APICULTURE Compiled by RANI ASHOK, ASST. PROF.

OF ZOOLOGY, LAY DOAK COLLEGE, MADURAI 625 002 INTRODUCTION Honey hunting, or plundering the nests of wild honeybees to obtain honey and beeswax, is practiced throughout the world wherever colonies of wild nesting honeybees are abundant. However, obtaining honey is easier and more convenient if bees are encouraged to nest inside a hive. This housing of bees in a container is true "beekeeping". Honeybees belong to the family Apidae subfamily Apinae and genus Apis. They are social insects living in colonies. A colony consists of a queen, several thousand workers and a few hundred drones. There is division of labour and specialization in the performance of various functions. They build nests (combs) with wax, which is secreted from the wax glands of worker bees. The bees use their cells to rear thin brood and store food. Honey is stored in the upper part of the comb; beneath it are rows of pollen storage cells, worker brood cells and drone brood cells in that order. RESOURCES AND POTENTIAL The raw materials for the beekeeping industry are mainly pollen and nectar that come from flowering plants. There are at least four species of true honey bees and three species of the stingless bees. There are several types of indigenous and traditional hives including logs, clay pots, wall niches, baskets and boxes. In modern beekeeping, the combs are built on wooden frames that are movable. This is of different sizes and shapes. TYPES OF HONEY BEE Five important species of honey bees are as follows. 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. The rock bee, Apis dorsata (Apidae). The Indian hive bee, Apis cerana indica (Apidae). The little bee, Apis florea (Apidae). The European or Italian bee, Apis mellifera (Apidae). Dammer bee or stingless bee, Melipona irridipennis (Meliporidae).

Rock bee (Apis dorsata) giant bees seen up to an altitude of 2700 m construct single comb in open ferocious and difficult to rear. produce about 36 Kg honey per comb per year largest

Little bee (Apis florea) build single vertical combs. construct comb in open in branches of bushes, hedges, buildings, caves, empty cases etc . produce about half a kilo of honey per year per hive. not rearable smallest

Indian hive bee / Asian bee (Apis cerana indica) domesticated species construct multiple parallel combs average honey yield of 6-8 kg per colony per year. larger than Apis florae but smaller than Apis mellifera. more prone to swarming and absconding. native of India/Asia.

European bee / Italian bee (Apis mellifera) build parallel combs. bigger than all other honeybees except Apis dorsata. average production per colony is 2540 kg.

imported from European countries (Italy).

less prone to swarming and absconding.

Dammer Bee Besides true honey bees, two species of stingless or dammer bees, viz. Melipona and Trigona occur in our country in abundance. smaller than the true honey bees and build irregular combs of wax and resinous substances in crevices and hollow tree trunks. importance in the pollination of various food crops. bite their enemies or intruders. can be domesticated. honey yield per hive per year is only 100 gms.

CASTES OF HONEY BEE Every honey bee colony comprises of a single queen, a few hundred drones and several thousand worker castes of honey bees. Queen is a fertile, functional female, worker is a sterile female and the drone is a male insect. SEX DIFFERENTIATION IN BEES Queen and worker develop from fertilized egg while drone develops from unfertilized egg. Further differentiation of queen and worker depends on the quality and quantity of food that is fed to the queen or worker larvae.

The Queen one queen in a colony. larger in size Shorter wings lay eggs in a colony and is the mother of all bees. lays upto 2000 eggs per day in Apis mellifera. Five to ten days after emergence, she mates with drones in one or more nuptial flights. When her spermatheca is filled with sperms, she will start laying eggs and will not mate any more. lives for 3 years. secretion from mandibular gland of the queen is called queen's substance. queen substance if present in sufficient quantity, prevent swarming and absconding of colonies, prevent development of ovary in workers, and maintains colony cohesion. queen can lay either fertilized or sterile eggs depending on the requirement. larva which .becomes the queen is fed the royal jelly, a secretion from hypopharyngeal glands of the worker bees. queen is reared in large fingershaped cells in the lower portion of the combs. Only one queen can remain in a colony old queen is killed as soon as the new queen is fertilized. queens are reared only during swarming season, but if the queen dies accidentally the bees can rear a new queen. phenomenon of raising queen in off-season is called supersedure. number of eggs and egg laying depend on the availability of pollen and nectar in nature. If the food is scarce, workers do not permit the queen to lay eggs. queen never leaves the, hive except with a swarm.

