CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE NATURAL BEEKEEPING FACT SHEET (PDF)
Did you know you can start a beehive without buying a single bee? Dr. Leo Sharashkin of Horizontal Hive is going to give a beginner level explanation of how to raise bees naturally: no chemicals, no sugar feeding, no antibiotics!
Beginner Guide to Raising Bees Naturally (no chemicals)
the Shepherdess:
Dr. Leo Sharashkin, thank you for joining us! Go ahead and give us some background. When did you start beekeeping?
Dr. Leo Sharashkin:
Thank you, Grace. From as far back as I can remember, even as a small child. My uncle was a beekeeper in Russia—he started in 1972, before I was even born. My favorite vacations were summers spent in his village, about 200 miles east of Moscow. He kept both vertical and horizontal hives.
As a kid, I was more into playing than watching bees—but I noticed something. The older my uncle got (he’s 86 now and still keeping bees), the fewer vertical hives he had. That’s because they require strength—lifting 70-pound boxes isn’t easy. But he could keep working his horizontal hives without hurting his back.
When we came to the U.S., I just wanted to have bees for our family. We weren’t finding honey like my uncle’s—rich, full of pollen and bee bread. If we have time, we can talk about how hive management changes the quality of honey. But I’ll just say: most people here don’t even know what bee bread is. It’s fermented pollen inside the comb, and it’s a superfood.
So we started keeping bees for our own use. And I’ve never bought a single bee. We went from zero to 50 hives just by catching swarms.
the Shepherdess:
Wait, all 50 hives came from swarms?
Dr. Leo Sharashkin:
Yes! Just using boxes like this one (holds up a small hive box). You hang it in a tree in spring, and bees move in—just like birds into birdhouses. Everyone knows how birdhouses work, but for some reason we’ve forgotten the same applies to bees. Put a box out, and bees will come.
Here in the Ozarks—zone 6—this is the time of year I hang out my swarm traps. Pioneers knew this, because they didn’t have FedEx to ship bees from Florida. But that traditional knowledge got lost when bees became something you could buy.
People think you have to buy bees, but you don’t. The best things in life come free—why should bees be an exception?
the Shepherdess:
That’s incredible.
Dr. Leo Sharashkin:
And I’ve never treated them with chemicals. No sugar feeding. Everyone around me said it wouldn’t work, that my bees would die. But my survival rates are consistently higher than those who buy package bees. Their bees make a honey crop, die in winter, and then they have to buy more.
So not only is natural beekeeping more rewarding, but it also puts a smile on my face. I even translated a book from Russian that got me started—it’s called Keeping Bees with a Smile. It explains how bees live in the wild and how we can mimic that.
There’s a robust population of wild honeybees surviving without treatments—even with all the parasites and pesticides out there. If wild bees can make it, so can ours—if we use hardy stock and work with nature instead of against it.
Interest in this has exploded. We can barely keep up—just today, we shipped 12 pallets of orders. Too much for a regular FedEx truck—they had to send a 26-foot box truck!
I do sell honey, and it’s premium stuff. But the real joy is when people buy equipment or even just download my free plans, then send me pictures of their kids eating honeycomb fresh from their hive.
The Shepherdess:
Scott in the comments says:
“Thanks to Dr. Leo’s free plans at HorizontalHive.com, I built 10 swarm traps this winter. Thank you!”
Now for the first question of the night:
“Have you heard of Flow Hives, and what do you think of them?”
Dr. Leo Sharashkin:
Yes, Flow Hives are essentially regular vertical hives—except the section where bees store honey is replaced with a special honeycomb made out of plastic.
This is not the direction I would go. First, it’s a fairly expensive setup. Second, I don’t even package my honey in plastic—only in high-quality glass jars. Over time, plastic can leach into honey, which is why in many countries, honey is never stored or sold in plastic—only glass. I wouldn’t be able to sell my honey for $50 a pound if I kept bees on plastic comb.
There’s so much that goes into doing it right, and the first step is to keep it simple and close to nature. Bees build honeycomb from wax and propolis—the resins they collect from trees. This natural comb has antibacterial properties and helps keep the hive healthy. Replace it with plastic, and you lose those benefits. Then you have to start medicating your bees to make up for it.
Bees are part of a complex ecosystem. The farther you go from their natural setup—using plastic comb, plastic foundation, or poorly insulated boxes—the more work you create for yourself to compensate for what you’ve broken. Bees in the wild live in tree hollows with excellent insulation. That’s what they’re adapted to.
