2. What is Commercial Bee Keeping?
• It is also known as Apiculture.
• Rearing of honey bees in order to collect honey and
other products of the hive (Beeswax, Propolis, Pollen,
Royal Jelly) and to pollinate crops.
• Most common bee species used in apiculture in India
are Apis mellifera (European honey bees).
3. Why Apiculture?
1/3rd of World food production is depends on plants
pollinated by animals, the major part of the work is
done by the honey bees.
Albert Einstein once said: “If the bee disappears from
the surface of the earth, man would have no more
than four years to live. No more bees, no more
pollination ......... no more men!”
Honey bees increases 3 – 33% of crop production.
Honey is precious natural product with medicinal
benefits produced throughout the world.
4. Apis mellifera species
European honey bees.
Easy to handle.
Less aggressive.
Produces huge amount of honey approximately 25-
40kg/colony.
Three types of Honey bees
1. Queen bee
2. Drone bee
3. Worker bee
5. QUEEN BEE DRONE BEE
Mother of all bees.
Only 1 queen bee/ hive
Lifecycle is 3-5 years.
Only individual which lays
eggs in a colony.
Produces queen substance to
make workers sterile and to
have a specific hive odour
(pheromone)
Mates with drones in one or
more nuptial flights.
Lay up to 2000/day in Apis
mellifera.
Queen can lay either fertilized
or sterile eggs depending on
the requirement
Male fertile bees.
Important duty is to fertilize
the queen.
They also help in maintenance
of hive temperature.
They cannot collect nectar /
pollen and they do not
possess a sting.
6. Raise in special cup shaped
cells located on the lower edges
of comb.
Egg period is 3 days, larval
period is 5 days (fed with royal
jelly) and pupal period is 7
days.
Queen bee ‘s abdomen is
longer in size than all other
bees.
Drone cells are larger than those
of workers and capped with
dome shaped wax cap with a
central hole.
Egg period is 3 days, larval
period is 7 days (fed with worker
jelly for 3 days and with a mixture
of worker jelly , bee bread for 4
days) &pupal period is 13 days .
Being large in size, they are
distinguishable from the queen
by the tapered shape of their
abdomen.
Drones are only males in hive,
hatching from unfertilized eggs
laid in larger cells by queen.
7. Worker Bee
Workers are raised in the cells situated in the
surface of the hive, which are hexagonal in shape.
Egg period is 3 days.
Larval period is 4 days (fed with worker jelly for 1-
2days and with bee bread for remaining days) &
pupal period is 12 days.
Life span is around 6 weeks.
Duties of Worker bees are as follows
1.Indoor duties
2. Outdoor duties
8. Indoor duties
1. Build comb with wax secretion from wax glands.
2. Feed the young larvae with royal jelly secreted from
hypo pharyngeal gland.
3. Feed older larvae with bee-bread (pollen+ honey)
4. Feeding and attending queen.
5. Feeding drones.
6. Cleaning, ventilating and cooling the hive.
7. Guarding the hive.
8. Evaporating nectar and storing honey.
Outdoor duties
9. Collecting nectar, pollen, propolis and water.
10. Ripening honey in honey stomach.
9. Parts of Bee hive
1. Stand
2. Bottom board or floor board
3. Brood chamber
4. Super chamber
5. Top cover
6. Frames
7.Comb foundation sheet
8. Dummy division board
9. Smoker
10. Decapping knife
11. Honey extractor
12. Hive tool
13. Bee brush
10. Protective dress
Bee veil: It is worn over the face, made up of frames
or iron rings covering the sides with wire mesh and
top and bottom with cloth. The bottom cloth has a rim
with elastic to make it stick to the neck.
Over all cover: It is a protective garment worn over
the clothes so that the bees cannot get under them to
sting. Strong, cheap, white drill cloth is used to make
it.
Bee gloves: Gloves of flexible leather or thick
canvass with elasticity in the wrist used to protect the
hands from stinging.
High boots: A pair of high gumboots protects the
ankles and prevents bees from climbing up under the
trousers.
11. APIARY MANAGEMENT PRACTICES
An apiary should be located in an orchard or near bee pasturage
within the radius of 1-2 km.
The hives should not face the wind direction.
Trees and bushes form a good wind barrier.
The site should be flat with good drainage.
Clean and fresh running water should be available.