The Drone male bees. larger and stouter than either the queen or the workers although their body is not quite as long as that of the queen. have no sting; a suitable proboscis for gathering nectar is also absent. physically incapable for the ordinary work of the hive. only function is to impregnate the young queen a task which they are unable to perform until they are about 10 days of age. help in maintenance of hive temperature. They go out of the hive only at the midday when the weather is warm.

number of drones in a colony - very large amounting to hundreds and sometimes to thousands. drones are reared and tolerated during the breeding season. driven out of the hive to die of starvation before the monsoon and the winter. produced by unfertilized eggs of the queen The Worker smallest inhabitants of the beehive. form the bulk of the population. 1,500 to 50,000 in no. per colony. imperfect females incapable of laying eggs. life-span of a worker is about 4 weeks during active season and 8 to 10 weeks during less active season. range of flight varies from 1,000 to 1,500 m. division of work within a colony among the worker bees is based on the age of the individual and on the needs of the colony. the young bees, immediately after their emergence act as cleaners of colony and feeders to larvae grown bees with developed hypopharyngeal glands secrete the royal jelly with which they feed the younger larvae - called nurse bees.

normal life-span of a drone is 57 days. Mating takes place in the open when the queen is in flight. The drone dies in the mating act or immediately afterwards. Its abdomen has to burst open to allow the genital organ to function

For the first 2 to 18 days of their life - perform indoor duty inside the hive: comb construction when some young bees start secreting wax Later become foragers, collect water, pollen, nectar and propolis (beeblue). Pollen is a nitrogenous food and is essential for brood - rearing and young bees. Bees wax, of which the comb is made, is a secretion of the wax glands located in the abdomen of the worker bees. For producing 1 kg of wax the bees consume 10 kg of honey. lifespan of workers can be divided into two phases as first three weeks for house hold duty and rest of the life for outdoor duty.

Household duties Build comb with wax secretion from wax glands. Feed the young larvae with royal jelly secreted from hypopharyngeal gland. Feed older larvae with bee-bread, a mixture of pollen and honey Outdoor duties Collecting nectar, pollen, propolis and water. Ripening honey in honey stomach. BEEKEEPING ACCESSORIES Bee hives were designed after the discovery of Bee Space or Bee Passage by L.L. Langstroth. It is the optimum distance to be left in between two adjacent comb surfaces in a bee hive which is essential for normal movement and functioning of bees. It is too small for comb construction and is too large for propolis deposition. It varies with honeybee species. Eg. For Indian bees 7-9 mm and Italian bees 10 mm Bee keeping in movable frames Hive volume can be increased or decreased based on need Easy to assess food store position Bees can be fed artificially Brood development can be effectively monitored Artificial queen rearing can be done Old and damaged combs can be removed Bees can be easily observed with least disturbance Honey can be extracted without damaging the comb More honey can be extracted by giving more honey supers Feeding and attending queen. Feeding drones. Cleaning, ventilating and cooling the hive. Guarding the hive. Evaporating nectar and storing honey

Hive bodies painted externally will last longer. The colour of the paint shall be white, blue, yellow or green. White offers durability, flexibility easy handling and improves the colony efficiency in regulating hive interior temperature and humidity. Materials: Bee hives are constructed mainly with seasonal timber such as teak, kail or toon. The timber should be free from insect holes, dead knots, shakes, splits and cracks. The thickness of the wooden walls should be 20 mm. Besides the hives, the beekeepers need equipment and implements like the hive stand, nucleus box and smoker. The industry also needs equipment and machinery for handling and processing of honey, beeswax, for manufacture of comb foundation sheets, and for other operations. Types of bee hives pot hive book hive Madhusagar hive house hive nucleous hive single walled and double walled Dadant hives British standard hive Langstroth hive Jeolikote hive Newton hive.

