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Recommended Bee Keeping Books

Most of what is recommended below follows the list recommended by BBKA, inclusion of any item in the list does not mean that I personally endorse it as a 'good book'. It should also be pointed out that it is not required that all titles need to be read.

TitleAuthorPublisherNotes
A Book of Honey (1980)Eva CraneOxford Univ. Press
A Case of Hives (1985)Len HeathBBNO
A Manual of Beekeeping (reprint 1999)E. B. WedmoreBBNO
Anatomy and Dissection of the HoneybeeH. A. DadeIBRA
Anatomy of the Honeybee (1956)R. E. SnodgrassCornell Univ. Press
Any A-Level Biology textbook or equivalentIf available
Any GCSE Biology textbook or equivalentIf available
The Selection of Apiary SitesD.A.R.G.D.A.R.G.
Archaeology of BeekeepingE. CraneDuckworth
Background to Bee Breeding (1999)J. AtkinsonNBB
BBKA Advisory Leaflet - 'So you wish to sell Honey'BBKABBKA
BBKA Leaflet, Shrubs, Plants/Wild Flowers for BeesBBKA No. 39
BBKA Leaflets on various topicsVariousBBKA
Bees and BeekeepingIrmgard DiemerMerehurst
Bee Disease Control OrdersHMSOHMSO
Bee sting AllergyDr H. Riches
Beekeeping - A Practical GuideRoger PattersonConstable and Robinson
Beekeeping - a Seasonal Guide (1985)R. BrownBT Batsford
Beekeeping and the Law (1993)D. Frimston, D. SmithBBNO
Beekeeping at Buckfast Abbey (1975/1987)Bro. AdamNBB
Beekeeping in AntiquityFraserIBRA
Bees & Beekeeping, Science, Practice & World ResourcesE. CraneHeinemann/Newnes
Bees and NeighboursBBKABBKA
Bees to the HeatherS.B. WhiteheadMcMillan
Beeswax (1984)Coggeshall & MorseWicwas Press
Beeswax (1995)R. BrownBBNO
Beeway CodeD.A.R.G.D.A.R.G.
Better Beginnings for BeekeepersA. WaringBIBBA
Breeding Better BeesDews/MilnerBIBBA
Breeding Techniques & Selection for Breeding of the HoneybeeF. RuttnerBIBBA
BumblebeesPrys-Jones/CorbetRichmond Pubs.
Central Association Leaflets (Various)VariousCentral Association
Communication among Social BeesLindauerHarvard
Dance Language and Orientation of BeesKarl von FrischBelknap Press
Bees, Their Vision,chemical sense and LanguageK von Frisch
Development of Chalk BroodLen HeathIBRA
Elements of genetics with special reference to the bee (1981)J. MesquidaBIBBA
Encyclopaedia of Beekeeping (1985)Hooper and MorseBlandfordnow rare
Form and Function in the HoneybeeL. GoodmanIBRA
Foul Brood Disease of Honey BeesDEFRA
Garden Plants Valuable to BeesM.F. FountainIBRA
Great Masters of Beekeeping (1994)R. BrownBBNO
Guide for Judges and Exhibitors of Honey and Bee ProductsExam BoardBBKA
Guide to Bees and Honey (4th. edition) (1997)Ted HooperMarston House
Handbook of Beekeeping (1992)Dr. H. RichesNBB
History of Beekeeping in BritainFraserIBRA
HMSO leaflets on honey, honey regulations and food safetyHMSOFSA
Honey - A Comprehensive Survey (1976)E. CraneHeinemann
Honey Bee BiologyEdited by J.B. FreeCentral Assn.
The Honey Bee inside outCelia DavisNBB
Honey Bee Pests, Predators and Diseases, 3rd Ed 1997R. Morse, K. FlottumRoot
Honey Bees of the British Isles (1986)B.A. CooperBIBBA
Honey Farming (1946)R.O.B. ManleyNBB
Honey Identification (1988)R. SawyerCardiff A.P.
Honeybee Pathology (1991) 2nd edBailey and BallAcademic Press
In Search of the Best Strains of Bees (1983)Br. AdamNBB
Insect Pollination of CropsJ.B. FreeAcademic Press
Insect Bites and StingsHRC Riches
Insect Pollination of Cultivated CropsS. E. McGregorUSDA
Life of the BumblebeeD.V. AlfordPoynter
Light Microscopy, an Illustrated Guide (1994)R. OldfieldWolfe
MAFF Leaflets, Current bee disease leaflets, variousDEFRA/NAWDEFRA/NAW
Medical Aspects of Beekeeping (2000)Dr Harry RichesHR Books
Microscopy for Beekeepers, Beekeeping in a nutshell No.69P. JewellNBB
National Honey Show LeafletsVariousN.H.S.
Oil Seed Rape and BeesAllan CalderNBB
Pheromones of Social Bees (1987)J.B. FreeChapman & Hall
Plants and Beekeeping (1979)F.N. HowesFaber
Plants and Honey Bees Introduction to their relationshipsDavid Aston and Sally Bucknall
Pollen Identification for BeekeepersR. Sawyer CardiffA.P.
Pollen Loads of the Honeybee (1984)D. HodgesIBRA
Practical Beekeeping (1997)Clive de BruynCrowood Press
Queen Rearing and Bee Breeding (1997)H. Laidlaw, R. PageWicwas Press
Reflections on BeekeepingW.S. RobsonNorthern Bee Books
Royal Microscopical Society Handbook No. 1
An Introduction to the Optical Microscope (1989)
RMSOUP
Royal Microscopical Society Handbook No. 15
RMS Dictionary of Light Microscopy
RMSOUP
Social WaspsR EdwardsRentokil Library
Solitary Bees and WaspsC. W. AndrewsIBRA
Some Important Operations in Bee ManagementT.S.K. M.P. JohanssonIBRA
Statutory procedures for controlling foul broodDEFRA/NAWDEFRA
Study notes (Various)J.D. and B.D. YatesBBNOHas errors
Swarm Control for the Beginner (Leaflet)BBKA
Swarming - Its Control and Prevention (1981)L.E. SnelgroveBBNO
Teach Yourself MicroscopyW.G. HartleyEnglish U.P.
The Biology of the Honey Bee (1987)M. WinstonHarvard
The Hive and the Honeybee (1992)J. Graham (Ed.)Dadant
The Honey Bee (1988)J.and C. GouldScientific American
The Humble BeeSladenLogaston
The Observation Hive (1985)K. ShowlerBBNO
The Principles of Bee ImprovementJo WiddicombeNorthern Bee Books
The Process of Queen/Worker Differentiation in the Honey BeeJarich J. BeetsmaIBRA
The Sacred BeeHilda M. RansomeBBNO
The small hive beetleDEFRA/NAW
The Social Organisation of Honey Bees (1977)J.B. FreeNBB
The Wisdom of the Hive (1995)T. SeeleyHarvard University/Wiley
Trees and Shrubs Valuable to BeesM.F. FountainIBRA
Varroa destructor: monitoring and forecastingDEFRA
World of the Honey Bee (1974)C. ButlerCollins

 Written... Summer 2000, Upgraded... 16 March 2007,
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