BEE KEEPING (APICULTURE)

Bees are social insects and therefore live in colonies consisting of about 60,000 bees

Importance of Bee keeping

 Provide honey
 Provide wax and honey sold to get income
 Require little capital and land to keep
 Bees help in cross pollination

Types of bees

1. African wild bee

2. European bee

1. African wild bee

Characteristics African wild bee

 Well adapted to local weather conditions/high temperatures

 Can fly for long distances /hardy
 Fairly resistant to diseases e.g. acarive and American foul brood disease
 More active in protection and search for food
 Its vicious if mishandled

2. The European honey bee

Characteristics the European honey bee

 They are more gentle/docile

 Less active and vicious
 Susceptible to diseases that attack bees
 Not well adapted to local weather conditions

Life cycle of a bee

 In the development of bees, the following takes:

 Fertilized queen moves from one cell to another laying eggs in each cell
 In the warmth and moisture generated by a cluster of worker bees, the eggs hatch after 3
days
 Larva are fed by nurse bees on special pulp, then on a mixture of pollen and honey
 Each larva spins a cocoon and after two days, moults into pupa
 The pupa becomes a young bee in ten days and emerges from the cocoon

N/B: eggs, larva, and pupa form the brood.

 Workers takes 21 days to develop

 Drones takes 24 days
 Queen takes 15 days

The bee colony

The following types of bees are found in a bee colony:

1) The queen
2) The drones
3) The worker bees

1. The queen

There can be only one queen in the colony.

Functions of the queen

 Lay fertile eggs

 Keep the colony together

The queen keeps colony together by producing pheromones (queen substance) for identification

Mating of the queen takes place in the air and is done by 5-7 drones. The queen stores sperms in
the spermatheca and thus only mate once in a life time.

N/B; Nuptial flight: - this is the first vertical flight taken by the queen followed by mating.

2. The drones

About 300 are found in the hive.

Functions of the drones

 To fertilize the queen

  To control temperature in the hive

N/B: drones are killed by the workers after fertilizing the queen.

3. The worker bees

Mostly females

Are about 60,000 in number

Functions of the worker bees

 Feed the queen, drones and brood

 Protect the hive from intruders
 Collect pollen, nectar, tree resins, yams and water
 Build combs and seal the cracks and crevices in the hive
 Clean the hive
 Control hive temperatures via fanning the wings
 Make honey and bee wax
 Caring the larvae/ newly emerged larvae
 Receiving food from field home bees

Methods of bee keeping

1. Traditional methods
2. Modern methods

1. Traditional methods

This involves the use of log hives, which consist of hollow logs with one end completely
blocked. A lid with a small hole is fitted on to the end and a small hole is made in the log. This is
to allow bees in and out of the hive.

Disadvantages of traditional methods

 It’s difficult to see and inspect the combs

 At harvest time, the bee keeper may have to remove combs with little or no honey in
view
 Thousands of bees are killed during harvest

2. Modern methods

This involves the use of the following types of bee hives:

 a) Kenya top bar hive
b) The Langstroth
c) Dadant

a) Kenya top bar hive

 This is a movable frame which was designed after the Greek basket hive
 It has a series of bars arranged to form the top of the hive. The bee attach their combs to
the bars which can be removed and examined

Parts of the Kenya top bar hive

i) 26-27 top bars measuring 3.2cm x 48cm long

ii) 2 wooden end sides measuring ( 48cm x 23 x 30cm)
iii) 2 side pieces measuring 30cm x 90cm each
iv) 1 bottom piece measuring
v) Top cover made of corrugated iron sheets with wooden rim measuring 96cm x 55cm
vi) Wire loops on both sides for suspending the hive