Of all these types, the one designed by Rev.Fr.Newton is the most popular one in South India. Newtons hives, BIS hives and Marthandam hives are suited for rearing Indian bees. Langstroth hives are suited for rearing Italian bees. BIS HIVE HAVING FOLLOWING PARTS Newtons bee hive has the following parts made of wood a) Floor board: 14 x 91/2 in size with an extension in front which serves as an alighting board. b) Brood chamber: -93/4 x 81/4 x 63/4 in size with an entrance slit of 31/2 x 3/8 at the base; it is mounted over the floor board c) Wooden frames: Seven separate woodedn frames 81/4 x 53/4 x6 in size and 7/8 broad: they are hung inside the brood chamber d) Super chamber: 93/4 X 81/4 X31/8 in size: it is kept over the brood chamber e) Top cover: It is board having same dimensions of brood or super chamber. In the centre there is an opening covered with wire gauge. It is kept on super or brood chamber. It is the top cover of the hive. It is a box like structure with a opening bottom portion. The portion of the box is covered with zinc or tin sheets. The bottom open portion fits on the brood or super chamber and completely covers them. There are two holes covered with wire mesh in the front and back side for ventilation. The wooden frames inside the hive should have a space of about in between any two. The hives are painted yellow, light blue, green or pink but never with red, black or grey. Green and light blue colours are preferable. The hive has to be fixed over a termite proof stand of about a meter height and kept in a shady place under trees of under a roof. It has to be protected from ants by providing oil-bands on the stand or water-trought under them. Parts of hive: The bee hive consists of the following parts i) Bottom board (or) Floor board: It forms the floor of the hive made up of a single piece of wood or two pieces of wood joined together. Wooden beading are fixed on to the lateral sides and back side. There is a removable entrance rod in the front side with two entrance slits to alter the size of the hive entrance based on need. The board is extended by10 cm in front of the hive body which provides a landing platform for bees. Size of alighting board is 40x28 cm (BIS hive). ii) Brood Chamber: It is a four sided rectangular wooden box of cross section without a top and bottom. It is kept on the floorboard. A rabbet is cut in the front and back walls of the brood chamber. The brood frames rest on the rabbet walls. Notches on the outer surface of the side walls are useful for lifting. The four sides of the chamber are joined by special joints. In brood frames, bees develop comb to rear brood. Size of brood frame is (outer dimensions) 29x29x17 cm. There will be 8 frames. Len!gth and height of frame is 20.5x14.0 cm (BIS hive).

iii) Super Chamber: It is kept over the brood chamber and its construction is similar to that of brood chamber. Super frames are hung inside. The length and width of this chamber is similar to that of brood chamber. The height may be also similar if it is full depth super as in Langstroth hive. But the height will be only half if it in a shallow super as in Newton's hive. Surplus honey is stored in super chamber. The height of the chamber is 9.5 cm. The inner height of the frame is 6.0 cm (BIS hive). iv) Hive Cover: It insulates the interior of the hive. In Newton's hive it has sloping planks on either side. On the inner ceiling plank there is a square ventilation hole fitted with a wire gauze. Two holes present in the front and rear also help in air circulation. In Langstroth hive and BIS hive, the hive cover consists of a crown board or inner cover and an outercover.The inner cover is provided with a central ventilation hole covered with wire gauze. The outer cover is covered over with a metallic sheet to make it impervious to rain water. Circular ventilation holes covered by wire gauze help in air circulation. It protects the hive against rain and sun. v) Frames: The frames are so constructed that a series of them may be placed in a vertical position in the brood chamber or the super chamber so as to leave space in between them for bees to move. Each frame consists of a top bar, two side bars and a bottom bar nailed together. Both the ends of the top-bar protrude so that the frame can rest on the rabbet. The depth of the super frame is less than that of the brood frame in Newton's hive and ISI hive. But in Langstroth hive it is same as that of brood frame. A groove present underneath the top bar is useful to fix the comb foundation sheet. Holes present on the side bars are useful for wire reinforcement. Joined wire of 28 gauge is used for wiring frames. The height of the side bar reflects the depth of the super. Other accessories 1. Comb foundation sheet Made of wax; it is artificially provided for the colonies during honey flow season pure by cutting them to a proper conical size and attaching them to super frames by means of thread or fibre; It is a thin sheet of bee wax embossed with a pattern of hexagons of size equal to the base of natural brood cells on both sides. The size of the hexagon varies with bee species. The sheet is fixed to the frames on fine wires threaded through holes in the side bars and stretched tight. A spur or an electrical heating device is used to embed wires into the comb foundation sheets which are prepared in a comb foundation mill. The bees construct superstructure of comb cells over the sheet. Advantages . Bees have to add cell walls only . Combs will be vertical . Cell size will be uniform . Combs are strong and sturdy . Better and more honey harvest is made possible 2. Embedder It is a small tool with a spur or round wheel on the top. It is used to fix the comb foundation sheet on the wires of the frame. Electric wire is also used for this purpose which is useful to reinforce the comb and give extra strength to the comb. 3. Synthetic Combs It is made up of high density polythene (plastic). It can be used in both super and brood chamber. Since the comb is fully molded, bees only put wax caps on the cells. Advantages More honey can be extracted. Combs can be easily sterilized Resist wax moth attack Combs are not damaged during honey extraction 4. Dummy division board/Movable wall It is a wooden board slightly larger than the brood frame. It is placed inside the brood chamber. It prevents the bees from going beyond it. It can be used as a movable wall there by limiting the volume of brood chamber which will help the bees to maintain the hive temperature and to protect them from enemies. It is useful in managing small colonies. 5. Porter bee escape board or super clearer It is a device which allows the bees to go through a self closing exit. eg. Spring bee escape or wire gauze cone. A board having one way passage in the center can also be used. It is kept in between honey super and brood chamber. It is used for clearing the bees from super for

