On this month's edition of the Homestead Radio Hour: natural beekeeping expert Janet Brisson talks with us about keeping bees without harsh chemicals, using natural and non-toxic methods. She brought these photos to illustrate her techniques.

Drone cells, brood cells, and natural brood cells all vary in size — natural beekeeping allows the bees to build their own comb. This small-cell comb reduces mite levels and allows the bees to build their hive naturally:

Measuring the cell size:

Drone comb in the space at the bottom of this frame: 

Mites inside drone cells:

An uncapping fork is used to remove and inspect larvae:

Powdered-sugar shake to remove and count mites:

Dusting the bees with powdered sugar to remove mites: