Kitabı oku: «Beekeeping Starter Guide»

CHAPTER 1

ABOUT BEES

TYPES OF BEE SPECIES

TYPES OF BEES IN A HIVE

THE EGGS AND DEVELOPMENT STAGES OF A BEE

LIFE CYCLE OF A BEE

CHAPTER 2

WHY BEEKEEPING IS IMPORTANT

SOCIO-ECONOMIC IMPORTANCE OF BEEKEEPING

CHALLENGES OF BEEKEEPING

CHAPTER 3

HISTORY OF BEEKEEPING

EFFECT OF DISAPPEARING BEES

RECOMMENDATIONS FOR DISAPPEARING BEES

CHAPTER 4

PROCESS OF BEEKEEPING

DETERMINANTS OF A HIVES LOCATIONS

BREEDING BEES

DISEASES AND PESTS OF BEES

Chapter 5

PROCESS OF HONEY PRODUCTION

THE MANUFACTURING PROCESS

MARKETING HONEY

STORING HONEY

SHELF LIFE OF HONEY

CONCLUSION

INTRODUCTION

Apiculture is an aspect of agriculture that is primarily concerned with the practice of managing, maintaining, and keeping bees, their colonies, and their hives. The entire bee colony ecosystem that consists of the royal jelly, raw honey, and beeswax is known as the Apiary. Apart from being sustainable, good for health, these products are also very much sought.

If you are just a beginner and have ever had thoughts of keeping your bees, then this beekeeping book is for you. In this book specifically written for adults who are interested in natural beekeeping and need a book that not only explains the basics of beekeeping for the beginner but also shows how to manage the business side of keeping bees to make it a profitable business churning out profit consistently.

So, if all you wanted was to be a backyard beekeeper or a hobbyist or simply a small-time farmer hoping to use his homestead to start a business selling honey and other bee products, this guide which has pictures to illustrates the point has been designed to get you started in no time, and you know what, it's fairly easy to learn the process of managing how to keep bees.

As with many other aspects of life, many factors come into play before deciding to embark on a beekeeping adventure, so before you dive right in, you may want to first consider if keeping bees is suitable for you.

That means that the first step to the long journey of becoming a successful keeper of bees is to acquire as much knowledge as possible about the bees to acquaint yourself with all the potential variables that have the capacity to affect the outcome of your honey bees.

This beginner's pack will show you how to select your hive for your first beehive, help you prepare for possible challenges you may face in the future. Each day you go out to see your bees can become a new experience in itself as you get to see something different every time you get into your hive, this book was written to make each beekeeping experience an interesting one for you.

To be able to make appropriate management decisions, especially when preparing to start commercial beekeeping, it is important to know the importance of being flexible in your approach and to develop an uncanny ability to figure out your bees act the way they do at one time and then turn around to behave in a totally different way at other times. The ability to differentiate each of these supposedly simple actions and how those actions can impact their wellbeing is what usually differentiates a successful beekeeper from a failed beekeeping practice.

So, ride along with us as we expose and simplify the aspects of beekeeping for you in a language that is simple to understand.

CHAPTER 1
ABOUT BEES

Bees are insects that fly and are similar to ants and wasps. Bees come from the monophyletic origin within the Apoidea family. There are more than 20,000 recognized species of bees that are recognized in seven families. Some of the bee species live in colonies socially e.g. bumblebees, honey bees, and stingless bees while other species like carpenter bees, leafcutter bees, mason bees, and sweat bees prefer to live separately.

Bees exist in every environment that is surrounded by insect-pollinated flowering plants in all the continents except Antarctica. Bees vary in sizes as some species are tiny and stingless with workers that are less than 2 millimeters (0.08 in) long, and some like the largest specie (Megachile pluto) of leafcutter bee, have females that can be as long as 39 millimeters. Nectar and pollen are what bees feed on. The nectar serves as a source of energy to the bees and pollen gives protein and other nutrients. The bee larvae also feed on pollen. Bee has both insect predators like dragonflies and bird predators like bee-eaters.

TYPES OF BEE SPECIES

There are approximately 25,000 species of bees globally. Furthermore, the 25,000 species are further categorized into more than 4000 types of bees (genera) which relate within 9 superfamilies (Apoidea). Additionally, there are approximately 4000 species in the US, and there are above 250 species in Britain and likely more species to be known. Here are the types of bees classified by family:

Apidae: Examples of bees in this family are stingless bees, honeybees, and bumblebees.

