BASIC BOOKS—There are several basic beekeeping books to use for your short course

摘要

Last month you began planning your spring Short Course for beginning beekeepers. This month we are going to look at various books that could be used as a text or as supplemental reading for your course. The books have been chosen as ones easily available from the beekeeping equipment suppliers. The first thing is to obtain a copy of the book you are considering. You can, of course, look through your own library but be careful - make certain you have the latest edition. Some books have been updated, but the vast majority has not. A few are in the process of updating but may not be in print by the time you need one. One problem inherent in books is the difficulty of keeping them up to date. Your students should be encouraged to subscribe to one or both of the bee journals for current news of mite treatments and anything else new that beekeepers must be aware of. You will have to make handouts on such topics as the small hive beetle, the new medications and IPM methods for mites. Many of the books give the former name of the Varroa mite (jacobsoni). Only a few books deal with the Africanized Honey Bee. You will have to show and discuss the plastic equipment, such as the frame-foundation combination and the plastic hive. Even if you do not use all the new equipment your students will ask about the things they see in the catalogs.