Beekeeping – Part one: Have You Heard the Latest Buzz?

Backgrounder

A few beehives could be an important addition to your life. You can sell the delicious honey and the wax that bees make to earn extra money. Honey and wax are worth good money on the market these days.

And this is only a small part of the benefit that honey bees can bring to you. The most important thing that honey bees do is to pollinate crops. This means that if you keep bees on or close to your farm you will probably increase the yields and quality of your crops. So you will be able to sell more produce at a better price.

If the idea of keeping bees interests you, keep listening. I’ll tell you how you can start. Beekeeping is not as difficult as you might think. Here are some reasons why it is easy to start a small beekeeping business.

First, it won’t cost you a lot of money to start. You don’t need to buy expensive equipment because you can make a simple hive yourself with cheap materials. And bees feed on the pollen and nectar of flowering plants. So you don’t have to buy food supplies.

Second, you can easily learn basic beekeeping techniques.

Third, bees don’t need attention every day. In fact, beekeeping tasks can be done in between other activities when you have the time.

And lastly, keeping bees does not take up valuable land. You can put hives in trees, on unused land, or on flat rooftops. The bees will go off and find food from flowers nearby.

Before you begin, try to visit a beekeeper and a bee yard so you can see some beehives for yourself and talk to someone who has experience.

When to get the bees

Bees live in groups. A group of bees that lives together is called a colony. The best time of year to introduce a bee colony to your farm is when the crops start to flower. Bees feed on the nectar and pollen of flowering plants – if you introduce your colony at this time, the bees will be able to collect plenty of nectar and pollen so they can produce lots of honey.

Where to get the bees

To start of course, you’ll need bees. The best way to get your first colony of bees is from a local beekeeper. If you can’t buy bees you will have to collect a wild colony or swarm to put into your hive. You will have to learn about this from your beekeeping friends. Whatever you decide, it is best to begin with one or two beehives and add more each year if you want.

How bees make honey

Bees collect a thick liquid called nectar from the flowers of many plants. They take the nectar back to the

hive and pass it on to the bees that are living in the hive. As the nectar is passed from bee to bee, it loses a lot of water and the concentration of sugar in the nectar increases greatly. And bees add enzymes to the nectar. The final product is honey. The bees store the honey in the cells of combs that they build in their hive.

How you make money

Honey is in demand because people use it as a sweetener for food or drink. It can also be used to treat some minor wounds and throat complaints. People like the taste. Wax is used to make candles but people use it for other things too – for example to waterproof different materials, and to strengthen string.

Caution

Be careful. Bees are stinging insects and although most people have a mild reaction to a bee sting, other people can develop severe reactions that can be physically harmful. If you do practice beekeeping make sure you use protective clothing at all times to protect your body from bee stings.

Beekeeping can be done by anyone – men or women, and older children can help too. One of the good things about beekeeping is that you can spend as much time on it as you want. You can do it in your spare time, as a part-time or even as a full-time job. There are many rewards from beekeeping. Beekeeping can bring you extra money, provide your family with honey and make your other crops more productive.

And remember – you don’t need expensive equipment or a lot of space to keep bees, so if you don’t have much money or land, beekeeping may be for you.