Did you know, honey is not only good to taste, but also for your pocket?
Yes, you heard it right.
Also, honey is just one product. There are more!
Beekeeping or apiculture is one of the best agricultural practices that can generate high revenues. Apart from honey, beeswax is also in high market demand.
Do you want to know more about it? Then, keep on reading this guide. By the end, you will get a detailed idea about how to start & invest in this farming technique.
What Is Apiculture?
The word is a combination of two Latin words; “apis” means bees & “culture”. So, as you can guess, it is the process of managing honey bees for deriving commercial products such as wax & honey.
The History Of Beekeeping
As per the historical records, primitive people used to collect honey from beehives approximately 17000 years ago. Also, the earlier cave paintings of 7000 BCE demonstrate the same.
However, the Egyptians were particularly experts in collecting honey & beehive management. Later, people invented the process of artificial beekeeping by forming beehives in hollow logs, straw baskets, & clay pots.
It was Lorenzo L. Langstroth who revolutionized the apiculture system by developing modern beehives designed with movable frames in 1851. However, the most surprising fact is that the Europeans used to use beeswax as currency in the 13th & 14th centuries.
Today, it has emerged as one of the most important agricultural practices & contributes 2/3rd of the global food sources.
The Beehive: How Do The Bees Work?
The bee colony is a fascinating phenomenon to observe!
Because every single bee has its own part to play & they always work together.
The smallest worker bees play the most vital part. They gather nectar, build honeycomb, protect the queen, & guard the hive. Also, they make honey by breaking down the collected nectar into simple sugars & store it in the honeycomb cells. Moreover, they remove the dead bees to avoid diseases & cool the hive down with evaporating water.
Now comes the role of the queen bee! She plays a crucial role in reproduction.
She mates with the drone bees. However, the most surprising fact is that she alone lays up to 2000 eggs in one day.
The Natural & Modern Beehive Designs
Usually, honey bees create the hives in tree hollows or in caves & rock cavities. However, in areas with warm climates, they build exposed hanging hives. Mostly, they build parallel honeycombs to live in unity.
But, the artificial beehives resemble the horizontal “top bar hives” or naturally built hives made on wooden bars. However, the modern beehives are a more standardized structure with removable frames, better for honey collection & hive management.
4 Common Bee Types
Apis Dorsata
These giant rock bees are the most popular species that produce 38-40 kgs of honey in each hive.
Apis Indica
This Indian bee species is popular for commercial beekeeping & apiculture practices. Because they can produce 2 to 5 kgs of honey on average.
Apis Florea
These tiny bees produce 1 kg of honey annually but are easier to cultivate because they sting rarely.
Apis Mellifera
This Italian bee species is preferred by most apiculture practitioners due to its ability to produce a high amount of honey. But, the most surprising thing is that they move in a distinguished manner to indicate the availability of food.
3 Types Of Beekeeping
Natural
This beekeeping process in top-bar hives focuses on preserving its health naturally while avoiding modern practices of beekeeping. So, the beekeepers let the bees build honeycombs naturally & collect honey only when there is a sufficient quantity available.
Urban/Backyard
This is the process of cultivating bees organically and sustainably. Specifically, the urban population often keeps bee colonies in the towns or backyards to collect organic honey.
Indoor
The Canadian & Northern US citizens often protect the bee colonies by keeping them inside their houses & collecting raw honey later.
How Does The Commercial Process of Apiculture Work?
Commercial beekeeping is highly popular not just for deriving honey & wax products, but also, for a greater purpose. Moreover, bees play a crucial role in producing food crops for the entire global population.
Interested to know how the system works?
Well, commercial beekeepers raise honeybees to produce & sell the hive products.
However, the seemingly easy task involves hive management processes, feeding bees, performing routine inspections, collecting & refining honey, etc.
Also, the beekeepers implement the popular Doolittle & Karl-Jenter bee-rearing methods for mass reproduction.