extracting honey. 6. Drone excluder or drone trap It is a rectangular box with one side open. The other side is fitted with queen excluder sheet. At the bottom of the box there is a space for movement of worker bees. There are two hollow cones at the bottom wall of the box. Drones entering through the cones into the box get trapped. The narrow end of the cone is wide enough to let the bees pass out but not large enough to attract their attention or reentry. This device is used at the entrance to reduce the drone population inside the hive. 7. Swarm trap It is a rectangular box used to trap and carry the swarm. It is fixed near the hive entrance with one (or) two combs inside during the swarming period. This box traps and retains the queen only. But the swarm coming out from the hive reenter the hive and settles on the comb, since the queen is trapped. Thus the swarm is induced to settle in the frame, which can now be transferred to a hive at a desired place. 8. Pollen trap Pollen trapping screen inside this trap scrapes pellets from the legs of the returning foragers. It is set at the hive entrance. The collected pollen pellets fall into a drawer type of receving tray. 9. Division Board / Sugar Feeder It can be hung along with the frames. A wooden strip or cut bits of leaves kept inside serve as float which prevents the drowning of bees in the sugar syrup. 10. Hive tool It is a piece of flattened iron with flattened down edge at one end. It is useful to separate hive parts and frames glued together with propolis. It is also useful in scrapping excess propolis or wax and superfluous combs or wax from various parts of the hive. 11. Queen excluder It is made up of Perforated zinc sheet. The slots are large enough to allow the workers to pass through but too narrow for the queen. A wire grid/dividing grid with parallel wire mounts can also be used as a queen excluder. It is inserted in between the brood frames in single storey hive. Uses: It is useful to confine the queen to brood chamber. But it allows the workers to have access to super. It prevents the queen from laying eggs in honey combs. It is also used in producing royal jelly in queen rearing and in forming multi-queen colonies. 12. Queen Gate It is a piece of queen excluder sheet. It is fitted on the slot of entrance gate. It confines the queen inside the hive. It is useful to prevent swarming and absconding. It also prevents the entry of bee enemies like wasps into the hive. 13. Queen Cage It is a cage made up of wire gauze. It is useful for queen introduction. 14. Queen Cell Protector It is a cone shaped structure made of a piece of wire wound spirally. It fits around a queen cell. It is used to protect the queen cell, given from a queen right to a queenless colony until its acceptance by bees. 15. Smoker The smoker is used to calm bees and drive away bees from super. It is a small tin with an elastic bulb at one side; rags of cloth or wood shavings can be burnt inside and the smoke expelled to any desired spot. Eco-friendly smoke for driving away rock bees: Special smoke generated by using Charcoal, coconut husk and chicken feathers. Use of bucket smoker effectively drives out rock bees. 16 .Protective dress i) Bee veil: It is worn over face for protection against stings. It should be made up of black nylon netting screen (12-mesh). Screen wire (or) fabric are the preferred materials Veils should be made to fit snugly around the hat and to fit tightly to the shoulder leaving enough space between veil and face. ii) Overalls: White overalls are occasionally worn. Light coloured cotton materials are preferable since they are cooler and create less risk for antagonizing bees. iii) Gloves: Bee gloves are made of tightly-knit cloth (or) soft leather. They cover the fore arms. The gloves are useful for the beginners to develop confidence in handling bees. But handlings of frames will be cumbersome if gloves are worn.

