A detailed Master Level Self-Study Guide is available as a separate document located in the Members Resource
section of the SCBA website. The guide will assist a Journeyman to plot out a personal course of study over a 3-year period in preparation for the various testing components of the Master Level.

The following is a list of reading suggested as preparation for the Master Beekeeper Level of the South Carolina Master Beekeeper program. Even though this list is lengthy, it is not meant to be all-inclusive. A familiarity with the material will certainly prepare an individual for the Master level, but it will not necessarily provide all the information which is necessary for the completion of this level. These selections were made in order to present an overview of many different beekeeping and bee-related topics. The developers of the South Carolina Master Beekeeper Program do not necessarily agree with all of the information and opinions included in the various texts, however, the reading list was developed to acquaint the beekeeper with different viewpoints, so that the individual may be exposed to a representative sampling of the available literature. Some of the older selections may have information that needs to be updated to current beekeeping knowledge and practices.

All of the publications on the list are suggested readings but those marked with an asterisk (*) are highly
recommended.

*Dewey M. Caron with L. J. Connor. 2013 (revised edition). Honey Bee Biology and Beekeeping. Wicwas Press.
College level, most up-to-date and comprehensive combined biology and beekeeping book with excellent
pest/diseases/mite coverage.

*Clarence Collison. What Do You Know? 2003, reprinted 2014. A.I. Root Company. An excellent study guide in
question and answer format.

*Clarence Collison. Another Close Look. Summer 2014. A.I. Root Company. A collection from his columns in
Bee Culture on the biology and physiology of honey bees.

*L. J. Connor. Bee Sex Essentials. 2008.Wicwas Press. Discusses queens, drones, mating and some genetics.

* L. J. Connor. Queen rearing Essentials. Wicwas Press. A companion book to Bee Sex Essentials. Covers
grafting and raising queens.

*Dadant and Sons. 2015. The Hive and the Honey Bee. Dadant and Sons Hamilton, Illinois. 1324 pp.
ISBN 0-915698-09-9. Special emphasis on the following chapters:

Chapter 1 The World’s Beekeeping: Past and Present by Richard Jones


Chapter 9 Honey Bee Nutrition by Elton Herbert, Jr and Dale A. HIll


Chapter 10 Activities and Behavior of Honey Bees by Norman Gary


Chapter 15 Management for Honey Production by Keith Delaplane


Chapter 26 Crop Pollination by Gloria Degrandi-Hoffman

*Doolittle, G.M. 1889, 1899 (2008 Reprint) Scientific Queen-Rearing. Wicwas Press, Kalamazoo, Michigan, ISBN
978-1-8075-24-6.

*Maryann Frazier, D. M. Caron, D. vanEnglesdorp A Field Guide to Honey Bees and Their Maladies.
AGRS-116. 2011. Pennsylvania State University Extension Publication. Excellent field guide with many
photographs.

Johansen, Carl and Daniel F. Mayer. 1990. Pollinator Protection: A Bee and Pesticide Handbook. Wicwas Press,
Cheshire, Conn. ISBN 1-878075-00-4. 212 pp.

Laidlaw, Harry H. Jr. and Robert Page, Jr. 1997. Queen Rearing and Bee Breeding. Wicwas Press, Cheshire, Conn, ISBN 1-878075-08-X. pp224.

Loring, Murray. 1984. Bees and the Law. Dadant and Sons, Hamilton, Illinois. 128 pp. ISBN 0-915698-07-2.


*E. Mader, M. Spivak, E. Evans. Managing Alternative Pollinators: A Handbook for Beekeepers, Growers and
Conservationists. 2010. SARE Handbook 11. Natural Resource, Agriculture and Engineering Service. Available
as printed book and as free Online download at: http://www.sare.org/Learning-Center/Books/Managing-Alternative-Pollinators Comprehensive coverage of all pollinators but little on honey bees. Contains information on pesticides.

