Meaning of BeeKeeping (Apiculture)
Beekeeping or Apiculture refers to the art and science of domestication of Bees for the production of honey, propolis, and wax for the benefit of man and industries.
The Honey bee (Apis mellifera) are social insects that have the potential to make honey that is beneficial to man and industrials.
The bees can live together in a group called a colony, a colony of bees is estimated to contain about 10000 to 60000 bees occupying a particular hive.
There are different species of bees, however, honeybees are beneficial to man due to their ability to produce sweet honey.
Bees products and by-products are essential commodities required in all countries of the world and are consumed by all individuals irrespective of their dietary needs.
This preference for bee products accounts for its sustainability in providing employment, income, and economic security for individuals at all levels.
Domestication of bees is a lucrative enterprise that requires little knowledge and management skills to succeed.
Similarly, It is an enterprise that is suitable for individuals irrespective of their culture and religious affiliation. Bee products such as honey, wax, and propolis are in high demand in local markets as farmers are not required to travel to farm markets to sell their products.
Beekeeping or farming can be carried out on a small or large scale depending on the choice of the farmers. The enterprises require little or no capital, technologies, and techniques to start–up compared to other agricultural enterprises.
However, the success of bee farming or keeping is dependent on the agroecological zones. Bees have a preference for areas rich with fauna, flora, and dry climates. Honey bees detest areas with too much rainfall.
These areas do not favor the domestication of honey because bees do not produce much honey in area with rainfall area.
Terminology Use in BeeKeeping
The following are some terminology used in the domestication of bees
- Colony: The group bees consisting of a queen, workers, and drones, A colony of the honey bees is made up of a queen (i.e. the fertile female), the queen bee is the reproductive bee in the colony bee species. There is normally only one adult mated queen in a hive, hundreds of drones (male honey), and thousands of workers that will usually follow and protect.
- Hive: A place where bees live
- Queen Bee: An adult female bee.
- Drone: An adult male bee.
- Larvae: The immature bee that is new hatches from the egg
- Apiary: A location where bee hives are kept.
- Waggle: Movement indicating to other bees the direction source of food
- Brood Box: The sections where the eggs, larvae, and pupae develop.
- Extraction: The process of removing honey from the honeycomb
- Forage: Process of searching for wild food.
- Swarm: A grouping of honeybees.
- Honeycomb: A structure for the storage of honey, pollen, and eggs.
- Royal Jelly: A glandular secretion from honeybee workers used to feed the larvae.
- Trophallaxis: Direct food transfer between bees.
- Uncovered brood: Eggs and larvae that are not covered by wax
Types of Bees
There are two types of bees, they are;
- Indigenous Bees
- Exotic Bees
Indigenous Bees
These are species of bees that are known to adapt to harsh climatic conditions and have the ability to resist disease and parasites in their habitat. They are bees that can grow and reproduce in a particular area or adapt to a particular native land.
Indigenous Bees are bees that have been recognized to survive and reproduce in particular. countries or nations. These bees have special features that make them survive in that particular environment. Indigenous bees carry the cultural heritage and identity particular to that area.
Exotic Bees
These are bees that are introduced into a new area from another area or the environment in which they are not native. These bees are foreign to the new area.
They are new to the climatic and environmental conditions of the new area. These bees require special care and management for effective production. They are used majorly to cross the native bees for better performance.
Honeybees Friendly Plants
The Predominant honey plants for beekeeping are:
- Oil Palm Plantation: Elaeis guineensis
- Christmass Bush: Alchornea cordifolia.
- Copaihu africana: Daniella oliveria.
- Goat weed: Ageratum conyzoides.
- Cashew Plant: Anacardium occidentalie
Importance of Beekeeping (Apiculture)
Source of Honey Used as Food
Bee produces honey which serves as food for man and animals. Honey produced by bees is highly nutritious and required for normal body functions.
Honey is a nourishing food needed by people to provide the energy requirement for daily activities. The human body requires a lot of protein and honey can provide enormously rich in proteins, vitamins, minerals, beneficial fatty acids, carotenoids, and bioflavonoids which have anti-viral and antibacterial properties needed by the body.
Also honey can help to lower the body’s cholesterol, stabilizing and strengthening blood capillaries. It is often referred to as a ‘lifesaver’ for individuals with critical health risks.
Additionally, Honey produced by bees can be used as sweeteners in many foods across the globe such as pap, custard, tea, and so on. Individuals with high levels of sugar blood content can use honey as a substitute to refined sugar.
