Beekeeping for Beginners
Jun 13,2023 Lucia Ma
If you want to beekeeping, you might be confused as to where to start ,Benefitbee tell you , step by step, from ordering the bees to choosing your hive to getting everything set up when they arrive.
When buying bee colonies, you can go to the bee farm, or you can collect some wild bee colonies yourself. To buy bee species, you can buy them from local beekeepers. The suggestion is to buy a variety of honey that suits you on the spot.To lure bees, choose the bee-separating season, when the outside sources of pollen and nectar are sufficient, the temperature is suitable, and the bees are about to experience bee-separating fever. At this time, the chances of luring bees are higher. To lure bees, you can use old beehives to lure, or you can use plastic buckets to lure bees. The bee bucket can be placed under a big tree, open in front, and near a water source.
Regardless of whether it is a purchased bee colony or a collected wild bee colony, it should be operated in a timely manner, and the bee colony should be transferred to the beehive. After the completion of the bee colony, it should be fed with honey water and syrup in time At the same time, anti-escape sheets should be installed on the nest door to prevent the queen bee from escaping. After the bee colony builds the spleen and lays eggs in the beehive, the bee colony is almost stable. Then you should pay attention to observe the dynamics of the bee colony, such as whether the worker bees are on duty normally, whether the queen bee is laying eggs normally, etc. If there is any abnormality, it must be dealt with in time.
Buying Basic Beekeeping Tools
Beehive. Service life and material are the two most important criteria for beehive selection. Beehives should be made of fir and wax beehives. When choosing a beehive, you also need to consider price, portability, smell, etc.
Beehive frame and foundation. The beehive frame should be non-toxic and odorless, and the wire drawing should be made of steel wire and non-rusting material. The base of the nest should be selected with a high content of beeswax, which is well accepted by bees.
Bee feeder. During the overwintering period, the flowering period, the period when the nectar source is scarce, and the bee breeding period, all need to be fed. So it is necessary to have a feeder ready.
Uncapping knife、Hive tool、Bee suit、Queen excluder.
Beekeeping farm
There must be a certain number of honey plants near the beekeeping farm. The bee colony should be placed in a leeward, sunny, and quiet place, and there must be a certain distance from the driveway and sidewalk. Close to reservoirs, lakes, and large rivers, bee farms cannot be located on slope tops or high grounds, otherwise bees will fly upwards when collecting and returning to their nests, which will reduce the collection efficiency. At the same time, strong winds on slopes, high grounds, etc. are not conducive to management and overwintering, and it is not an option Humid low-lying areas, because these places are prone to bee diseases.
Bee Disease Control
Wasps: Wasps are particularly harmful in mountainous and hilly areas. Ants: Ants will enter the beehive through the gaps in the beehive or the nest door, eat honey and pollen, and interfere with the normal activities of the bees. You can place a wooden stake at each of the four corners of the beehive, and then apply asphalt or tung oil on the wooden stake, or you can use exterminators. Ant spirit to kill. Wax moth: The larvae of the wax moth will eat the honeycomb. In severe cases, it will cause the bees to fly away, especially the middle bees are seriously damaged. When the brood occurs, it can be removed manually, or it can be fumigated with drugs. Common drugs include carbon disulfide and ice. Acetic acid, sulfur dioxide, etc. Bee mites: Bee mites are the main parasites of honey bees. Bee colonies that are seriously harmed by bee mites will rapidly weaken their colony, severely reduce their collection power, and even cause the death of the whole colony. The best way is to leave the nest without a cover Under the implementation of drug therapy or physical therapy. Cystic larvae disease: Cystic larval disease of bees is a very harmful disease of bees. It is necessary to strengthen feeding and management, merge weak colonies and pick out insect corpses, and use alcohol cotton swabs to disinfect nest rooms. Bee colonies with serious conditions should be replaced. Replace the spleen and incinerate the replaced beehive and comb.