Beekeeping

Posts Tagged ‘honey bee’

One of the most essential parts of beekeeping is beekeeping equipment and supplies. The most important supply of beekeeping is bees itself. Due to the availability of vast number of honey bees and as there are different types of honey bees with different properties and characteristics, it is pertinent to buy bees with utmost care.

First, it must be decided which type of bees to buy. There are different species of bees. Majority of the bees are solitary, but some are social and they live together in colonies. They divide the work to be performed among the individual bees. All bees collect pollen and nectar from flowers, but only some of the social bees store the nectar in the form of honey. Also, among those bees who store honey, even fewer store it in sufficient quantity so as to make the honey harvesting effort worthwhile.

The different types of bees are sting-less bees like, Melipona and Trigona. Apis which is the true honey bee has four species, three native to Asia and one to Afro-European region. All of these look similar, but have different size and color. They build vertical combs which are two cells thick.

The Africanized bee is characterized by its unpredictability and defensiveness. Their sting is fatal making them one of the most dangerous bees to keep.  European bees build large colonies’ and produce huge supplies of honey, sometimes yielding 100 kg per year or more under optimum conditions.

So, keeping in mind the characteristics of types of bees, one must select and buy bees for beekeeping. Some points that help in buying bees are:

1. High quantity of honey production
2. Low tendency of swarm
3. Calm on combs during work in colony
4. Disease resistant
5. Little use of propolis
6. Gentleness

Now the question arises, how to buy or from where to buy honey bees. While selecting honey bees to buy, one must keep in mind the cost effectiveness, guarantee offered, payment terms, source of purchase, etc. The easiest method is to check online. While buying honey bees online, check the reputation of the seller and the cost offered. Check whether shipment cost is borne by the seller or not. Another method of purchasing honey bees is to opt for packaged honey bees. You get one prescreened box that has honey bees and a queen bee. Transfer these bees in the hive and allow the colony to build. Other option is to purchase a full-sized ready made colony of honey bees.

The best and the easiest way to purchase honey bee is to buy two fully established colonies of bees from a reputable local beekeeper. This helps in allowing interchanging of frames of brood and honey in case one colony becomes weaker and requires a boost.
Before buying bees or colonies, it is advisable to inspect the bees or colonies. Request for a recent certificate of inspection provided by state Department of Agriculture. It is advisable to buy bees in standard equipment only. Also, check the condition of the equipment.