban and rural beekeepers of all skill levels. More than a guide to beekeeping, this handbook features expert advice for: Setting up and caring for your own colonies Selecting the best location to place your new bee colonies for their safety and yours The most practical and nontoxic ways to care for your bees Swarm control Using top bar hives Harvesting the products of a beehive and collecting and using honey Bee problems and treatments What's New? Information for urban bees and beekeepers Using your smoker the right way Better pest management Providing consistent and abundant good food Keeping your hives healthy With this complete resource and the expert advice of Bee Culture editor Kim Flottum, your bees will be healthy, happy, and more productive.