iv) High boots: A pair of gum boots will protect the ankles and prevent bees from climbing up under trousers. 17. Bee brush A soft-camel-hair brush is used to brush the bees off the honeycomb before it is taken for extraction. 18. Decapping knife Single (or) double edged steel knife is used for removing wax cappings from the honey comb. 19. Honey extractor This equipment consists of cylindrical drum containing a rack or box inside to hold the super frames. The box is fixed to a rod at the centre and it can be rotated by a set of two gear wheels. The frames with, honey cells are decapped by a sharp knife after dipping it in hot water and fixed to the slots provided in the box which is rotated by the handle. The rotation should be very gentle and slow at first and the speed of revolution increased gradually. With some experience the correct speed can be learnt. The honey in the cells is forced out in droplets by the action of the centrifugal force and can be collected in vessels through an exit in the drum. As cells are constructed on both sides of the comb, by changing the sides of the frames and again rotating, the honey contained in the cells on the other side can also be drained off. Particular care should be taken while handling heavy combs or those which are flimsily attached to the frames. There is another type of honey extractor known as the churn staff honey extractor or rock bee honey extractor. It consists of a rectangular wooden frame fixed to a thick wooden rod to effect the rotation. The frame is made to hold a wire gauge cage and is provided with a small peg at bottom. The latter is received into a socket in the centre of another block of wood. The wooden block is fixed on tightly to the bottom of any ordinary vessel. The wire gauge cage with the uncapped honey combs is kept inside the frame and then the central shaft is rotated with a piece of rope as in the case of a country churn. The extraction of honey should be done a distance away front the hive. Otherwise the workers get attracted by the odour of the honey and comb and may annoy the operator. HOW TO ACQUIRE AND HIVE BEES?...... 1. When there is a colony on a wall or in the hollow of a tree.. To locate the colonies in the walls or tree hollows, observe such likely places in bright sunny mornings when the bees will be busy going in and out of the hollows. A few whiffs of smoke are first blown into the hollow with the aid of a smoker and the bees get quietened. Then the entrance to the colony is cut sufficiently wide. The comb is removed wholesale with maximum number of bees adhering to it. The combs having plenty of worker brood are selected, carefully cut to suit the size of the frames and fixed on to the frames by means of a banana fibre and the frames immediately kept inside the hive. A few combs with pollen and honey may also be taken and kept at the sides of the hive; this, will supply necessary food to the bees till they get accustomed to the new surroundings and collect food materials themselves. The queen should be traced and along with a few workers trapped inside a glass tube, a match box or any other small container which is kept over the frames of the hive. The workers, having been deprived of their original home, move about in search of their queen. A few spot her inside the container and communicate the message to other bees which now come and settle in the brood combs. Now an empty super without frames is kept over the brood chamber and the queen and workers are released from the container. They move into the brood chamber, when the super is taken away and the roof kept over the brood chamber. If the hive with the new colony is to be necessarily shifted to some other place, the entrance slit is plugged with a wire gauge and the hive transported in an evening. In the above process the queen may sometimes escape detection. In such cases, the workers invariably rear a new queen from the existing fertilized eggs either after transferring a few such eggs to specially constructed queen cell or by widening the regular brood cells. 2. By use of decay hives The decoy hive consists of a piece of hollowed out Palmyra trunk with both ends closed with planks and provided with a number of holes in one of the planks to permit entry and exit of bees. A mud pot can also be used in place of Palmyra trunk. The inner surface of the receptacle is smeared with bees wax. It is kept in a tree branch etc during swarming seasons. It is eventually occupied by a swarm and combs are constructed in a few weeks time. The tenanted receptacle is removed. One of the sides opened and the colony transferred to an one of the artificial hive. The hiving should be done in good breeding seasons.

