Beekeeping which is also known as Apiculture is the occupation of owning and breeding bees for honey. However, bees Keeping requires you to have proper knowledge of their behavior and biology, and the skills of managing the hives, honey harvesting, and disease control.
Importance of Beekeeping
- Enhance production of honey which is:
- A high-energy feed.
- Adds sweetness to beverages and soft drinks.
- Also, the medicinal value since it is used to dress fresh wounds.
- Moreover, honey and beeswax are sold to generate income for the farmer.
- They are good pollinators for many crops.
- They require little capital to start and keep.
Types of Bees
There are mainly two types of bees namely: the African wild bee and the European bee. The most important bee species found in Africa which is from Morocco to South Africa is called Apis mellifera adansonii. It has the following features:
- Less active than the African bee.
- More gentle and larger than the African bee.
- Has high flying power and hence can fly for long distances.
- It is well adapted to local weather conditions.
- It is fairly resistant to diseases that attack bees.
The Bee Colony.
However, a bee is a social insect, it lives in a colony. So, the the colony is made up of three types of bees as follows:
- The Queen
- There is only one queen in a colony whose function is to lay fertile eggs and keep the colony together by the production of a pheromone known as queen substance for identification.
- The Drones
- mostly they are about 300 in number in a colony that has the following function:
- To fertilize the queen.
- To control the temperature of the hive.
- mostly they are about 300 in number in a colony that has the following function:
- The Worker Bees
- These are the smallest and are normally female bees that have the following function:
- Cleaning the hive
- Making honey and beeswax
- Protecting the hive from intruders
- Feeding the queen
- Building up the combs
- These are the smallest and are normally female bees that have the following function:
Things to consider when siting the Apiary in Beekeeping
So, an Apiary is a place where the beehives are laid. The following factors should be considered:
- Availability of water.
- Availability of flowers.
- A sheltered place to protect the hives from strong sun and wind.
- Away from human beings and livestock.
- A place free from
Types of Beehives.
A beehive is a box-like structure where bees are kept. The following are different types of Beehives:
- Log Hive
- it is made of a log where a log is split into two parts one being larger than the other. This type of hive is suspended by means of wires from a tree or a pole.
- Box Hive
- it is made up of sown timber cut to a length of one meter. The best size for a box hive is up to one meter long with the inner area measuring 30 × 30 cm.
- Kenya Top Bar Hive
- It is a type of movable frame hive that has a series of bars arranged to form the top of the hive. Bees attach their Combs to the bars which can be removed for examination. The bars are known as top bars.