More Than One Way To Play With Bees

Ever since Lorenzo Langstroth introduced his hive system, American beekeepers have overwhelmingly used and taught one main way to go about beekeeping.  That approach to beekeeping is essentially the same model regardless the size of the operation by a beekeeper.  Hobbyists, Sideliners and Commercial beekeepers alike essentially use the same approach to beekeeping regardless.

I would suggest though, that modern beekeepers should consider another beekeeping approach.  An approach that is not new or dramatically different from anything that has been done in the past.  Simply an outlook that has been overlooked for at least a hundred years or longer.

First of all, the modern, conventional approach is the Commercial approach.  Nearly all beekeeping in America is done with an eye on surplus honey production.  I'm not saying that this is bad or wrong in and of itself.  I am suggesting though that it may not be the best approach for every beekeeper and possibly for most hobbyists.

In the conventional commercial approach, hive bodies are supered, meaning that new boxes are added tot he hive stack on top of the current boxes.This is done because beekeepers know that bees prefer to store honey above the brood and so by adding more space above the bees, the bees will most likely fill that excess space with honey.

What I would propose might be a better approach for beekeepers with smaller interests is what I refer to as the Homestead approach to beekeeping.

The Homestead approach focuses more on collecting resources from the whole hive instead of just one primary crop like honey.  The Homestead approach seeks to collect honey, beeswax, propolis and even pollen from the hive not so much to sell to others but as a way of being self sufficient in one's own home.

As a result of this smaller scale of beekeeping, a Homestead beekeeper is looking to minimize interaction with the colony beyond harvest.  This doesn't mean the Homestead beekeeper doesn't inspect hives or take measures to help hives stay healthy.   It just means the beekeeper is going about managing the bees differently from a high honey crop production approach.

I think we can see the interest in many newer beekeepers in looking for another approach to beekeeping that is outside of the conventional approach.  A great interest in top bar beekeeping and other types of hives and methods has become obvious in beekeeping magazines, beekeeping club meetings and presentations and in other ways.

In future posts,  I will elaborate on how I see Homestead Beekeeping as an alternative approach to beekeeping and how it can successfully be done.