Also, bees modify natural honeycomb to suit their needs—they’ll chew holes for ventilation or traffic. They can’t do that with plastic.
So, I don’t use Flow Hives. But if you have good experiences with them, please send me pictures and your story. I’d love to learn more. For me, I keep it simple and natural.
The Shepherdess:
Great. We’ll keep laying some groundwork before we get to the big questions—like how to attract bees.
Here’s a simple one:
“What are the advantages of keeping a hive on the homestead?”
Dr. Leo Sharashkin:
First and foremost, you get honey you know is real. Not many people realize this, but in America, 60–70% of honey consumed is imported, including from China—the largest honey producer in the world. I almost said “manufacturer,” because some of it isn’t even made by bees. It’s synthetic honey, formulated in labs to taste like honey.
In Europe, they say every fifth jar of honey is fake. And that’s in one of the most tightly regulated food markets in the world. Imagine what it’s like in the U.S.
And even among real honey, a lot is contaminated. Many beekeepers use chemicals and medications in their hives. Once you introduce those substances into the hive, they end up in the honey.
Search “pesticide residue in honey” and you’ll find tons of USDA and university studies showing American honey is contaminated—not just from crops, but from what beekeepers themselves put into the hive.
So, one major benefit of having your own hive is knowing your honey is pure.
Second—bees make the best pets. They don’t bark at night, they require very little upkeep, and they give you honey! The educational value alone is huge, especially for children. That was one of the most meaningful aspects of beekeeping for me.
The Shepherdess:
I’m almost embarrassed to ask this—but I didn’t know there was a difference between conventional beekeeping and natural beekeeping. Could you explain the difference?
Questions about Natural Beekeeping with Dr. Leo Sharashkin:
Absolutely. It starts with the bees themselves—and the type of hive you use.
In the U.S., bees were brought over from Europe hundreds of years ago. Since then, they’ve acclimated to the environment here. But there’s huge variation in their genetic makeup. Bees are incredibly adaptable from one generation to the next.
Genetically, honeybees have 40 times more recombination per generation than humans. This high genetic variation allows them to quickly adapt to local conditions: bloom times, climate, winters, drought.
Now, if you let bees live naturally for a few generations—no interventions—they adapt beautifully to their environment.
But in commercial beekeeping, it’s a different story.
Most bees sold in the U.S. are bred in southern states like Florida, where winters are mild. Bee breeders start selling in February, and they ship packages north to Michigan, Missouri, wherever. These bees often have queens from the Italian strain, native to the Mediterranean—a climate with mild winters and ten months of flowers.
So what happens? These bees do fine in summer, but they’re not in sync with northern climates. They don’t survive winter well, and the beekeeper has to buy new bees each spring. The cycle repeats.
Then there’s disease resistance. In the wild, if a new parasite like varroa mites shows up, bees either die—or the survivors develop resistance. That’s natural selection.
But in commercial beekeeping, they can’t afford to let 95% of their colonies die to find the best survivors. They have contracts—pollinating almonds, producing honey. So they treat all their bees, year after year, never letting natural selection work.
So today, 20 years after varroa mites arrived, they’re still a huge problem—because the bees have never been allowed to adapt.
When people ask me, “What do you do about small hive beetles? About varroa mites?”—I say, “I do nothing.”
Why? Because my bees came from the woods. They were already surviving on their own.
The Shepherdess:
It’s good. Alright, so we have a question here, and it’s a little bit long—let me see if I can get it out. David says:
“Dr. Leo, while acknowledging that many bees now are partially mixed with Africanized bees and that this makes them robust, is there any concern about the level or mix of that strain in wild swarms, and how would one recognize this?”
Dr. Leo Sharashkin:
Yes, thank you. Africanized bees are a cross between the European honeybee and the African honeybee. This was done in Brazil, and over time they migrated north through Latin America, into Mexico, and eventually into the United States.
The good news is that this strain—while very aggressive—cannot survive in the north. Even in Missouri, they don’t make it through the winter. So if you’re in zone 6 or further north, it’s not a concern. Even in zone 7—places like Arkansas, Tennessee, Kentucky—it’s almost not a concern.
The areas where you need to be careful are places like Arizona, Florida, and Texas—the far south. But even there, many beekeepers manage fine. I translated a great book from French called From the Earth, which shows how bees are kept in 23 different countries—including places like Mexico where the only bees available are Africanized. They can be kept productively; you just need very good protective gear and large smokers.
