Beekeeping

BEEKEEPING
IN THE MIDWEST

ELBERT R. JAYCOX

CIRCULAR 1125

University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign

College of Agriculture - Cooperative Extension Service

This publication includes information about insecticides, chemicals, drugs, and other materials whose usage is regulated by state and federal agencies. Every effort has been made to provide information that is current and correct as of the date of publication. However, the status of some materials is not clear, and that of others may change at any time. Anyone using regulated materials, or planning to do so, should read and follow the label directions. If there is any question about the use of such materials, contact the extension apiculturist or extension entomologist in your state, or the local extension adviser or county agent. Beekeeping periodicals often include announcements about changes in the accepted uses of regulated materials by beekeepers.

So that the information in this publication may be more easily understood, trade names of products or equipment have been used in place of complicated descriptions or chemical identification. No endorsement of named products is intended, nor is criticism implied of similar products that are not mentioned.

This circular was reprinted April 1985 with minor revisions by E.E. Killion, Extension Specialist in Apiculture. Elbert R. Jaycox was Professor of Apiculture, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, from 1963 to 1981. Photographs by the author and Killion.

BEES: THE INDIVIDUAL AND THE COLONY

Kinds of Adult Bees
The Workers
The Drones
The Queen
Length of Development
The Races of Bees
The Colony
Honeymaking

BEEKEEPING EQUIPMENT

Hive Parts and Selection of Equipment
Assembly of Equipment
Tools, Specialized Equipment, and Clothing
Making Your Own Equipment

SPRING MANAGEMENT: STARTING WITH BEES

When and How to Start
Location and Arrangement of Colonies
Handeling the Colony
What to Look for in the Colony
The Need for Space in the Spring
Spring Management of Overwintered Colonies
Pollen Feeding

SUMMER MANAGEMENT: HONEY PRODUCTION

Nectar and Pollen Plants
Swarming and Swarm Prevention
Excluders
Supering for Honey
Removing the Honey Crop
Processing the Honey
Marketing the Honey

FALL AND WINTER MANAGEMENT MISCELLANEOUS TECHNIQUES IN BEEKEEPING

Caring for Extracting Combs
Confining Bees
Dividing Colonies
Feeding Bees
Fumigating Stored Combs
Handling Beeswax
Handling Queen Bees
Hiving Swarms
Identifying Apiaries and Equipment
Keeping Records
Killing Bees
Moving Bees
Repelling Bees
Saving Queenless Colonies and Helping Weak Ones
Transferring Bees
Trapping Pollen
Uniting Bees

DISEASES, PESTS, AND PESTICIDES AFFECTING HONEY BEES

Brood Diseases
Adult Bee Diseases
Pests of Honey Bees
Pesticides and Honey Bees

POLLINATION BY HONEY BEES

SELECTED SOURCES OF INFORMATION ON BEEKEEPING AND EQUIPMENT

Books, Handbooks, and Manuals
Periodicals
Beekeeping Organizations
Beekeeping Supplies and Equipment
Apiary Inspection, Registration, and Beekeeping Information

BEEKEEPING has been an important part of agriculture in the Midwest since about 1840. Early settlers and farmers kept bees in primitive hives or cut down bee trees to get honey for home use and for sale. In fact a dispute over bees once triggered the brief "Honey War" involving troops from Missouri and Iowa. A Missouri farmer set off the dispute when he cut three bee trees in the border area claimed by Iowa.

Honey bees have been selected and managed by man for many centuries. Nevertheless, they are still wild insects capable of living on their own without any assistance or special equipment. Probably because of this "resistance" to becoming domesticated, honey bees respond to beekeeping management practices in much the same way wherever they are kept. For this reason, the techniques discussed in this book are of use whether you live in the Midwest, in another section of the United States, or even in another country. Management must always be adapted to fit local conditions and to take into account the somewhat variable behavior of different geographical strains, or races, of honey bees. Differences in climate and sources of nectar and pollen, even over short distances, will force you to adjust your beekeeping methods, especially their timing, to the area in which you live. Wherever possible, the timing recommended in this manual relates to natural events such as plant bloom and seasonal temperature changes, which can be used as guidelines in temperate areas. They are not useful, however, in tropical or semitropical climates. Beekeepers beekeeping organizations, and departments of agriculture are good sources of information about local conditions affecting honey bee management.

Beekeeping is continually changing, reflecting changes in cropping practices and agricultural land use. Commercial honey production now requires more extensive operations than in earlier days because nectar sources are more widely scattered. Fruit and vegetable growers, pressed by increasing production costs, are becoming more aware that the quality and quantity of insect-pollinated crops can be improved by renting bees for pollination. Providing bees for pollination is hard work, but it reduces the commercial beekeeper's dependence upon honey as the main source of income. After a period of decline, interest in keeping bees in urban areas has been renewed. Bees kept in cities improve yields in home gardens and orchards. Such colonies are often good honey producers because of the diversity of flowering plants available to them.

Learning to handle and manage bees is fun. It can also be confusing because advice given by any two authorities on bees is rarely the same. Fortunately, bees will usually prosper if you make sure they always have enough hive space and enough food. By joining state and local beekeeping organizations, you can share your experiences with others and increase your pleasure from keeping bees. For young people who are interested in starting to keep bees, there are beekeeping projects in 4-H and Future Farmers of America clubs.