3. Hiving a swarm When a swarm is readily available, it can be more advantageously hived by this method rather than through a decoy hive. The hiving can he preferably done in an evening, if immediate hiving is not possible it is better to leave it after spraying with a thin sugar syrup lightly over the bees. Three to five frames with comb foundation sheets are put in a hive; a frame with capped cells containing pollen and honey without any bee taken from any other hive should also be given if possible. The swarm is then smoked and the bees are collected in a box or basket by shaking the branch or twig containing the swarm. First a handful of bees are put in the empty side of the hive and the rest dumped over a slanting board kept at the entrance. If one or two bees are pushed in through the entrance with a finger, others will follow. It should be ensured that the queen enters the hive Location of an apiary Often a beekeeper is left with no choice for location of his hives, say, when he intends to keep them in his backyard or a small home garden. But where a selection among many possible sites can be exercised, the following points require consideration. 1. An apiary should be located where there is abundance of nectar and pollen-yielding plants within the radius of about 1 to 1 km. 2. The site should not be exposed to strong winds or, at least the hives should not face the direction of the prevailing winds. Trees, bushes or trellis work may be provided to make the site windy. 3. The site should be flat but with good drainage facilities 4. Clean and fresh running water should be available to the bees in or near the 5. A young orchard is an ideal choice. But thick groves may be avoided because the air becomes stagnant and during summer the atmosphere is close and muggy. 6. If the site is shade less and exposed, an artificial shed may be provided for 7. An apiary should not be located too near a highway. 8. A good barbed-wire fence or a live hedge may be provided to keep out intruders. 9. The site should be free from termite and black ant infestations. About 50 to 100 colonies may be kept in an apiary according to availability of space. They may be placed 2 to 3 meters apart in rows spaced from 3 to 7 meters apart. In large apiaries too much uniformity in the placement is not good. Land marks such as trees, bushes etc., may be planted at suitable intervals to help the bees to recognize their hives. BEE FLORA AND POLLINATION OF CROPS Bee visits plants for its food, nectar and pollen. This floral fidelity of bees is due to their preference for nectars having sugar contents and pollens with higher nutritive values. Besides getting food for the bees as a result of their visit pollinate a number of crops. Qualities of honeybees which make them good pollinators Body covered with hairs and has structural adaptation for carrying nectar and pollen. Bees do not injure the plants Adult and larva feed on nectar and pollen which is available in plenty Considered as superior pollinators, since store pollen and nectar for future use No diapauses is observed and needs pollen throughout the year Body size and proboscis length is very much suitable for many crops Pollinate wide variety of crops Forage in extreme weather conditions also Effect of bee pollination on crop It increases yield in terms of seed yield and fruit yield in many crops It improves quality of fruits and seeds Bee pollination increases oil content of seeds in sunflower Bee pollination is a must in some self incompatible crops for seed set Crops benefited by bee pollination Fruits and nuts: Almond, apple, apricot, peach, strawberry, citrus and litchi Vegetable and Vegetable seed crops: Cabbage, cauliflower, carrot, coriander, cucumber, melon, onion, pumpkin, radish and turnip. Oil seed crops: Sunflower, niger, rape seed, mustard, safflower, gingelly. Forage seed crops: Lucerne, clover. Scope of beekeeping for pollination in India: Total area of bee dependant crops in India is around 50 million hectare. One hundred and fifty million colonies are needed to meet this, at

the rate of 3 colonies per hectare. In India at present, there are only 1.2 million colonies exist. Hence there is a wide scope for expansion of bee keeping for pollination in India. Management of bees for pollination Place hives very near the field source to save bee's energy Migrate colonies near field at 10 per cent flowering Place colonies at 3/ha for Italian bee and 5/ha for Indian honey bee The colonies should have 5 to 6 frame strength of bees, with sealed brood and young mated queen Allow sufficient space for pollen and honey storage CARE AND MANAGEMENT OF BEEKEEPING The pre-requisites which are considered must to start beekeeping are as follows Knowledge and training on bee keeping Knowledge on local bee flora Sufficient local bee flora Knowledge of migratory bee keeping

Apiary site requirements The site should be dry without dampness. High RH will affect bee flight and ripening of nectar. Water: Natural or artificial source of water should be provided. Wind breaks: Trees serve as wind belts in cool areas. Shade: Hives can be kept under shade of trees. Artificial structures can also be constructed to provide shade. Bee pasturage and florage: Plants that yield pollen and nectar to bees are called bee pasturage and florage. Such plants should be plenty around the apiary site. General apiary management practices 1. Hive inspection: Open the hive at least twice a week and inspect for following details. Hive record also is to be maintained for each hive. o o o o Presence of queen Presence of eggs and brood. Honey and pollen storage Presence of bee enemies like wax moth, mite, disease

2. Expanding brood net: It is done by providing comb foundation sheet in empty frame during honey flow period. 3. Supering (Addition of frames in super chamber): This is done when brood chamber is filled with bees and all frames are covered. Comb foundation sheet or constructed comb is provided in super chamber 4. During breeding season During honey flow season there is considerable increase in the foraging activity of the workers and in the rate of egg laying by the queen. Necessary additional space has to be provided for all these and this is done through supply of new, clean, yellow combs or comb foundation sheets. In the case of weak stocks, the population can be increased, taking advantage of the favourable environmental conditions, by giving brood combs from strong colonies or by simply changing its position to that of a strong colony in a bright morning when the bees are busy. The bees of the strong colony after their foraging trip return to the weak hive now located in the site of their original home and thus the weak colony becomes strong. This should be done in a prosperous season and at a time when bees are busy. 5. Swarm control The strength of colonies gets denoted as a result of Swarming. Swarming can be prevented by clipping off special queen brood cells as they are constructed, since a colony does not send out a swarm unless a new queen is ready to take the place of the reigning queen. There are a few other methods of swarm control in which the natural instincts of the bees for dispersal and perpetuation of species are not curbed but aim at relieving the spatial congestion and readjustment of different castes and categories of population (a) Primary swarm is allowed to take place but trapped in a swarm trap and hived as a separate colony. The after-swarms are prevented by destroying the remaining queen brood cells (b) One or two brood combs in the strong colonies which are inclined to issue swarms are removed and given to weak

