The gentle, low buzzing of busy bees has been a familiar sound in every corner of the world for centuries. Although the current status of honeybees is far from ideal, those who remain passionate and dedicated to the fascinating art of beekeeping can help to ensure that these incredibly useful insects can remain prosperous for years to come. With its multitude of unique benefits, becoming bee-educated is a journey worth undertaking.
1. The Enchanting World of Bees
Bees are some of the smallest creatures on the planet, and yet their impact is tremendous. A single bee will forage from anywhere between 50 and 100 flowers each day, and during its life will visit over 2 million flowers collecting nectar and pollen to create honey.
Amazing Behaviour of Bees
- Bees will forage from the same plant species in preferential order before moving to the next species. This is why a certain area may look particularly colourful with many different plants.
- In addition to making honey, bees are able to communicate with one another with a complex ‘waggle dance’. They are able to pass on valuable information regarding the direction and distance of a food source.
- When working as a team, they are incredibly efficient; they can build a honeycomb in under 24 hours.
- When a bee feels threatened, it produces a pheromone to warn the colony. The pheromone is a chemical smell bees produce to mark trails, attract mates and alert the hive when an intruder is present.
In the natural world, bees play an essential role as pollinators. They help plants reproduce, and in turn help humans by ensuring that the products of plants, such as fruits and vegetables, remain available for human consumption. As they fertilize plants, they also let them develop and mature successfully, leading to a larger number of crops.
The fascinating and diverse behaviour of bees makes them a unique species, inspiring admiration and respect.
2. What is Beekeeping?
Beekeeping is the practice of maintaining honey bee colonies, typically in artificial hives, by humans. It is a tradition that dates back thousands of years and is one of the oldest forms of animal husbandry. Beekeepers collect honey, wax, propolis, and other products of bee colonies, as well as providing vital pollination services to help grow crops.
A beekeeper will typically possess a few or many colonies of bees and maintain them by providing food, housing, and healthcare. To ensure good bee health, beekeepers must inspect their colonies regularly and take actions to protect them against predators, disease, and other threats. A beekeeper must also be on the lookout for colony swarming, which can seriously deplete a colony’s population in a very short time.
In order to keep bees, a beekeeper must learn all the basics of beekeeping, such as bee anatomy, the extractive beekeeping process, hive inspection, and the products and services bees can provide. It is also important to learn what to do in case of sickness or other threats.
Equipment:
- Beekeeping suits and gloves for protection
- Hives and other beekeeping tools for managing colonies
- Smoker to calm bees when entering the hive
- Bee feeders to supply essential food sources to colonies
Beekeeping Benefits:
- Provides fresh honey, wax, and other bee products
- Helps support pollination for plant growth
- Reduces wild bee colonies, preventing negative impacts on the environment
- Provides educational opportunities
3. Essentials for a New Beekeeper
Becoming a new beekeeper doesn’t have to be intimidating— especially with the right knowledge and gear. Starting off with the essential tools and equipment will make taking care of and harvesting honey from your busy hives a breeze.
A few essentials you’ll need to ensure successful beekeeping include:
- Hive tools: These are essential for inspecting the strength and health of the bees, as well as moving frames and harvesting honey.
- Smoker: You’ll need a smoker to help keep the bees calm when inspecting and harvesting.
- Protective gear: This includes a protective suit and a hat with a veil to keep the bees protected.
- Bee Hive: This is the structure that houses your bee colony.
It’s also important to stay stocked up on supplies such as frames and wax foundation, bee pheromone, and queen marking kits. These items are vital for keeping your colony in production mode.
Having the right knowledge and necessary supplies will have you well on your way to becoming a successful beekeeper.
4. Common Practices & Benefits of Beekeeping
Beekeeping has developed over centuries to ensure the healthy survival of honey bees, and their equally important contribution to the pollination of food crops. Here are some common practices and benefits of beekeeping that are in place today.
- Monitoring Colonies: Beekeepers should closely monitor the health of their hives, looking for signs of disease or parasites. If colony health is deteriorating, then a variety of measures can be taken: such as providing healthy nutrition, treating or removing diseased bees, and ensuring there is sufficient ventilation. Providing healthy habitats for the bees can also be vital, and they should have an ample supply of pollen, nectar, and water in their vicinity.
- Harvesting Products: Honey, wax, propolis, and pollen are all products that can be harvested from the hives in a carefully cultivated manner. By ensuring that the bees have enough resources during harvesting, honey production will be maximized without inflicting too much hardship on the bees. The collected products can then be used for making delicious honey recipes, candles, and other bee-related products.
- Offering Benefits: In addition to the valuable products, beekeeping also offers several health benefits. Pollen collected from beehives can be used for treating allergies, and propolis has antimicrobial properties that can soothe skin conditions. Natural honey also contains vitamins and minerals, making it a natural part of a healthier diet.