*S. E. McGergor Insect Pollination of Cultivated Crop Plants. 1976. Agriculture Handbook No.496, USDA.
Reprinted by A. I. Root Company. Available as printed book and as free Online download: Insect Pollination of
Cultivated Crop Plants: The First and Only Virtual Beekeeping Book Updated Continuously with additions listed
by crop and date. Search Internet for title: Insect Pollination of Cultivated Crop Plants.

*R. R. Sagilli, D. M. Burgett Evaluating Honey Bee Colonies for Pollination: A Guide for Commercial Growers
and Beekeepers. 2011. Oregon State University PNW 623. Search Internet for title (Evaluating Honey Bee
colonies for Pollination) and open up either the Oregon State or Washington State Universities site. Practical
information on colony rental, contracts and how to evaluate colonies.

*USDA Natural Resources Conservation Service. Native Pollinators. 2005. Fish and Wildlife Habitat
Management Leaflet No. 34. https://plants.usda.gov/pollinators/Native_Pollinators.pdf

*M. Vaughan, M. Shepherd, C. Kremen, S. H. Black. Farming for Bees: Guidelines for Providing Native Bee
Habitat on Farms. 2004.
https://www.researchgate.net/publication/286071412_Farming_for_Bees_Guidelines_for_Providing_Native_Be
e_Habitat_on_Farms

Miller, C.C. 1915. Fifty Years Among the Bees. (reprinted 1980) Molly Yes Press; New Berlin, NY, 328 pp.

Morse, Roger. 1978. Comb Honey Production. Wicwas Press, Ithaca, NY 128 pp.

*Morse, Roger. 1994. Rearing Queen Honey Bees. Wicwas Press, Chesire, Conn. ISBN 1-878075-05-5. Pp. 128.

*Morse, Roger and Kim Flottum. 1997. Honey Bee Pests, Predators & Diseases. The A.I. Root Company, Medina,Ohio, 718 pp. ISBN 0-936028-10-6. Special emphasis on the following chapters:

Chapter 3 Bacteria


Chapter 4 Protozoa


Chapter 9 Insects: Hymenoptera (Ants, Wasps, and Bees)


Chapter 14 Mites: Varroa and Other Parasites of Brood


Chapter 22 Summary of Control Methods

Ratnieks, Richard & Richard Nowogrodzki. Queen Rearing by Beekeepers in the Northeast. Information Bulletin
#209, Cornell University Cooperative Extension Service, Ithaca, NY.

*Diana Sammataro and A. Avitabile. 2011 (fourth edition) The Beekeepers Handbook. Comstock Publishing
Associates. A well-illustrated book with very useful options for management.

*Thomas Seeley. Honeybee Democracy. 2010. Princeton University Press. Excellent coverage of how social
honey bees function as a superorganism.

Shimanuki, H., Kim Flottum, and Ann Harman. 2006. The ABC & XYZ of Bee Culture. The A.I. Root Company,
Medina, Ohio, ISBN -13: 978-0-936028-22-4 and ISBN -10: 0-936028-22-X. 911 pp.

*Ian Stell. Understanding Bee Anatomy: a full colour guide. 2012.The Catford Press. Excellent color
photographs and drawings of all parts and systems of a honey bee.

*U.S Dept. of Agriculture. 1980 Beekeeping in the United States. Agriculture Handbook No. 335 of the U.S. Dept.
of Agriculture. 193 pp.

*von Frisch, Karl. 1993. The Dance Language and Orientation of Bees. Harvard University Press, Cambridge,
Mass. ISBN 0-674-19051-3 (paperback). 566 pp.

*Webster, Thomas and Keith Delaplane. 2001. Mites of the Honey Bee. Dadant & Sons, Hamilton, Illinois. 280
pp. ISBN 0-915698-11-0. Special emphasis on the following chapters:

Chapter 15 Resistance of Honey Bees to Varroa Mites


Chapter 16 Treatment Thresholds for Varroa Mites


Chapter 17 Management of the Resistance of Varroa Mites to Acaricides

Periodicals:


Journal of Apicultural Research


Insects


Journal of Applied Entomology