colonies. (c) A brood comb with the reigning queen and a few workers taken out and put in a separate hive and thus the colony is divided, (d) Inter-change of positions between a strong and weak colony. 6. Artificial feeding Bees do not visit each and every flower. They visit only flowers having ample pollen and nectar (non-toxic to them) and it should be within their reach. Therefore, the bee flora of a particular region is most important for the bee industry. Whenever there is a dearth of nectar and pollen in nature and the stock of these materials is not in the hive, then artificial feeding becomes imperative. The dearth periods vary from region to region in this country. If the bees are not fed artificially during dearth period, they start starving and dwindling, develop wander lust and ultimately abscond. White sugar syrup is a cheap substitute of honey but no pollen substitutes have been tried in this country although different pollen substitutes have been found useful elsewhere. Attempts to replace sugar syrup by cheap cane jaggery to the colonies resulted in the absconding of bee colonies because in most of the cases they did not accept it and suffered from starvation; in some cases if they accepted it they suffered from dysentery. Preparation of artificial feed. Sugar syrup is prepared by dissolving 100 g of sugar in 150200 ml of hot water, boiled and cooled. It is offered in 400 ml glass-bottle or cigarette tins with their mouth covered with a mark in cloth held tightly with rubber band or thread. The syrup bottle is placed upside down in the super with or without inner cover. The colonies should be fed on alternate days in the evening. Effect of artificial feeding: The bee colonies should be fed well during dearth period, especially in winter season. In such cases swarming is induced earlier and this helps a beekeeper in making the bee colonies strong before honey-flow season starts. 7. Provision of Drinking Water A source of fresh water within a short distance of an apiary is essential. Water is required to blend with the food and to lower the temperature of the hives during hot weather. Water can be supplied in a tank or an earthen pot set up so as to permit the water to drip. The water can be given in a glass bottle inside the hive also. 8. Uniting bee colonies The question of uniting stock of bees arises only when the colony becomes weak or queen less and all attempts of requeening fail. It is then necessary that weak colonies should be united. As each colony has its own peculiar odour, it is necessary either to blend the odours of the two colonies slowly or suppress both by a stronger one. If this is not done the bees of the two colonies fight. The colonies to be united should be brought near each other by moving them closer, 0.5 to 1.0 m each day, so that incoming bees may not drift back to old site when the colonies are sufficiently close. Two other methods described below can also be used for uniting the colonies. Newspaper method: Bring colonies side by side by moving 30 cm/day Remove queen from week colony Keep a newspaper on top of brood chamber of queen known as right colony Make holes on the paper Keep queen less colony on top of right colony. Close hive entrance so that the smell of bees get mixed in both the colony Unite bees to the brood chamber and make it one colony. Smoke method: Both colonies should be smoked heavily and then dumped into one hive. More smoke should be blown into the common hive. 9. Handling the Queen The queen is the most important and indispensable individual in the bee colony, and should be handled properly and carefully. 10. Finding the queen The presence of an active queen in the colony can be judged by the presence of worker eggs. If, however, it is essential to spot her or to catch her, then she must be searched properly. In a strong colony sometimes it may be difficult to spot the queen at the first look. Test for the absence of queen. It is often necessary to be sure that a colony is really queen less before introducing a new queen. The bees of a queen less colony always develop nervousness. They do not sit properly in the comb. There will be no egg-laying or worker egg laying without uniformity in combs (more than one egg in cells).

