Practicing Common Sense Natural Beekeeping
Conventional beekeeping looks on bees as livestock to be managed for the greatest yield, applying chemical inputs whenever necessary to preserve the hive and continuing practices that have worked well in the past.
Natural beekeeping takes a different approach, rejecting chemical treatments and intrusive management, seeking to pattern apiaries after bee colonies thriving in the wild.
“Honey bees in the wild choose small, well-insulated hive spaces in a generally oblong shape that they can live with propolis and fill with the long, uninterrupted lengths of comb that they prefer,” according to author Kim Flottum, a veteran beekeeper and USDA researcher.
“Colonies’ dislike for living near one another helps to prevent the spread of disease between hives.”