Sources of Income for People
Beekeeping has become a means of livelihood for people involved in bee production. it is a lucrative enterprise that can help people generate income from the sales of honey and its by-products.
Also, Bee dealers generate income from the sale of homey, wax, and propolis. Bee producers or keepers generate millions of naira from the sales of honey and honey by-products.
Moreover, many bee products can be processed into other products such as candles, honey as part of soup making, honey drinks, and other eatable products. These products can serve as a source of constant income for bee farmers.
Raw Material for Industry
Bees products such as honey, propolis, and wax are good sources of raw materials for industries.
Bee produces honey and other honey products used in industries for the making of cereal cake mixes, processed food, and jellies, and as an ingredient in the health and beauty industries.
In the industry, bee wax is used in the pharmaceutical industries for ointment, candles, and household waxes. Bees’ propolis are used in cosmetics lip balm and other drinks.
Source of Medicine
Honey is a source of medicine for the treatment of many illnesses. Honey is consumed by all ages except children below one year of age.
Research has reported that honey can be used for the treatment of cardiovascular diseases, cough, and gastrointestinal disease, and the healing of wounds.
The bee products have bacteria, fungi, and anti-viral effects when consumed by men as well as for the treatment of arthritis, strain, and muscle problems by rubbing on the affected areas.
Generate Earning for Government
Honey can be used as a source of foreign earnings for the government. The Federal, State, and Local governments through the revenue generation platform can generate revenue from the export of honey.
On the other hand, honey sellers in the markets and other areas are given a license by the state government before they commence the selling of honey in the market, the revenue they accrue from the licensing of honey sellers goes to the government account.
Use Security or Protection
Beekeeping can serve as a source of protection or security for man or the farmstead. People usually run away from the apiary because of the danger associated with bee stinging.
Bee can be used as biosecurity for protecting the farmstead, crops, and produce on the farm from thieves and intruders.
Bees can trained and used as a bio weapon in war against the enemy. Bees have been reported used to chase away enemies or certain people considered not fit to stay in a particular environment.
Pollination of Crops
Bees are one the most important insects in agriculture because of their ability to aid the pollination of crops.
Some crops produce sweet nectar which attracts bees to them as a result of bees sucking the nectar from one flower to another pollen grains are transferred from the anther to the stigma where pollination can take place. About 80 % of flowering plants rely on insects for pollination and bees constitute half of the pollinators of tropical plants.
Use for Research / Educational Purposes
The Bees are used as experimental tools for study in the field of Agriculture. Many experiments are carried out daily on the proper ways of domestication and uses of bees and bees-related by-products in the field of agriculture.
The presence of bees in the forest provides an opportunity for students to carry out different types of study or experimental work using the Bees.
Students and researchers in the field of agriculture and agro-allied industry carried out research projects on the nature and uses of bees.
Methods of BeeKeeping
Beekeeping requires appropriate skills and technical know-how to succeed in its production. Some of the methods used in rearing bees in the agricultural industries are:
- Indigenous method, and the
- Modern methods.
Indigenous Method
This is the unconventional method of bee rearing. Bees reared under this method are usually under the subsistence level. There are two types of hives used in the indigenous methods of beekeeping. They are the wall or fixed hive and the moveable hive.
- The Wall hive or the fixed hive: The wall or fixed hive, are natural method of domestication of bees, in this process, the bees locate any opening in the wall of a building or a tree and dwell there. In this opening, the bees dwell there as a hive and make honeycomb.
- The Movable Hive: bees are kept in earthen pots, boxes, or hollow trees containing two holes for one exist and the other for entrance. The hive can be kept at the back of the building where it will be safe for bees to inhibit nature on their own accord without necessary disturbance.
Honey Extraction in the Traditional Methods
Honey extraction in traditional methods involves setting the hive on fire or using insecticide to kill the bees to facilitate the extraction of honey.
In some occasions, smoking or insecticide is used to kill or drive away the bees, which is very dangerous, because they may return after some time when the smoke has gone down.
The honey is harvested at night usually from 8:00 pm when the moon is at its full size and has not appeared in the sky.
Advantages of the Traditional Methods
The following are the advantages of the traditional methods of beekeeping, they are:
- It requires less labor.
- It is not capital-intensive.
- It doesn’t require any particular skills to operate.
Disadvantages of traditional methods
Some of the disadvantages of traditional methods of beekeeping are:
- Honey becomes impure.
- The colony is destroyed
- It requires extra effort for the escape bees to make another hive.