Of course, you wouldn’t want to keep very aggressive bees near homes or livestock, but they are healthy, productive bees. If you can keep them away from human activity, and if you don’t mind the intensity of interaction, it can be done. Many bees will swirl like a tornado trying to sting you—not very pleasant. I don’t wear protection when I harvest honey from my bees, but it’s doable.
Also, if you read the literature, you’ll find that some Africanized bee colonies are becoming more gentle over time. So you may not even be able to tell without a genetic analysis.
That said, I believe beekeeping should be joyful. So if you have a hive that constantly gives you grief—extremely aggressive or defensive—just requeen it with a more gentle stock. I’ve never had to do that myself. I actually like the mean hives because if they can defend themselves from me, they can defend themselves from bears, opossums—you name it.
The Shepherdess:
Yeah, good question here from Alan. He says: “What is your opinion on Top Bar hives?”
Dr. Leo Sharashkin:
Yes, I’ve kept bees in Top Bar hives, and they are excellent in the South. For those unfamiliar, a Top Bar hive supports the comb only from the top bar—a single plank of wood. There’s no frame structure surrounding the comb.
That’s both an advantage and a limitation. The advantage is that Top Bar hives are inexpensive and simple to build. They’re used in places like Africa where people can’t afford framed equipment.
But because the comb is only supported from the top, you can’t make the hive very deep. If the comb gets too long, the weight of the honey will cause it to collapse. So Top Bar hives have to be shallow. Because of that, I do not recommend them for cold climates. The depth of the comb is important for successful wintering.
Another consideration: with frames, once bees build and fill them with honey, you can spin them in a honey extractor—a centrifuge that removes the honey without damaging the comb. You can return that intact wax to the bees so they don’t have to rebuild it, which significantly increases productivity.
In a Top Bar hive, the comb is usually crushed and strained, so the bees have to rebuild it each time. That means more wax, which is great if you need wax, but less honey overall.
One more upside: when you don’t return used comb, you also avoid recycling bacteria or disease—so it’s more sanitary. But again, you’ll be harvesting less honey, and it’s slower.
So—go for it in the South if you want! But for northern climates, I wouldn’t recommend it.
Q: What are the three most important things for someone to know before starting hives as a novice?
Dr. Leo Sharashkin:
- Start with locally adapted bees – Natural beekeeping depends on using bees that are adapted to your specific environment. Commercial bees often require constant intervention (feeding, medication), while local bees are self-sustaining.
- Don’t fear bee stings – You can use high-quality protective gear and avoid stings altogether. Dr. Leo chooses to work without gear and sees stings as beneficial, even citing their use in apitherapy for conditions like arthritis and MS.
- Choose the right hive model for your physical capacity – Vertical hives can involve lifting 60–70 lb boxes, which can lead to injury. Consider horizontal hives if you’re concerned about back, hip, or knee strain.
Q: Do you have a few favorite plants for bees?
Dr. Leo Sharashkin:
- Recommends the book Honey Plants of North America – Includes detailed planting info and regional plant recommendations.
- Personal favorites:
- Sumac (Smooth and Winged) – Drought-tolerant, great nectar source.
- Blackberries – Excellent bee forage and food for humans. Both plants emerge naturally in overgrown pastures and are low-maintenance.
- Tip: Observe what bees are already foraging on in your area. Plants can behave differently in different soils and climates.
Q: What would you do to keep bees healthy during a drought?
Dr. Leo Sharashkin:
- Again, it comes down to local bees.
- Local bees anticipate nectar scarcity and adjust brood production ahead of time to conserve resources.
- Imported bees don’t self-regulate and will continue raising brood even when there’s nothing to feed them—burning through honey stores.
- If you’re working with commercial bees, you may have to feed them, but switching to local genetics can solve that problem long-term.
Q: Can swarms stay in a swarm box permanently?
Dr. Leo Sharashkin:
- No, swarm boxes are temporary. Within 3–4 weeks, the bees will outgrow the box and swarm again if not moved into a full-size hive.
Q: What exact hive box do you recommend?
Dr. Leo Sharashkin:
- 14-frame Horizontal Hive – Economical ($250), holds 40 lbs of honey, and uses the same European-style frames as the swarm trap.
- 20-frame Insulated Horizontal Hive – Recommended for northern climates (Michigan, Montana, Alaska). Double-walled with wool insulation for winter survival.
- Free plans and ready-made hives available at horizontalhive.com. Use code APRIL for 5% off.
Book Recommendations from Dr. Leo:
- Keeping Bees With a Smile – A gentle introduction to natural beekeeping, now in its 2nd edition.
- Keeping Bees in Horizontal Hives – Ideal for those interested in no-lift beekeeping methods.