In the shade less area, an artificial shed may be provided.
An apiary should not be located too near a high way.
A good barbed wire fence or a live thorny hedge may be provided
to keep out intruders.
The site should be free from termite and black ant.
The hives should be placed 2-3 meters apart in rows at a spacing
of 3-7 meters apart based on availability of space.
Landmark such as trees, bushes etc., may be planted at suitable
intervals to help the bees to recognize their hives.
12. Care during lean season
When availability of pasturages is less during lean
season/dearth period, a dummy division board is to
be kept to confine the bees to a limited area. The
bees are artificially fed with honey or sugar syrup.
ARTIFICIAL FEEDING
Honey: Artificial feeding of sugar syrup increases
bee strength, brood area and food reserves.
Provision of 3 kg sugar solution (10 per cent) in split
doses per month at weekly intervals is preferable.
The food is given only in the evening hours in
containers with floats (to avoid drowning of bees)
13. Inspection of a colony
Periodical inspection should be done to know the swarming,
activity of queen and general behaviour. A record of each colony
should be maintained to know the yield of honey, swarms that
went out etc.
Gently smoke the entrance and wait for a while.
Remove the roof and lay it on the ground with the bottom
upward just behind the hive.
Check for the presence of spider, cockroach and lizard inside
the roof
Remove the super and keep it diagonally on the upturned roof.
Smoke between the brood frames if the bees are defensive.
14. Gently lift the end frames without rolling the bees, using the
hive tool as a lever initially. Examine the first frames and keep
it slanting against the hive on the ground.
Remove the frames one after another and pace inside the
box.
Frame the queen be placed back with least delay.
Keep the brood box over the super after nest inspection
Check for the presence of wax moth larvae or dead bees on
floor board and clean thoroughly.
Replace the brood box, then super box.
Inspect the super frames in a similar fashion.
Close the hive with the roof.
15. PRECAUTIONS TO BE TAKEN WHILE
HANDLING BEES
Whenever you are working with the bees, it is important to use a
smoker when they are aggressive. This not only protects you, but
the hive as well.
The second means of protection is through protective clothing via
the bee suit, veil and gloves, Bee suits are not 100% effective. A
bee can still sting through the material in the right conditions, but
it lessens the chance greatly.
Wear light colour clothes because the bees usually get
attracted to dark & bright colours.
Don't use any deodorants, fragrant creams or oils because it
attracts bees towards you.
If you are stung, move away from the hive slowly, and remove
sting as fast as possible as it emits a pheromone to the rest of the
colony that says “danger, we‟re under attack!” and the rest of the
colony will often move in to chase off the aggressor.
16. Don't stand or walk in front of entrance gate, bees usually
establish a flight pattern that guides them into the entrance of
the hive. If you block this entrance with your body, returning
bees will get disturbed. They might buzz close to you angrily, or
start Wapping into you with their bodies.
Do slow movements, Bees see fast movement as threatening.
Try to be calm and move slowly and deliberately while handling
the bees.
17. Weekly activities
1st week - Learning about the hives and various tools used in
Apiculture. Feeding with 50% concentration of sugar and weeding
near the hives
2nd week - Handling of hives, inspecting hives, removing some
wasp combs around the hives by burning them and feeding of
bees.
3rd week - Feeding with 40% concentration of sugar solution and
colonies were shifted as there was no free space and proper
sunlight for the bees to go out for forage and nectar collection
4th week - Filling of ant-wells with water, feeding and cleaning.
Activity of bees increased in new area as there was free space
around the hives and good availability of sunlight.
5th week - the concentration of sugar as the flowering season
started and they could go out for collection of pollens and nectar.
6th week - Inspection was done but no feed was given as there
were flowers in field and activity of bees also increased.
18. 7th week - Good amount of brood along with some reserves of
honey and pollens were seen during inspection and there was
heavy propolis between frames so cleaning was also done.
8th week - Again started the feeding with 30% concentration of
sugar and honey packing was observed in some frames.
9th week - Observed some unclosed queen shells with good
number of brood while inspection. Collection of wax and propolis
was done during cleaning.
10th week - Inspection and cleaning was done and most of the
bees were in defence mechanism as there were unfavourable
climatic conditions around the hive.
11th week - Cleaning and packing of hives with paddy straw was
done as winter started.
12th week - Cleaning and packing of remaining hives were
done.
