Natural Bee Keeping

Natural Bee Keeping

You will notice a common theme throughout all of this. Bees know what they’re doing and do not really need the aid of an entity that only thinks they know what they’re doing. When the cycle of swarming is broken chemicals and a lot of other things need to enter the system. They swarm to break the breeding cycle of the Varroa mite. One thing you can do is make a scion. A scion will be a bee magnet.

Here is where you can get plans for a Golden Mean Top Bar Hive. This was my first hive. I modified the entrance for the south and vented the bottom for better circulation. My frames don’t fit into hives other than the ones they came out of for a reason. If there is a problem in your apiary you don’t want to be the contamination vector.
https://backyardhive.com/pages/our-story

The Warr’e hive is another type of hive that is easily handled. It is called the peoples hive by some. Once again they’re letting swarms happen all of the time and they take a few precautions regarding the hive being discovered by animals that like Honey.
https://www.warre.biobees.com/

The Russian long hive is another method that many like to use. I have a few of them and am zeroing in on a few options to work with.
https://www.gfadk.com/blog/2017/9/18/double-walled-insulated-horizontal-hives-with-extra-deep-frames

Here’s another version of the same idea.
https://horizontalhive.com/

Scions are discussed in this article. Once you’ve had bees for a while you’ll notice they often congregate in the same spots. A swarm leaves a signature behind that other bees can smell. A scion duplicates this concept. All you need is a way to hang it and I prefer to have a few at various levels and then keep an eye out for the swarms. Mine are broken and need to be replaced at the moment. It is a roof type of structure with burlap screen or wood hanging under it. It has the scent of propolis, lemon grass oil and beeswax all of the things that say happy bees.
https://www.homesweetbees.com/how-to/2020/4/24/russian-scion-swarm-catcher

Honey Bee Democracy by Thomas B Seeley. This is a deep dive into the lives of bees and is quite informative. When I got to the part where the girls ripped the wings off of the males and threw them out of the hive to save on food my world started to make a lot more sense in a terrifying way. He explains the purpose behind swarming and what it does for the strength of the hives.
https://www.amazon.com/Honeybee-Democracy-Thomas-D-Seeley/dp/0691147213/ref=sr_1_1?crid=2KOVRL2F8498R&keywords=honeybee+democracy+by+thomas+d.+seeley&qid=1643575804&sprefix=honey+bee+democracy%2Caps%2C785&sr=8-1

Lemon Grass Oil
https://www.amazon.com/Viva-Doria-Lemongrass-Essential-Undiluted/dp/B08D7WB72H/ref=sr_1_6?crid=3N0DQUMI9HNGH&keywords=lemon+grass+oils+food+grade&qid=1643576036&sprefix=lemon+grass+oil%2Caps%2C380&sr=8-6

Propolis. You want to just get propolis not the zillions of fad items of the day. Dissolve it in some alcohol and leave it in a mason jar. Sometimes you have to heat the ring up to loosen it to open it again, but such is life.
https://www.amazon.com/Stakich-Bee-Propolis-Chunks-Natural/dp/B001LR2CKM/ref=sr_1_4?crid=1MHNVM6S271MY&keywords=propolis+pieces&qid=1643576202&sprefix=propolis+piec%2Caps%2C538&sr=8-4