- Bees become insecure making hive in that particular area.
- Bees become very aggressive if they still inhabit that environment.
- Bees are prone to diseases and parasite attacks which affect their productivity.
- Bees are exposed to predators such as honey robbers, ants, wasps, and rats.
- Bees are exposed to poor climatic conditions which reduces their productivity.
- The population of bees is reduced due to the killing of bees with smoke and insecticides.
- It leads to the pollution of the environment.
Modern Methods of Beekeeping
The modern methods of beekeeping refer to the advanced ways of domestication of bees by individuals or industries.
The advanced method is an improvement over the traditional method of beekeeping. The modern methods involve the construction of a wooden box according to the needs of the user.
The box is constructed with two openings one for entrance and the other for the exit of workers and drones. The hole in the box should be such that the queen (the fertile female) placed in the box cannot escape.
The box should contain six different parts which are the stand, the base board, the brood section, the super, the inner cover, and the top cover which protects the colony from adverse weather conditions.
Honey Extraction in the Modern Methods
Once the honey is due for harvesting, the queen (the fertile female) is systematically captured to prevent escaping from the hive, whatever will be used to capture the queen should be such that the workers and the drone can escape leaving the queen.
The honeycomb is therefore scooped with the aid of a knife. The harvested honeycomb that is filled with honey is sealed with capping wax to prevent draining away before taking it to the factory for extraction.
In the factory, before the honeycomb is placed in the extractor. The sealed wax is removed with the help of a heated knife.
After removing the waxing seal the honeycomb is centrifuged and placed in the honey extractor where the pure honey drips out without damaging the comb.
Advantages of the Modern Methods
Some of the advantages of the modern methods of beekeeping are:
- Increase in yield of honey due to effective management
- Honey is very pure due to the use of modern facilities
- The colony is completely intact (i.e. not destroyed like the traditional method).
- Since the colony is completely intact it doesn’t require extra capital or labor to make a hive.
- Bees become very friendly since there are no threats to their life
- Bees are protected from diseases and parasite attack
- Bees are protected from predators such as honey robbers like ants, wasps, and rats.
- Bees are protected from harsh climatic conditions which increase their productivity
- The population of bees is kept intact since bees are not killed like the traditional methods.
- Bees are well fed with sugar, syrup, and pollen substances.
Disadvantages of the Modern Methods.
The disadvantages of the modern methods are:
- It is capital-intensive to run.
- It requires high numbers of labor.
- It requires special skills to operate.
Tools and Equipment Used in the Beekeeping
These are tools used in performing various activities in the apiary. The importance of these tools in apiculture cannot be overstated. Some of the tools and equipment used in apiculture as enumerated by the West African Examination Council.
- Bee suit: This is clothing used to protect farmers from bee stings. It consists of a veil, jacket, and pants.
- Bucket: The bucket is used for carrying honey or honeycomb for extraction.
- jungle boot:
- Bottle: the bottle is used for storing honey
- Hand Gloves: this is a hand protective wear against bee stings.
- The Bee Brush: The brush can be any soft quality brush that is carefully used to remove bees from frames.
- Hive Tools: This is used to remove boxes, scrape old beeswax, and separate frames for inspections
- Uncapping knife: the tool is used for opening the cell honey or extraction of honey during processing.
- Queen Excluder: This is used to keep the queen from escaping. The tools allow the passage of worker and drone bees to escape except for the queen bee.
- Honey Extractor: This machine is designed to remove raw honey from bee combs without destroying them.
- Bee smoker: It provides cool smoke inside the hive that helps to calm the bees down before working with the hive. it is used to restrain bee stings and allows the beekeepers to work peacefully in the hive.
- Hive Staples: this is a long narrow belt with an adjuster and strap used purposely for carrying the hive and short or long distances
Precautionary Measure Adopted in the Apiculture
Some of the precautionary measures that should be adopted in the apiaries are:
- the boxes should be kept in a cool place
- the apiary should be located away from the dwelling home
- the apiary should be located near a forest environment where are there good flowers for the collection of pollen and nectars
- always wear protective clothes
- the apiary should be protected from parasites and predators
- the apiary should be fenced to protect bees from predators
- put warning signs in the apiary to prevent illegal entry.
- Always wear white-colored clothing when going into the apiary, as bees detest dark-colored clothing.
In conclusion
Domestication of bees remains one of the most lucrative enterprises in the agricultural industry. It is a business that can constantly supply income to households on a daily. Bee farming is gender friendly as both men and female can engage in the enterprise to make a living.