6 Basic Requirements to Start Apiculture
Knowledge & Research
So, before you invest in rearing bees, try to research about the bee behavior. Learning about catching them & managing the beehives will make bee cultivation easier for you!
Location
It is better to find a dry location to set up your apiary system. The bees should have enough space & safe atmosphere to build the honeycomb. Also, the place should be surrounded by plants to encourage pollination. Do not forget to manage natural or artificial water resources for them.
Equipment
You need to have some basic equipment for a safe beekeeping journey such as protective clothing, smokers, hive tools, etc.
Medicine & Sugar Syrup
Other items such as sugar syrup & medicines are essential to attract the bees & clean the hives.
Pest & Disease Control
The lesser wax moth larvae Achroia grisella might damage the honeycombs. So, the best way to naturally control pest attacks is to keep the bee colony strong. However, regular cleaning of the hives can help you avoid diseases.
4 Importances of Practicing Apiculture
Pollination
Honey bees transfer pollen of flowers resulting in increased crop yield & germination.
Commercial Products
Honey & wax act as raw ingredients in several industries such as cosmetics, polishing industries, etc.
Employment Opportunities
The practice of beekeeping creates multiple job opportunities for the local inhabitants.
Medicine
The bee venom is a potent protein mixture that destroys HIV viruses causing AIDS.
2 Challenges of Apiculture
Lack of Training
The local farmers might not be adequately trained to use the latest technologies resulting in better production. Also, they might not get proper funding & farming support from the local Government banks & private agencies.
Poor Hive Management
Lack of suitable terrains & insufficient forage along with poor water management might not provide you with the desired results.
2 Tips to Stay Safe While Practicing Apiculture
Protect Yourself
It is important to cover yourself with protective clothing & wear gloves. Also, closed-toe shoes, ventilated helmet, & a folding wire veil can protect your toes, head, & face from bees’ attacks. However, do not forget to keep a first aid kit handy.
Create Safe Environment
Take the help of smokers to drive the bees away & be prepared with sanitizing tools & medicines to deal with allergies.
The Technological Innovations Transforming The Practice of Apiculture
The latest technological gadgets can help you in successful apicultural practices.
- For example, flow hives can extract honey from the bee hives without even opening it.
- With AI integrated mini hive monitors can track hive health. Also, you can detect certain issues in advance such as missing queens or parasite attacks.
- Certain types of artificial beehives made of wooden frames provide better insulation to avoid pesticides.
- Moreover, with AI sensors, you can auto-feed the bees, and adjust the humidity & temperature levels.
The Growth Of Apiculture In India & Its Growth
The beekeeping practice has seen a recent development in market demands & commercial productions. According to a report, the estimated reach of apicultural products will be 63,474.6 million by the year 2032.
However, you can get an idea of how commercially popular honey is by examining the amount of production from 2021-22. Can you guess it? Well, it was around 1,33,200 metric tonnes.
As you can see, the practice of beekeeping has a great future in India. With an increasing CAGR of 12%, the worth of the Indian bee products market will be around INR 33,128 million in 2024.
So, if you can invest in the right equipment & purchase the right location, beekeeping can be profitable for you! I suggest starting your farming journey in the Spring because flowers flourish the most in warmer environments.
However, you need to monitor the bee hive’s heath every 7 to 10 days. Also, invest in the best hive management techniques & kindly do not expect high production results.
So, are you ready to start your apicultural practice? Let me know in the comment section.
Frequently Asked Questions
Ans: Brood chambers inside wooden boxes are the best location for cultivating bees. The vertically designed frames come with wax sheet coating & the hexagonal imprints mimic the natural beehives.
Ans: The two popular traditional beekeeping methods include fixed hives & movable hives. Bees construct the fixed hives naturally inside buildings, trees, etc. However, artificially built moveable hives are best for deriving commercially farmed honey.
Ans: Johann Dzierzon is the father of modern beekeeping because most modern beehives resemble his unique designs.