Warré plans
Warré methods
Warré modifications
Warré precursors
Groups / Fora
Google
e-group
Biobees.com
forum
Abbé Warré's book
Beekeeping for All:
1. Join a local association and pick up what you can. If you have not done so already, and there is an opportunity to handle bees with the guidance of association members, do that. In that way you get to understand the different members of the colony and handle bees in a way that you will not with Warré hives. If you can find a willing mentor amongst the association members who will let you go along to routine apiary visits, a huge amount can be learnt that way.
2. Take note of what the experienced conventional beekeepers tell you about the life cycle of bees, pollen and nectar sources, what you can observe and learn from the hive entrance (i), how to handle a swarm etc. Listen to what they tell you about hive design and management, but do not take it as gospel. It might also be tricky to tell them about Warré as they will probably not be supportive.
3. You should learn as much as possible about bees themselves. Read as many bee related materials as possible...anything that you can get your hands on. The more you read about the bees and bee characteristics and habits, the better equipped you will be to meet their needs, thereby ensuring your success as a beekeeper. Check out books from the library and borrow books from other beekeepers. Read online sources and mail groups. Learn all you can about bees from every source that you can. The better you understand the amazing honey bee, the better you will be able to manage their home and life. Jürgen Tautz's book The Buzz About Bees (2007) is an excellent, beautifully illustrated, introduction to bee biology and describes recent discoveries regarding several aspects of natural bee life that we are trying to encourage through use of the Warré hive.
4. Get a Warré or two made for you (or self-built) according to the plans which are available (ii) or buy from one of the many commercial sources currently known to us (iii).
5. Put the word about that you want a swarm. In south west England May and June is the main swarming period so a decent swarm in that period will get you going. It will be a magical experience to hive the swarm which will also have the perfect population of bees for occupying a Warré hive. Don't worry about them being Russian or Chinese or Italian etc -- just whatever is flourishing in your area is good.
6. Read and re-read the translation of Warré's book Beekeeping
for All (iv) and ask questions on the Google
e-group about bits you don't understand. You can ask even the most elementary
beekeeping questions there even if the discussion seems a bit advanced a lot of the time.
Our page Warré methods amplifies, illustrates and
supplements many aspects of Beekeeping for All.
David Heaf's book Natural Beekeeping with
the Warré Hive -- A Manual is a complete guide to Warré beekeeping aimed at
beginners. Also see other books on Warré beekeeping.
The hive was designed in northern France and its initial use was developed in the
climate there. It may need to be adapted for other climates. Warré
modifications describes some changes to the hive and/or methods that some beekeepers
have found useful.
7. You might not get any honey in the first season but you will have a well populated hive to take through the winter and a lot of valuable experience.
8. Getting another type of hive, e.g. a conventional frame hive (Langstroth, Dadant, UK National etc.), would risk wasting your time energy and resources and fill your mind with things you don't need to know. Getting experience of conventional beekeeping through the association as a way to become familiar with bees is more than enough.
References
i) "At the Hive Entrance" by H. Storch OBSERVATION HANDBOOK "How to Know what happens inside the hive by observation of the outside." This book was published in German under the title: "Am Flugloch " Translation: F. Cells. European Apicultural Editions Europäische Bienenzucht Ausgaben Edisions Europeennes Apicoles B-1040 BRUSSEL, 1, Rue de l'Escadron D/156611985/1 (Available in print from Thorne's ( http://www.thorne.co.uk), and on the Internet as a PDF file.)
(ii) Plans for construction are in Warré's
book (see ref. iv below). Technical drawings for constructing a Warré hive according to
Warré's own specification are available in English here. Larry
Garrett's illustrated guide to self-build here.
Also see Nick Hampshire's excellent web site which shows lavishly illustrated
step-by-step construction details to suit people who have never done woodwork before: http://thebeespace.net/
(iii) Warré hive manufacturers:
a) http://www.massivholz-tischler.at/shopv2//themes/kategorie/index.php?kategorieid=12
Import-Handel-Export Anita Thuminger, Vienna (these hives are made in Poland;
transactions can be made in English).
b) http://www.ruche-warre.com/ -- Gilles
Denis, 2 Rue Jean Monnet, 42650 St Jean Bonnefonds, France (tel. 33 (0)4 53 86 23). (Based in the
Rhône valley about 60 km south west of Lyon; transactions must be in French.)
(iv) 'Beekeeping For All' by Abbé Émile Warré.
(v) John Haverson's short article on Warré beekeeping in BBKA News, the newsletter of the British Beekeeping Association, November 2019
Links
English Warré web portal http://warre.biobees.com/index.html
English Warré e-group Google group
Johannes Thür on 'Nestduftwärmebindung' and the Abbé Christ (1739-1813) Hive: http://www.users.callnetuk.com/~heaf/thur.pdf (the Christ hive is an identical concept to Warré's). The original German of Thür's book is at http://www.seanet.com/~alexs/bien/bienenzucht_full.pdf .
Bernhard Heuvel's sustainable beekeeping based on Warré hives (in English): http://www.selbstversorgerforum.de/bienen/sustainable_beekeeping.pdf
First Warré hive experiment in anglophone countries? http://www.users.callnetuk.com/~heaf/beekeeping_for_all.pdf
How to add accented characters such as é to documents about Warré beekeeping
English
The Bee-friendly Beekeeper by David Heaf. Ethical and scientific background of sustainable beekeeping with particular reference to the Warré hive. Author's web site here.
Care of Bees in Warré and Top Bar Hives by Joe Bleasdale. Aimed at those using the increasingly popular Warré and Top Bar Hives and anyone who wishes to stop the use of chemicals in their beekeeping. It gives practical guidance, with clear instructions, line drawings, and photographs.
French
Une ruche respectueuse des abeilles: la ruche Warré by David Heaf. A translation of The Bee-friendly Beekeeper (see above). More details.
Élever des Abeilles en Ruche Warré by Olivier Duprez. From the back cover: "Vie de la colonie, descriptions et particularités, calendrier des opérations apicoles . . . Vous trouverez dans cet ouvrage toutes les clés pour conduire votre ruche Warré et récolter votre miel tout en préservant au mieux la vie de lé'abeille." Author's website here. See also L'apiculture naturelle pour les débutants by Diane Jos & Olivier Duprez here.
L'Apiculture Écologique de A à Z by Jean-Marie Frèrèes & Jean-Claude Guillaume. Features what has become known as the Warré-FG hive which has windows in each box and an ingenious top-of-hive configuration. More details.
L'apiculture, telle que je l'aime et la pratique by Marc Gatineau. Uses frames and a closable hole in each box. More details.
La ruche Warré: Mode d'emploi -- Techniques et Conduite by Gilles Denis. An adaptation of the Warré method by a migratory commercial beekeeper. Author's website here. More details.
Italian
L'apicoltura naturale con l'arnia Warré -- un manuale by David Heaf. Translation of Natural Beekeeping with the Warré Hive -- A Manual. Publisher's website See also http://edizionimontaonda.blogspot.co.uk/
Swedish
Naturlig Biodling med Warré Kupan by David Heaf. Translation of Natural Beekeeping with the Warré Hive -- A Manual. e-Book
Acknowledgement
This advice has been compiled by various members of the Google Warrébeekeeping e-group https://groups.google.com/g/warrebeekeeping