Bee farming is very popular nowadays. The cultivation of bees is also called beekeeping. This word is not well known, but it is important that people who are engaged in this activity know it. Bee Farming is a new emerging trend in India. Beekeeping is one of the oldest traditions, for collecting honey from Bee’s nests.
Bee farming has been increasing due to its market demand not only in national but also international markets. Bee farming help increase Agriculture productivity through pollination and producing honey, bee wax and royal jelly which are additional benefits for farmers.
What is beekeeping or Bee Farming?
Beekeeping is an activity that is dedicated to the breeding and care of bees in order to take advantage of the products that result. The most important product that is achieved thanks to this activity is honey Dedication to beekeeping requires a lot of effort. Therefore, people who want to engage in this activity should know the following:
- Requires skill in the management of bees.
- Requires skill in working with wood.
- Beekeeping means long and hard hours of work under the sun and heat, dressed in thick clothes.
- Beekeeping is to enjoy, with great satisfaction the sweet reward.
Who is the beekeeper?
The beekeeper is the person who is dedicated to the breeding of bees. During the summer it usually works with bees, but during the winter, work consists of:
- Preparation of the material for the next season, where it will house the new families.
- Feed the colony in the time of low prayer.
- Cleaning and maintenance of the hive.
Beekeeper Clothing and Tools
To avoid pitting, beekeepers should wear special clothing such as a mask, overalls and leather gloves. All this clothing should be very thick to prevent the sting of bees from reaching the skin. The most used tools are the smoker, the spatula, and a brush. All three are very important when making the revisions, especially the smoker.
Types of Bees
Bees are characterized by living in groups called colonies. A colony of bees is composed of: a queen, drones and thousands of workers.
- Queen: She is the mother of the family and her mission is to lay eggs.
- Workers: The workers have the function of cleaning and defending the colony. In addition, they are responsible for bringing honey and pollen from the flowers and plants to feed the queen and the offspring.
- Drones: The drones are the males of the colony. They are born in spring and disappear when autumn arrives. Its function is to fertilize the queens. In the colonies, there are around 30,000 to 60,000 bees.
Where to find swarms of bees?
Bees look for places to shelter, such as holes in trees or building wild honeycombs. They usually form their colonies in places like the following:
- In the branches of the trees
- The trunk of trees
- In trunk pieces on the floor
Bees love the flowers is why they live in temperate climates that are where there is greater flowering.
Parts of the Bee carton
The bee box, is the place where beekeepers care for bees, is also known as a beehive. It is composed of two wooden boxes and different parts that are:
- Ceiling of the hive
- Between-top
- Picture
- Honey box
- Rack
- Creation chamber
- Floor or base
- Piquera
The box below is used to create the bees, and the box above is used only for the workers to produce honey. It is advisable to paint the boxes and that the paint serves as protection against inclement weather.
Measures of the bee box
The approximate measurements of each box is 38 cm wide by 24 cm high and 51 cm long. In each of the boxes should be placed ten frames with stamped wax. The stamped wax you put on the pictures is a thin sheet of beeswax or wax on a plastic base. This base has the form of cells where later the bees will live.
What do you do before you start catching?
Bites are always a concern, that is why before you start working with bees you should be well protected from head to toe wearing the appropriate clothing. Before capturing a swarm, it is necessary to have the apicultural box ready to care for the bees. This box should be installed in a warm place and at a good distance from the floor.
Review of the beekeeping box
The task of reviewing the hives seems simple. However, checking the boxes without knowing the subject can lead to serious mistakes. Therefore it is recommended to follow the following steps:
- Step 1: Observe if the queen began to lay eggs in each of the pictures and take care that pests of ants, spiders, and other insects do not invade the box.
- Step 2: Feed the bees, only in low flowering time. You can feed them, putting a container with water and sugar in front of the piquera. For each revision that is made, it is very important to use the smoker to keep away the bees and avoid bites.
- Step 3: Check that each box in the breeding chamber is completely filled with offspring. Use the smoker on each review.
- Step 4: Once the pups grow, install the box above. Before placing the grid in the middle so that the queen does not lay eggs in the second box.
- Step 5: All that is left is to wait for the second box to fill with honey. During this time the box must be kept in good condition.
Harvest start time
You can start the harvest once the second box is completely filled with honey. The steps to carry out this work are:
- Step 1: To start harvesting you must remove the bees from the pictures and move them to another box. Put the clean pictures in an empty box. The date of this activity does not matter since the mature honey does not require any other work from the bees. After removing the box from over a few days you can put a new box in place. It is better to keep the breeding chamber to produce more honey.
- Step 2: Move the tables without bees to a closed environment where the honey is kept at a good temperature. In this way remove the layer of wax that is formed on the honey will be easier.
- Step 3: Remove the wax layer with the help of a knife, this step is also known as uncapping. With that, it is ready to extract the honey with the help of the centrifuge machine
- Step 4: Around the world, it is difficult and expensive to buy glasses to pack honey properly. An alternative to this situation is to use plastic cups, recycling bottles of alcohol or other products such as pickles, sweets, etc.
Finally, when you finish with the packaging of honey, you can start selling it, achieving good economic income, as long as the honey is as clean as possible.
FAQ
How honey is made in bee farm?
Honey is made in a bee farm through a process called nectar foraging. During this process, bees collect nectar from flowers and carry it back to the hive. In the hive, they deposit the nectar into honeycomb cells. These cells are then filled with enzymes that break down the complex sugars in the nectar into simple sugars, giving it its sweet taste. The bees then fan their wings to evaporate some of the moisture out of the honey, causing it to thicken and become more concentrated. After this process is complete, they cap off each cell with wax, creating a seal that preserves the honey until harvest time.
How many bees in a honey farm?
The number of bees in a honey farm can vary greatly depending on the size and type of farm. Smaller hobby farms may have as few as 10,000 bees, while larger commercial operations can have up to 500,000 or more. The number of hives also plays a role in determining bee population, with each hive containing an average of 10-20 thousand bees during peak season. Additionally, the health and productivity of the bees is factored into the equation; healthy colonies tend to be larger than those that are struggling. Ultimately, the number of bees in a honey farm can range from 10,000 to millions depending on the size and type of operation.
Where is the best place to start a bee farm?
The best place to start a bee farm depends on several factors, including the climate and available resources. If you live in a warm, dry area with plenty of flowering plants, then you may be able to get started without any additional resources. However, if you live in a colder region or have limited access to water and food sources for your bees, then it’s important to consider investing in the necessary equipment and supplies before getting started.
Conclusion
Beekeeping is an ancient tradition in India, for collecting honey. Honey bee farming is becoming popular due to its market demand in national and international markets as well. Not only do the farmers make sweet dividends but beekeeping also helps increase agricultural productivity through pollination. Honeybees also produce honey, bee wax and royal jelly thus giving additional benefits to the farmers. After successive losses in traditionally grown crops, farmers are inclining towards bee farming at a greater rate than ever before! If you want more information about this topic or any other related topics please feel free to contact us we would love to hear from you!
As A Reference: Wikipedia
