As Natural as Possible beekeeping is more of a frame of mind than a management method.
Books on Natural Beekeeping
Even among self proclaimed natural beekeepers there is disagreement on what is natural and what is not. Since the only real "natural" way to keep bees is in the tree or cavity you found them in and leave them alone; It is difficult to say, "I am a natural beekeeper". If a tree full of bees blows over down the street and you somehow get it home and stand it up (leaving them alone of course) you are for sure a natural beekeeper. As soon as a beekeeper opens the hive things become unnatural. The level of manipulation and treatment one uses determines how natural the relationship actually is. So, for ANAP beekeeping one must take the example of the tree and start working slowly away from that.
The manipulations that can be made to honeybee hives are endless. It seems every beekeeper does things a little differently. It is also possible to set up your hive and do almost nothing. Remember, bees did just fine without us for millions of years. At Dave's Bees we use the Kenya Top Bar Hive (KTBH) and get by with only minor adjustments. Inspections are easily done from one end of the hive without tearing the whole hive apart in the process. Note: As of August 2010 we have just 2 Langstroth hives due to our plan to move to Maine. The KTBHs were sold since we only have room for the 2 Langstroth hives in the vehicle. But as with the KTBHs we operate the Langstroths with very little interference and leave them mostly on there own to do as they please. Many beekeepers are constantly looking for new ways to get the bees to do this or keep them from doing that. To the best of my knowledge nobody speaks fluent honeybee, therefore I trust the bees to know how to make the-- honey!
ANAP beekeeping is not a function of hive type since in any hive you decide how much you wish to do with them. You can leave bees to do as they wish in any hive known to man. Or inversely, you can manipulate them to death in those very same hives. Given a good home and plenty of clean forage the bees have a one track mind. All they want to do is forever multiply and continue the partnership with dependant flowers as nature and millions of years of evolution intended.
Mason bees lend themselves perfectly to ANAP beekeeping. You just put up the nest block and leave them alone.
The Barefoot Beekeeper
Natural Beekeeping: Organic Approaches to Modern Apiculture
Garden Hive Construction Guide 2.0 For folks who wish to use the Warre hives.
The full list of books on Natural Beekeeping
