Resources

Links & Resources

Places I've actually used, books I've actually read, and people I've actually met. Not affiliate links, no sponsorship — just things that have helped me.

Hive Plans & Equipment

• horizontalhive.com — Dr. Leo Sharashkin's site. Free Layens hive plans, excellent books, and swarm-trap designs. This is where I started with horizontal hives.
• Swarm trap plans — top-bar style, simple to build
• 20-frame Layens hive instructions (PDF)
• Your local lumber yard for Layens-frame-width boards — most beginners overpay for pre-milled hive wood

YouTube Channels I Recommend

• Kamon Reynolds — excellent content, answers questions in the comments. Warmer climate than Idaho but principles translate.
• Jeff Horchoff (Mr. Ed) — wonderful beekeeper, met him at conferences. Louisiana climate, very different from ours — take the principles, adjust the timing.
• Dr. Leo Sharashkin's channel — deep dives on horizontal hives and natural beekeeping

Books Worth Your Shelf

• Keeping Bees With a Smile — Fedor Lazutin (the Lazutin hive originator)
• The Beekeeper's Bible — for the general overview
• The Practical Beekeeper — Michael Bush, if you want to understand treatment-free and why it's harder than it sounds
• Anything published by Dr. Leo Sharashkin on horizontal hives

Pollinator Conservation

• The Xerces Society — invertebrate conservation, Idaho-specific habitat guides
• Pollinator Partnership — ecoregion planting guides (free PDFs by ZIP code)
• Idaho Master Gardener programs — county extension offices run pollinator workshops

Idaho & Regional Beekeeping

• Idaho State Beekeepers Association — conferences, newsletter, bylaws worth reading
• Your county beekeeping association (Twin Falls, Ada, Canyon, etc.)
• Idaho State Department of Agriculture — apiary registration, disease alerts, pesticide notifications

News & Reading

• Beekeeper's millions of bees crash in Whatcom County — a PNW story worth reading about what can go wrong in transport

Places Worth Visiting (If You're Traveling)

• NW Carriage Museum — not bee-related, but a wonderful stop in Washington state that a friend recommended