Howland Blackiston has been a backyard beekeeper since 1984. He's appeared on dozens of television and radio programs, and he's a business professional who turned his passion into a thriving business. He also served as President of Connecticut's Back Yard Beekeepers Association, one of the nation's largest regional clubs for the hobbyist beekeeper.

Introduction 1

About This Book 1

Conventions Used in This Book 2

What You're Not to Read 3

Foolish Assumptions 3

How This Book Is Organized 3

Part 1: The Buzz on Beehives 4

Part 2: The World's Most Popular Beehive Designs 4

Part 3: Sweet Beehive Accessories 4

Part 4: The Part of Tens 5

Icons Used in This Book 5

Beyond the Book 5

Where to Go from Here 6

Part 1: The Buzz On Beehives 7

Chapter 1: Getting Sweet on Building Your Own Beehives 9

Bee-ing in the Know about Bees 10

Honeybees' most important job: Pollination 10

The products of the honeybee 11

The main players in a beehive 12

Appreciating the Benefits of Building a Beehive Rather than Buying One 14

Have fun and feel self-satisfaction 14

Enhance your commitment to beekeeping, and better understand your bees' home 14

Modify designs to better meet your needs 14

Enjoy better quality than store-bought kits 15

Go green and recycle 15

Make building a family affair 15

Sell your handiwork 15

Making Plans for Your Own Beehive 15

Setting Up Your Workshop 16

Assembling Tools and Materials 16

Getting a Handle on Carpentry Skills 17

Constructing Hives and Accessories 17

Chapter 2: Comb Sweet Comb: Beehive Basics 21

Knowing What Bees Need in a Hive 21

Shelter and safety 21

The ability to expand 22

Dry and well-ventilated conditions 22

A nearby source of water 22

Understanding the Anatomy of a Beehive 23

Elevated hive stand 24

Bottom board 25

Entrance reducer 25

Deep hive bodies 25

Honey super 25

Frames 26

Inner cover 27

Outer cover 27

Looking at Locale 28

Following regional laws and requirements 28

Bee-ing sweet to your neighbors 28

Picking the perfect location 29

Making a Beeline to the Hive That's Best for Your Needs 31

A hive for learning and teaching 32

Hives for pollinating your garden 32

A hive for harvesting honey 32

Hives to match your building skills 32

Hives for selling 33

A handy table to help you decide the hive to build 33

Chapter 3: Gathering Basic Tools and Materials 35

Bee-ing Safe Before You Begin 35

Protecting yourself with safety gear 36

Following safety practices 38

Oops! Planning for emergencies 38

Talking about Tools 39

A few essential hand tools 39

The right saws and blades 42

Gadgets that are nice to have but not essential 43

Looking at Lumber 45

Choosing lumber 45

Sizing up lumber 47

Getting the scoop on plywood 48

The Buzz on Other Building Materials 49

Fixating on fasteners 49

Rifling through roofing materials 50

Selecting screening materials 51

Protecting Your Beehives with Paint and More 51

Estimating the Amounts and Costs of Materials 52

Chapter 4: Fine-Tuning Your Carpentry Skills 55

Always Adhering to the "Bee Space" 55

Measuring and Marking Lumber 56

Cutting Lumber 58

What's Up with This Joint? 59

Butt joints 59

Rabbet cuts and dado joints 60

Finger joints 61

Working with Flashing and Wire 63

Cutting and bending metal flashing 63

Cutting and shaping wire hardware cloth 64

Assembling the Parts of Your Hive 65

Going with glue 65

Being square 65

Nailing and screwing everything together 66

Part 2: The World's Most Popular Beehive Designs 67

Chapter 5: The Kenya Top Bar Hive 69

Vital Stats 71

Materials List 72

Cut List 72

Elevated hive stand 73

Hive body 74

Top bars 75

Ventilated roof 76

Assembling the Hive 77

Chapter 6: The Five-Frame Nuc Hive 81

Vital Stats 82

Materials List 83

Cut List 83

Bottom board 84

Hive body 85

Inner hive cover 86

Outer hive cover 88

Assembling the Hive 89

Chapter 7: The Four-Frame Observation Hive 95

Vital Stats 97

Materials List 97

Cut List 98

Hive body and top 98

