Annotated Bib: "Small Scale Beekeeping", Curtis Gentry

Gentry, Curtis. Small Scale Beekeeping (PDF on Top Bar Hives). 1982. Found at:

https://www.k4health.org/sites/default/files/M0017_Small_Scale_Beekeeping.pdf

Published by the Peace Corps to teach the usage of Top Bar Hives in developing countries. There are other resources found on the internet, but this is a free resource with basic information on using TBH's.

Skep Beehives (Part 7 of 8): Swarms and Honey Flow

This is the seventh part in a series of short articles on skeps in the Medieval through Renaissance periods. 

Catching a Swarm

Skeps are managed by swarm beekeeping. Swarm beekeeping is the practice of making a hive just big enough for the bees to make a home. Swarming is when the queen and some of the worker bees leave the hive to find a new home. Swarms were encouraged by making the skep smaller than the needed space for a colony during peak honey flow. The recommended size ranged from nine to thirty-six liters and averaged about 20 liters (Butler, Ch. 5).

The colony will swarm when it becomes too big for the skep. The beekeeper then collects the swarm and installs it into a new hive. “The swarming months are two, Gemini and Cancer: one month before the longest day and another after.” (Butler, Ch. 5). This type of beekeeping was done in north-west Europe, as far south as the Pyrenees and Alps-Maritime of France where honey flows are in mid to late summer (Crane, p239).

Honey flows are the times of the year when nectar is plentiful. Bees produce and store a great deal of honey. Swarm beekeeping takes advantage of this with the creation of new hives in late spring and early summer. Honey is produced in these hives from the later blooming flowers. 

Skep Beehives (Part 6 of 8): Tanging

This is the sixth part in a series of short articles on skeps in the Medieval through Renaissance periods.

Tanging the Bees

Beekeepers watched for swarms. This would involve a lot of time in May and June. This implies that swarm beekeeping was for career beekeepers. The beekeeper would tang the swarm to get the bees to move from one hive to another. (Crane,1999 p333) Tanging is striking two metal objects together to make a loud noise. It was believed this would cause the bees to go into the new hive. The swarm would develop into a new colony, store honey, and may even swarm again.

"Maies Husbandrie" - Tusser

Quote from "Five Hundred Points of Good Husbandry", by Thomas Tusser:

                 "Take heede to thy bees, that are readie to swarme,
                            the losse thereof now is a crownes worth of harme:
                   Let skilfull be readie and diligence seene,
                            least being too careles, though losest they beene."

         Book Footnote: "The Proverb says, 'A swarm in May is worth a Load of Hay.'  - T.R."

In May, the amount of nectar, honey, and bees grows almost exponentially. When the colony feels the hive is becoming too full, the worker bees will create a set of new queens. The new queens will emerge and fight to the death to see you will remain as there can be only one. The colony will then take the old queen and about one-quarter of the worker bees and leave the hive to find a new residence. This is called swarming.

Swarming was important in the middle ages as this was the easiest way to start a new hive. Losing a swarm was very costly to the beekeeper. It meant one less hive for that season. The remaining colony takes a while to rebuild its population. This slows down nectar collection and honey production. The swarm would eventually increase its numbers, collect nectar, produce and store honey, and possibly swarm again.