By Graham Torrie
Written an astonishing 414 years ago, Charles Butler’s book, The Feminine
Monarchie, tells us this about our honey bees: that they labour “under the
government of one monarch, of whom above all things they have a principal care
and respect, loving, reverencing, and obeying her in all things.” All the more
wonderful, then, that we hobby beekeepers are able to produce these amazing
creatures at a time of our choosing, for very little cost and with a modest degree of
expertise. In doing so, we can improve our stocks in qualities such as disease resistance, increase in honey yield, temperament, and reduced swarming.