- Contribution to Ecosystems: By keeping bees and providing habitats for them to thrive, beekeepers are also contributing to the overall health of ecosystems around the world. Pollination from bees is essential for the healthy growth of plants, and this in turn provides a boost to the food supplies of the wider community.
Beekeeping is a rewarding and important practice, and has the potential to provide numerous benefits to people, plants, and the planet overall. It is an essential component of a healthy, sustainable environment that ensures healthy food production for future generations.
5. Joining The Bee Community
Now that you’re ready to join the bee community, this section clarifies the steps you need to take.
First and foremost, the bee community has a low-pressure orientation: feel free to ask questions, poke around on the forums and learn by example. Before you join, spend some time getting to know the community’s culture. Even the most experienced members started out as outsiders once, and you’re sure to receive warm welcomes along with thoughtful answers to your queries.
Next, start by exploring the forums, blogs and photo galleries. Get to know what’s going on in the bee world and take note of the language of bees. Here’s a quick language guide to get you started:
- Apathy – a type of bee with blunted sting
- Ursa Major – a bumblebee
- Gossamer – the fine feathers of a bee
- Drone – male honeybee
Finally, engage with the community by commenting on posts, pictures and discussions. As your involvement in the bee community increases, so too will your appreciation of the bee lifestyle. Plus, you’ll make friends, create meaningful connections and gain exclusive access to resources to help you grow.
6. The Progression of a Beehive
The beehive is not created in one day. Instead, it is a progression of transformation — a complex and precise one, regulated by the colony’s needs.
- First, a Queens Cup is formed to house the egg of the new queen. Made of vertical and horizontal wax, it’s hexagonally shaped and placed at the centre of the hive.
- As the bee colony grows, brood combs are added. These are strips of wax where the eggs of worker bees are deposited. The larvae are then fed and nursed until they hatch.
- Once the brood combs are built, honeycombs are developed, where nectar, pollen and honey are stored. With the latter, the cap on the wax cells allow the honey to remain safe and preserved.
- Finally, propolis, a type of resin found on plants, is used to seal up the inner walls of the hive, insulating against moisture and extreme temperatures.
The complexity of the beehive is astonishing. Through hard work and precision, bees carry out the building of combs which are cooled by fans of bees flapping their wings, as well as removing any wax moths and wax beetles and wax molds from the cells. The movements of a single bee colony, when sped up, are like a well-oiled machine.
7. Understanding the Bee Mind
Bees are much more than simple pollinating heroes: they’re actually a wealth of scientific mysteries waiting to be unlocked! Even though they may be small, their minds are infinitely complex and fascinating. Here’s a peek into the mind of a bee:
- Long-term Memory: Bees possess the ability to remember the locations of flowers and landmarks for up to three months. They map out these locations in their minds and even use them to create complex pathways between food sources.
- Social Memory: Bees are incredibly social and remember the faces of other bees that they interact with. They also communicate with one another in intricate ways, from the “waggle dance” to secrete scents that relay specific messages.
- Smell Recognition: Bees use their incredible sense of smell to detect predators, find food sources, and distinguish between different kinds of flowers. Their noses are even powerful enough to detect a single kind of flower in an expansive field from up to a kilometer away.
When it comes to the inner workings of the bee mind, the possibilities are truly endless. By studying their incredibly complex behavior, scientists are beginning to unlock the secrets of their intelligence, allowing us to better understand their role in the world around us.
Bees are simply astounding creatures and in order to truly appreciate their complexity, it is essential to gain an understanding of the inner workings of their brains. The importance of bees cannot be overstated—they are a source of both wonder and knowledge!
8. A Buzzing Success with Beekeeping
Beekeeping is no simple task. But with dedication, enthusiasm and the right information, you can start to enjoy the benefits of this rewarding and fascinating activity.
To start your journey, you’ll need to source the right materials and equipment. The essentials for your apiary include some or all of the following:
- Beehive boxes and frames
- Feeders
- Smokers
- Veils
- Gloves
- Beekeeping clothing
- Hive tool
Do your research. A little preparation won’t go amiss as you don’t want to be caught unawares when the weather changes or your colony experiences a challenge. Ensure that you understand the needs of the bees, the environment and your personal safety requirements.
Once your equipment and research are in check, the next step is to keep an eye on the weather and crop-yields, and make sure you know where to get the quickest supplies if your hive needs them. This is when having a mentor can be invaluable as you plan for your colony’s success.
The art of beekeeping is undoubtedly a fascinating one. Bees are essential to our environment and to food production, and now with the right bee-education, we can all play our part in looking after them for future generations. So get started on your bee-education journey and enjoy discovering this amazing insect and the art of beekeeping.