What should a beginner beekeeper do?
May 16,2023 Lucia Ma
Learn about bee habits
Bees are social insects with many unique habits. Only by understanding the habits of bees can we maintain good bees. In fact, all management of bee colonies is carried out around habits. The colony is naturally divided into bees, and if you understand the sociality of bees, you can be handy when you are in the queen bee or in a group. Therefore, beginners must have a certain understanding of the habits of bees before keeping bees. Only in this way can they be handy in future bee colony management.
Choose the right bee species
The choice of bee species determines the success of beekeeping to a large extent. At present, the most common types of bee breeding are Italian bees (high production performance) and Chinese bees (strong survivability). The choice of bee breeding should be based on local natural resources. To decide, if there is a concentrated large honey source in the local area, Italian bees can be raised, but if the local area is mountainous and the honey sources are scattered, it is best to raise Chinese bees. Here, it is recommended for beginners to start with raising Chinese bees. After all, Chinese bees are harmful to the environment. Adaptability is stronger than Italian bees.
Determine the location of the bee farm
The location of the apiary is an important factor for the success of beekeeping. Choosing a suitable beekeeping site can make beekeeping more effective. Note that we are talking about Chinese bees (Italian bees do not discuss more because they want to chase flowers and honey). First of all You need to know that the effective collection radius of the bee is 3 kilometers. Secondly, the bee likes a quiet environment with suitable temperature and humidity. Finally, the fewer enemies (wastes and ants) near the bee farm, the better. I believe you are right after seeing this There is already a basic understanding of where is suitable for beekeeping.
Get bee swarm
Bee colonies can be purchased from other bee farms, or you can catch wild bee colonies yourself. There is not much discussion about purchasing bee colonies here, and there is actually nothing to discuss. Here we will focus on collecting wild bee colonies. Knowing how to find wild bees means that the first step is not done well. The thing is actually to find and collect wild bee colonies are carried out according to the habits of bees. If the learning of bees is thorough, it only needs to practice a few times. Easily solve the bee colony problem.
Observe the dynamics of the bee colony
After the bee colony is brought back to the apiary, it is necessary to carry out the box operation in time. Simply put, the bee colony is transferred to the beehive. After the completion of the box, it needs to be fed with honey water or syrup in time, and at the same time, install an anti-escape (to prevent the queen bee from escaping). After the bee colony builds spleen and lays eggs in the beehive, the bee colony basically stabilizes. After that, 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 Abnormalities should be dealt with in time.
Strengthen disease control
Bees, like other animals, will be harmed by diseases and insect pests. Diseases mainly include bee cystic larvae, paralysis, larval rot, etc. Parasites mainly include brood insects and bee mites. Etc. How to help bees prevent pests and diseases is the most important job of beekeeping. In fact, many people fail to keep bees because of inadequate prevention of pests and diseases. Especially for beginners, the outbreak of diseases in bee colonies is almost devastating.