Parts of Kenya top bar hive

Diagram of the Kenya top bar hive

Advantages of the top bar hive

- It produces high quality honey and bee wax

- During harvest, the combs that contain honey can be removed, leaving the brood combs
- Contamination of honey by dead bees, pollen and grubs is avoided
- It’s easy to inspect the colony by removing the combs individually
- The condition of the queen and combs can be checked as desired
- The mass killing of the worker bees is avoided since the brood combs are not removed at
harvesting
- The attack by wild animals that also eat honey e.g. termites or ants is prevented by simply
keeping the hive beyond their reach
- The hive is also cheap to build and does not require expensive equipment
- The queen excluder can be used in the centre of the hive to separate honey from the brood.
This further increases the quality of honey.

b) The Langstroth

This is a box hive with separate chamber for the brood and honey

Each chamber is separate box placed on top of each other

A queen excluder is put in between the two chambers to separate the brood from the honey
chamber

It has a top board which acts as the roof and bottom board acting as the floor.
Diagram of the langstroth hive
Two-storey Langstroth ten-frame Hive

This diagram illustrates the Langstroth Hive showing (from top to bottom):
 Top cover or roof
 Inner cover
 Super or honey chamber
 Brood box or chamber
 Bottom board
 Alighting board and stand

Siting the bee hives (apiary)

Factors to be considered when siting the hives:

 Availability of water e.g. near streams, well river or lake

 Availability of flowers-Nearness to nectar producing flowers
 Sheltered place, protected from strong sun and wind
 A place free from noise and other disturbances
 Away from humans and livestock e.g. homesteads and pastures and busy roads
 Security -Protect them from predators
 Maintenance of bee hives

 use of wood preservative e.g. creosote to treat the outside of the bee hive i.e. protects
wood from decomposition
 painting the outside of the hives
 cover the top with a sheet of corrugated iron whose sides are rimmed with wood, this is to
prevent rain water from entering the hive

Stocking the hive

This is to encourage bees to enter an empty hive or putting them inside.

Methods of stocking the hive

1. use of swarm net

2. use catcher box
3. use of permanent house

1. Use of swarm net

This is made by fixing a strong wire ring to a bamboo pole. A piece of mosquito netting is sown
on to the ring.

This is used for catching a swarm high up in the tree

2. Use of a catcher box

This is a small hive which is movable and placed in a place and where its likely to attract bees,
old combs and wax are placed inside, then one week after it has been occupied, they are moved
to the main hive.

3. Use of permanent house

Here the hives are placed in a permanent place and waiting for the swarming bees to occupy it.

How to transfer bees to the main hive

Place the hive higher than the box with the swarm then puff smoke towards the swarm so that the
bees move towards the hive on their own.

Also the roof of the hive can be opened and the swarm shakes into the hive

N/B: on a sloping surface, the bees always move upwards.

Materials collected by bees

Nectar

 This is juice collected from flowers

 It’s their main food and used in making honey
 Its swallowed by worker bees in their stomach and regurgitate into the cells and sealed
 The moisture is reduced to 17-21% then sealed with a thin waxy membrane.

Pollen

 This is collected from flowers in special pollen baskets found in the feet of bees
 Its then brushed off, in the empty cells
 Pollen is used to feed the brood and the queen

Propolis

This is collected from various trees and used to seal and smoothen the inside of the hive. Makes
the hive water proof

Water

Place the water in a container near the hive. Float pieces of stick and bark on the water to prevent
the bees from drowning.

Feeding bees

 Feed them on the nectar and pollen

 Also feed on sugar made into syrup with water in the ratio of 1:1
 Clean the container with the syrup to avoid fermentation of sugar.

Reasons for feeding bees

 To maintain the colony during times of drought/ lack of water

 To encourage multiplication.
 to prevent swarming due to lack of food
 To supplement what bees get from flowers.
 When the colony is new

Pests which attack bees

 Ants
 Wax moth
 Bee louse
 Honey badgers
Ants

 They make holes in the hive, thus allowing water to pass through
 They kill and eat bees /eat brood
Control
 by avoiding contact between a plant and the hive
 Also suspend with wires and coat with old engine oil