Megachilidae: These are usually solitary bees like the mason bees and the Leafcutter bee.

Andrenidae: This family is a wide bee specie family with the andrena genera and 1300 other bee species. They are mining bees

Colletidae: They include approximately 2000 species including the yellow-faced bees and plasterers.

Halictidae: They are smallish bees usually referred to as sweat bees. They are usually dark-colored with some yellow, red, or green stripes.

Mellittidae: They are a small family of Africa bees with about 60 species in 4 genera.

Meganomiidae: They are a small bee family in Africa with about 10 species in 4 genera.

Dasypodaidae: They comprise over 100 species in 8 genera.

Stenotritidae: This is a small bee family found in Australia with about 21 species in 2 genera. They were initially a part of the colletidae family.

The most common types of bees are honey bees, bumblebees, killer bees, mason bees leafcutter, and carpenter bees.

HONEY BEES (APIDAE)

Honey bees are categorized as ‘social bees’ because they can live in colonies that have about 50,000 – 60,000 workers. There are 10 varieties of honey bee globally, and one hybrid bee known as the Africanized bee. The European honey bee is generally reared and harvested by beekeepers in the West. Honey bees are also broadly used by other bees in pollinating crops.

Honeybees can be seen anywhere in the world and they have large families. The honeybee is the sole social insect whose colony can exist for a long time. And this happens because they gather, and nestle together, and eat honey to stay alive during the winter season. Honeybees pollinate over 100 food crops in the U.S. Their wings flutter about 11,000 times each minute, that's why they sound like they are "buzzing". Honeybees usually also sting, but they do that only once. This is because their stingers are barbed and tear off whenever they leave. The sting can be very painful if the stinger is not instantly extracted from the person which can sometimes result in a terrible reaction to persons allergic to insect stings.

Honey bees have a golden yellow color with brown bands. Honeybees use the pollen and nectar of plants to make honey. They reserve the honey in honeycombs in their hives, and they feed the honey to their young ones during the winter. Honeybee nests differ in size. They generally construct their nests in the crevices of trees, and sometimes they build it in attics or chimneys.

BUMBLEBEES (APIDAE)

Bumblebees are seen as beneficial insects because they are great pollinators of numerous types of plants and food crops. Their excellence as pollinators is partly related to the furry shape of their body and also their capacity to 'buzz pollinate'. They are extremely social bees that exist in large "families". The bumblebee is different from the honeybee because they have smooth stingers that don't stick to the skin when the move away so they can sting severally. The bumblebee sting is very painful and can cause swelling and irritation which can linger for days.

Bumblebees are black in color with yellow stripes. Bumblebees collect nectar and pollen, then use it to feed their larvae and other bees in the colony. Most of the bumblebee colonies are relatively small, with about 50 to 400 workers, but you can expect them to be typically around 120 to 200. Bumblebees usually build their nest on the floor, but sometimes they set up their nests above the ground around decks or balcony areas. Sometimes they also set up their nests in attics or under the beam of roofs. When they are agitated, they normally buzz loudly, and they aggressively and boldly protect and guard their nests. As part of the hostile protection of their nests, bumblebees will pursue nest invaders for a long period of time and long distances.

KILLER BEES

Africanized killer bees are similar to the normal honeybees physically, but they have varied wing measurements. Africanized bees stay in South America and the Western and Southern United States. They are recognized for chasing people over a quarter of a mile when they are angry. Though they are usually referred to as "killer" bees, their venom is not more toxic than the normal honeybees. Yet, these bees usually attack in groups, which makes them more dangerous to humans, particularly to allergic people. Africanized "killer" bees can only sting once because their stingers are not smooth and tear off when they try to fly away. They have a golden yellow color with darker bands of brown. Killer bees collect nectar and pollen, then to serve as food to the colony and their larvae. Africanized bees usually own little colonies, which means they can set up their nests in unusual places like boxes, crates, empty cars, tires, etc. It is advisable to move in a zigzag style if attacked by Africanized bees and seeks refuge in a building or a vehicle. Also, be careful when dealing with stuff that could surround an Africanized bee nest.