Bee-Centric Beekeeping starts with the premise that understanding, respecting, and supporting the essential biological needs of the bee in a holistic manner is fundamental to having healthy bees.

Bee-Centred Beekeeping is a holistic approach based on respect and love for the bee colony.

Bee-Centred Beekeeping is also known as:
– Natural Beekeeping
– Apicentric Beeekeeping
– Bee-Friendly Beekeeping
– Holistic Beekeeping
– Darwinian Beekeeping
– Hapiculture
– Bee-Stewardship
– Bee-Guardianship
possibly
– Treatment-Free Beekeeping (although this often only covers the treating of bees and not other aspects)
and our personal favourite
– Bee-Shepherding

Bee-Centred Beekeeping is…
– A philosophy – the bees welfare comes first above the interest of the of the beekeeper (honey production).
– A set of techniques – providing a home for the bees that emulates as much as possible, the natural structure of a wild bee colony.
– A movement – the people are waking up to the atrocities that occur in the industrial food production system. Grass roots movements such as Bee-Centred Beekeeping offer an alternative to this.

Bee-Centred beekeeping is quite different from the usual style taught in Australia (conventional/industrial/commercial/American style beekeeping). For far too long the backyard/hobby beekeeper has been stuck using methods that are tailored to the needs of the migratory apiary industry – focused on portable hives that maximise honey production.

The main difference between Bee-Centred Beekeeping and the industrial model is the focus on providing the best home possible for the bees where as the conventional/industrial/commercial/American style is strongly focused on honey production.

“The difference between conventional beekeeping and natural beekeeping is like the difference between a monoculture farm producing maximum crops versus a diverse biodynamic or permaculture garden.”
– Adrian Iodice

In Bee-Centred beekeeping we let the bees be bees. We try to avoid micromanaging the lives of the bees. We let the bees do their thing. We believe the bees know best what is best for the bees so we try, as much as possible, to take guidance from the bees themselves. We learn from the bees.

For more information on Bee-Centred Beekeeping please see the Natural Beekeeping Trust’s page.