Wax moth

They make tunnels in the combs

Contaminate honey with their excrete

Control

 Remove and burn all infected combs

 Melts old combs after harvesting

Bee louse

 This is bee parasite

 They spoil the combs
 Adults found in the thorax of bees

Control

Smoke out the hive using a smoker that has some creosote to control pests

Honey badgers

 These are small strong animals that destroy the comb and eat the honey

Control

 controlled by hanging the hive by thin wires so that they cannot climb

Diseases of bees

 Acarive
 American foul brood

Control
 by proper feeding
 Avoid damp conditions
Swarming of bees

A swarm is a colony or part of colony which is in flight

Reasons for swarming

 Lack of food
 Outbreak of diseases
 Damage to brood combs
 Inadequate ventilation
 Dampness and bad smells
 Sick or infertile queens
 Overcrowding

N/B: when a cluster of bees leave the hive because of unfavourable conditions, then it’s called
absconding

Precaution taken when handling bees

 Do not frighten bees as this makes them wild and sting

 Do not approach bee hives from the front
 When using a smoker, 2 or 3 puffs are first blown round the hive, then after a few
minutes, smoke out directly through the entrance holes
 Bees should not be crushed during handling as this makes the whole colony get excited
 Move quietly towards the hive to avoid a alerting them
 Do not run away when stung or throw the combs down
 Do not rub a bee sting; use a sharp nail razorblade to scrap it. Pressing causes the poison
bag of the sting to release more poison
 Always wear protective clothing, these protective clothing includes:
 Overall
 Veil
 Gum boots
 Hand gloves

Hand harvesting

This is done early in the morning or late in the evening when bees are less active.

Procedure followed when harvesting honey

 Approach the hive quietly and blow smoke around the hive and later through the entrance
holes using a smoker. Smoke makes them to start eating honey, thus becoming heavy and
inactive.
  Lower the hive to the ground
 Cut the combs from each top bar 3cm from the surface and put them in a clean container
rubbing off the bees using a twig. The 3cm of comb left is for attachment of new combs
 Place back the bars and do not disturb the brood
 Return the hive to its position

Equipment used in honey processing

1. Protective gear
2. Honey container with tight cover, tight lids prevent bees entering to continue eating
honey
3. Hive tool: to scrap off propolis on bars and cut off the honey comb into the honey
container
4. Bee brush: to brush off the bees from the honey comb

Honey processing

There are three methods used to extract honey from the comb namely:

1. Using heat to melt the honey

2. Crushing and straining
3. Using a centrifugal extractor

1. Using heat

 Heat some water in a container

 Put honey combs in an enamel basin or any other container which is not made of iron
 Put the container with honey combs on the boiling water
 Heat until most of the honey melts
 Separate the melted honey from the combs by straining through a muslin cloth
 Keep honey in a container to cool down
 Remove the wax layer that may form on the surface of the honey

2. Crushing and straining

 This method produces high quality honey

 Honey combs are crushed and strained using a muslin cloth into the enamel basin
 The scum formed is removed with a wooden spoon
 Honey is put in a suitable container. (plastic or glass jar tightly closed)

3. Using centrifugal extractor

 Commonly used in large scale production

  The combs are placed in the extractor
 The rotary motion forces out honey and combs are clean

Marketing of honey

 Sold locally
 Can also be exported

Factors determining quality of honey

 Type of plants from where nectar was obtained

 Maturity stage of honey at the time of harvesting
 Method of harvesting
 Method of processing

BEES WAX

 Secreted by a pair of glands in the abdomen of worker bee

 It’s used by bees to make combs where young brood is raised
 Also used to store honey

Wax processing

 Put combs whose honey has been extracted into a basin

 Heat the mixture until the wax melts
 Strain the mixture through a muslin cloth
 Squeeze the residue strongly to force the wax out
 Cool the mixture overnight
 Drain the water and remove any foreign particles
 Remelt the wax over a water bath and put it in a clean container

Uses of bee wax

 To manufacture creams, ointments, candles, shoe and floor polish.

Used to make teeth impressions for filling and replacements