Bottom board 100

Assembling the Hive 100

Chapter 8: The Warré Hive 105

Vital Stats 107

Materials List 107

Cut List 108

Hive bottom and stand 109

Hive boxes 110

Top bars 111

Quilt box 112

Ventilated roof 112

Assembling the Hive 114

Chapter 9: The British National Hive 119

Vital Stats 120

Materials List 121

Cut List 122

Floor 122

Brood chamber 124

Shallow honey supers 125

Making tricky cuts for hand and drip rails 126

Deep and shallow frames 127

Making tricky cuts for side bars 130

Making tricky cuts for top bars 130

Crown board 131

Roof 132

Assembling the Hive 134

Chapter 10: The Langstroth Hive 141

Vital Stats 142

Materials List 143

Cut List 144

Bottom board (ten-frame version) 145

Bottom board (eight-frame version) 147

Deep hive bodies (ten-frame version) 147

Deep hive bodies (eight-frame version) 149

Medium super (ten-frame version) 149

Medium super (eight-frame version) 150

Inner hive cover (ten-frame version) 151

Inner hive cover (eight-frame version) 153

Outer hive cover (ten-frame version) 153

Outer hive cover (eight-frame version) 155

Assembling the Hive 156

Part 3: Sweet Beehive Accessories 161

Chapter 11: The Frame Jig 163

Vital Stats 164

Materials List 164

Cut List 165

Assembling the Frame Jig 166

Chapter 12: The Double Screened Inner Cover 169

Vital Stats 170

Materials List 171

Cut List 171

Double screened inner cover for the ten-frame Langstroth hive 172

Double screened inner cover for the eight-frame Langstroth hive 174

Double screened inner cover for the nuc hive 175

Double screened inner cover for the British National hive 175

Assembling the Inner Cover 176

Chapter 13: The Elevated Hive Stand 179

Vital Stats 180

Materials List 180

Cut List 181

Assembling the Elevated Hive Stand 182

Chapter 14: The IPM Screened Bottom Board 185

Vital Stats 186

Materials List 187

Cut List 188

Assembling the IPM Screened Bottom Board 190

Chapter 15: The Hive-Top Feeder 193

Vital Stats 194

Materials List 195

Cut List 195

Feeder for a ten-frame Langstroth hive 196

Feeder for an eight-frame Langstroth hive 198

Assembling the Hive-Top Feeder 199

Chapter 16: The Solar Wax Melter 203

Vital Stats 204

Materials List 204

Cut List 205

Floor assembly 205

Inclined side panels 206

Glazed top assembly 207

Assembling the Solar Wax Melter 208

Chapter 17: Langstroth Frames 213

Vital Stats 214

Materials List 215

Cut List 216

Deep frames 216

Medium frames 217

Shallow frames 217

Making tricky cuts for side bars 219

Making tricky cuts for top bars 220

Assembling Langstroth Frames 222

Part 4: The Part Of Tens 225

Chapter 18: Ten (Or So) Tips for Extending the Life of Your Equipment 227

Don't Go Cheap on Materials 227

Keep a Build Log 228

Establish an Inspection Routine 228

Prepare Your Hives for Winter 229

Do Some Spring Cleaning 229

Make Yearly Exterior Touch-Ups 230

Repair the Roof 231

Replace Rotting Wood 231

Elevate Your Hives 231

Provide Proper Ventilation 232

Guard against Bears with an Electric Fence 233

Chapter 19: Ten (Or So) Ways to Trick Out Your Hives 235

Use Decorative Handles and Embellishments 236

Add Metal Frame Rests 237

Employ Exotic Woods 238

Paint Creatively 239

Shingle the Sides 240

Add a Front Porch 241

Make Your Inner Cover Transparent 241

Cut an Observation Window in the Hive Body 242

Use Alternate Roof Materials 243

Make Architectural Alterations to Your Roof 243

Mount a Webcam to Your Hive 243

Chapter 20: Ten Fun Facts about Beehives 245

Discovering the First Recorded Depiction of a Beehive 245

Unearthing the World's Oldest Beehives 246

Recounting a Brief History of Beehives around the Globe 246

Bee-ing the Beehive State 247

Studying Beehives in Outer Space 247

Finding the Largest Beehive in the World 248

Using Beehives for Design Inspiration 248

Creating Beehives for Bumblebees 248

Moving a Beehive without Confusing Your Bees 249

Transporting Migratory Beehives 249

Index 251