AgGuide: Healthy Bees

Learn to recognise and respond to common honey bee health problems with AgGuide: Healthy Bees, available from Hornsby Beekeeping Supplies.

Pests and diseases can be one of the most intimidating parts of beekeeping, particularly when a new beekeeper first encounters abnormal brood, weak colonies or unfamiliar insects inside the hive.

This 75-page full-colour A4 guide presents honey bee health information through approachable chapters designed to help beginner and intermediate beekeepers build a stronger foundation in colony care.

Start with the Healthy Colony

Understanding disease becomes easier when you first understand what a healthy colony should look like.

The book covers the honey bee, colony size, nutrition and the influence of seasons and location.

These topics matter because a colony that appears weak may not always be suffering from one specific disease. Food availability, population size, environmental conditions and time of year can all affect what you observe during an inspection.

Building this context can help beekeepers make more informed decisions instead of reacting to one isolated symptom.

Learn About Brood & Adult Bee Diseases

Healthy Bees introduces disorders affecting both brood and adult honey bees.

Recognising patterns in brood, changes in adult bee behaviour and other unusual hive signs is an important skill because early investigation can reduce the chance of a problem becoming more serious.

The guide also discusses strategies for preventing disease, helping shift attention from responding to problems towards better hive hygiene and ongoing surveillance.

Hive Pests & Biosecurity Awareness

Hive pests are covered alongside diseases, giving the reader a more complete view of colony health.

The book also discusses surveillance and response to exotic pests and disease, as well as legal considerations affecting beekeepers.

One important point about this particular edition is that it was published before Varroa was present in Australia. As a result, Varroa appears in the book under exotic pests.

Australian Varroa management has changed substantially since then, so this guide should be used alongside current NSW and Australian Varroa information for present-day monitoring and treatment decisions.

That does not remove the value of the book as a broader bee-health reference; it simply provides important context for one section.

A Useful Reference to Keep Near the Apiary

Bee-health books are often most valuable after the beginner phase, when the beekeeper starts noticing differences between colonies and wants to investigate what they are seeing.

A compact, illustrated reference can help you identify areas requiring closer attention and guide further learning.

Use it alongside regular inspections, current biosecurity guidance and professional or government advice where a serious disease is suspected.

Order AgGuide: Healthy Bees from Hornsby Beekeeping Supplies. For assistance with bee-health books, pest-management equipment or other apiary supplies, call 02 9477 5569 or email info@hornsby-beekeeping.com.