Keeping Bees with a Smile: Principles and Practice of Natural Beekeeping

Mother Earth News Wiser Living

by Fedor Lazutin, Leo Sharashkin (Editor), Mark Pettus (Translation)

The updated bestselling guide to laid-back beekeeping for all, naturally!

Are you a beginner beekeeper curious about bees or a practicing beekeeper looking for natural alternatives that work? Then this book is for you!

In the second edition of the bestselling beekeeping guide Keeping Bees with a Smile , Fedor Lazutin, one of Europe's most successful natural beekeepers, shares the bee-friendly approach to apiculture that is fun, healthful, rewarding, and accessible to all. This new edition includes dozens of color photographs, new hive management techniques, and an updated version of "Lazutin hive" plans. Additional coverage includes:


Keeping bees naturally without interfering in their lives
Starting an apiary for free by attracting local bee swarms
Building low-maintenance hives that mimic how bees live in nature
Keeping colonies healthy and strong without any drugs, sugar, or gimmickry
Helping bees to overwinter successfully even in harsh climates
Enhancing local nectar plant resources
Producing truly natural honey without robbing the bees
Reversing the global bee decline... right in your backyard!
Keeping Bees with a Smile is an invaluable resource for apiculture beginners and professionals alike, complete with plans for making bee-friendly, well-insulated horizontal hives with extra-deep frames, plus other fascinating beekeeping advice you won't find anywhere else.

Genres: Gardening, Nonfiction

435 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2013

Reviews

[Francesca · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book was a very interesting read and packed with useful information about the nature of bees! With no conventional beekeeping knowledge in my head to compare to the natural breekeeping system laid out in this book, it is my opinion that the method described sounds very involved and intimidating. I cannot even imagine what must be involved in using conventional methods if this natural method really is much easier and more enjoyable. After finishing this book, which was great, I am not sure I have what it takes to keep bees.

[Miquela · Rating 5 out of 5]

I enjoyed reading this and learning more about ways of keeping bees naturally. As with most books I have read that are not your typical "Beekeeping Must Be Done This Way" prescriptions, the author kept on experimenting and learning about bees and how better to care for them until his death.

I was leaning toward a Kenyan Horizontal Top Bar Hive, but now I might try for a modified deep Layens hive after reading this book. Or why not both? The more bees the merrier!

[May Su · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read this book after one season of failed beekeeping. I had a Langstroth, bought a package of Italian bees from Georgia which traveled north to Maine, fed them sugar syrup... and tried to keep up with all the conflicting practices the local beekeeping groups recommended. My mentor insisted that I needed to medicate for mites, even though I had not seen one. "Believe me, they're there." Against his advice, I let my honeybees go into the winter without medication. I left them their entire storage of honey. So I took it hard when I opened up a dead hive in the spring. I blamed myself.

This book makes so much sense to me. My bees died because the odds were stacked against them. The author explained how to replicate what nature provides: from hive construction, to propagating local bees, to feeding them only their natural diet of honey, to never medicating them for anything. His philosophy of minimal meddling with the bees' natural process resonates with me. Nature is so much smarter than us. We need to honor Nature's wisdom, observe more, and interfere less. Thank you, Fedor Lazutin, for this gift.

[Wolf Fortenberry · Rating 5 out of 5]

I thoroughly enjoyed this book!! It provides an excellent foundation for beekeepers of all experience levels to be expanded upon and adapted for each individual’s lifestyle and climate needs. This is definitely the beekeeping book I would recommend. It just makes so much sense compared to other beekeeping books that turn beekeeping into an incredible ordeal of things to do constantly instead of letting the bees do what they do best naturally.

[Caleb Cranney · Rating 4 out of 5]

I picked up this book to explore a running theory that's been rattling around in my head. It's generally known to be a worrying societal fact that the number of bees is declining over time. This could lead to a number of problems, as many plants rely on bees to pollinate. A lot of people point to climate change as the causal factor, and that was generally my thought as well. Then I heard it was a common practice to extract effectively all of the honey produced by bees and replace it with cheap sugar, and that there were likely other common beekeeping practices designed to maximize short-term gains at the expense of the bees themselves. Um... no duh, of course your bees are gonna die.

Anywho. This book delves into "natural" beekeeping practices, the alternative to "industrial" beekeeping practices like the sugar one mentioned above. The goal is to let the bees largely take care of themselves and extract the surplus honey that the hives won't use. Apparently in contrast to industrial beekeeping, this method is easier, self-replenishing (not artificially replacing the now-dead bees every year), and fruitful.

I don't have personal experience beekeeping, but I know a few neighbors that dabble in it. I'd like to get their thoughts on the subject. In general, though, it aligns with my understanding of the obsession we tend to have with scientifically "improving" natural processes and then ultimately paying the price.

Science is often used to support unsustainable practices. That is not the fault of the science so much as the individuals who use incomplete science to rationalize shortsighted behavior. In a society where factory farms are normal (see the Australian documentary “Dominion” to drive this point home), it does not take a leap of logic for me to see we are overworking, underfeeding and ultimately massacring our bees for maximum profit.

[david o shea · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very informative book that makes good sense

A good way to keep need in northern Europe . Good argument for promoting the native bee of the area. Think the principles of the book be good to implement in Ireland which has challenging weather and the native bee is Apis Mellifera Mellifera

[John Hobbs · Rating 4 out of 5]

Well written, with very strong opinions. Coming from reading standard, Langstroth oriented books I was very skeptical. The language is rather, dramatic, at times but once you get deeper in there are some interesting and well reasoned points. I will definitely be building a modified Layens hive this winter and giving it a shot next spring.

[Tylor Anthony · Rating 5 out of 5]

The biggest help I have had to help keep bees with a busy work schedule. This does not teach the traditional way of keeping bees. Sense finding this book and Dr. Leo, I have allowed myself to relax about how to manage an apiary rather than going by the principle that every weekend I have to visit every hive.

[Angela · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is simply wonderful! It presents in clear and interesting detail how to keep bees naturally and in a way that aligns with nature and design. I absolutely recommend it to anyone who is interested in raising bees with a holistic approach!

[Dan Laubach · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great book. Easy to read. Clearly explains his methods of beekeeping and how they best emulate the bees natural lifecycle. Excited to give this a try this spring.

[Will G · Rating 3 out of 5]

The whole book was very nicely summarized in the last 20 pages.