11. Introduction of the queen Of several methods of introducing the queen, some are direct and others indirect. For safe introduction, first it should be made sure that the colony into which it is to be introduced is really queen less and further that no queen cell is present in the brood combs. The queen should be put into a queen-introducing cage, with the exit plugged with queen candy, and then placed in the centre of the brood nest. The queen can be kept in a small specimen tube, the mouth of which is closed with a muslin cloth having a small hole to permit it to escape eventually. 12. Increasing the Number of Colonies It is very important for beekeeper to increase his bee colony every year and this can be done by dividing the existing colonies into 2 or 3 sub-colonies with fresh queens. (i) A bee colony can be established by purchasing it from a private or a government organization. Only those colonies should be selected or purchased which have at least 5-6 brood frames covered with bees and a healthy active queen. (ii) The number of colonies can be increased by dividing the existing colonies during swarming season, when the queen cells are constructed. It is done by keeping 50 per cent brood combs with old queen in an empty hive. The hive should be removed at least 0-8 km away from its original site. The other half of the colony with queen cells should be kept in the original site. (iii) Another method is to let the colony swarm, and the swarms arc captured and transferred to empty hives by giving brood comb from another colony. The swarms can be kept in the same vicinity. (iv) Bee colonies can be captured from natural sources. Before bagging the colony, smoke should be applied. The combs are cut and placed in frames with wire to which they are firmly secured. The frames are transferred to a hive along with the bees. Seasonal management: Pollen and nectar are available only during certain period. When surplus food source are available it is known as honey flow season. In contrast during dearth period there will be scarcity of food. During extremes in climate like summer, winter and monsoon certain specific management tactics are required. 13. Honey flow season management This season coincides with spring. During this season, Provide more space for honey storage by giving comb foundation sheet or built combs Confine queen to brood chamber using queen excluder Prevent swarming as explained in swarm management Prior to honey flow, provide sugar syrup and build sufficient population Divide strong colonies into 2-3 new colonies, if colony muitiplication is needed Queen rearing technique may be followed to produce new queens for new colonies 14. Summer management Bees have to survive intense heat and dearth period by following means. o o o o Provide sufficient shade, under trees or artificial structure Increase RH and reduce heat by Sprinkling water twice a day on gunny bag or rice straw put on hive Increase ventilation by introducing a splinter between brood and super chamber Provide sugar syrup, pollen supplement, substitute and water

15. Winter management It includes the following Maintain strong and disease free colonies Provide new queen to the hives Provide winter packing in cooler areas hilly regions

16. Management during dearth period Remove empty combs and store in air tight container. Use dummy division board to confine bees to small area Unite weak colonies Provide sugar syrup, pollen supplement and substitute 17. Rainy season and monsoon management

Avoid dampness in apiary site. Provide proper drainage In rain when bees are confined to the hive, provide sugar syrup feeding 18. Bee pasturage or bee forage Plants that yield pollen and nectar are collectively called bee pasturage or bee forage. Plants which are good source of nectar are tamarind, moringa, neem, Prosopis juliflora, Soapnut tree, Glyricidia maculata, eucalyptus, Tribulus terrestris and pungam. Plants which are good source of pollen are sorghum, sweet potato, maize, tobacco, millets like cumbu, tenai, varagu, ragi, coconut, roses, castor, pomegranate and date palm. Plants which are good source of both pollen and nectar are banana, peach, citrus, guava, apple, Sunflower, berries, safflower, pear, mango and plum. Foraging: This refers to collection of nectar and pollen by bees. Nectar foragers: These collect nectar from flowers using lapping tongue and pass the nectar to hive bees. Hive bees repeatedly pass the nectar between pre oral cavity and tongue to ripen the honey. Later they drop the ripened honey into cells. Pollen foragers: They collect pollen by passing through different flowers. Pollen sticking to the body is removed by using pollen comb. Then it is packed using pollen press into corbicula or pollen basket. A single bee carries 10 to 30 mg of pollen which is 25 per cent of bee's weight. Then the pollen is dislodged by middle leg into cells. Pollen is mixed with honey and stored. Floral fidelity: A bee visits same species of plant for pollen and nectar collection until the source is exhausted. This is known as floral fidelity. Bees travel 2 to 3 km distance to collect pollen and nectar. PESTS AND DISEASES OF HONEYBEES The Indian bee is comparatively free from many infectious diseases except Thai Sac brood virus whereas the Italian bee in other countries is known to be susceptible to diseases like foul brood, sac brood, Acarine diseases etc. In our country bee enemies are more dangerous taking a heavy toll of life, as a result of which annually many colonies deserted by the bees. A. Pests of honey bees 1. Wax moths Cause serious damage particularly to weak colonies where the number of bees is not sufficient enough to cover all the combs. feed on the propolis, pollen and wax in the combs. penetrate the wax layers bees abandon the colony when combs are highly damaged . 2. Ants black ant & household red are dangerous enemies of the bee. attack weak colonies and carry away the honey, pollen and the brood. providing ant pans around the bases of the stand or oil bands over the stands ants can be kept away. Underground ant nests are eliminated by dusting of Methyl parathion or carbaryl or pouring 0.1% chlorpyriphos solution. 3. Wasps catches bees as they come out, macerates them for feeding the juice to its young. reducing the width of the alighting board of the hive, the wasps can be prevented from sitting near the entrance Wasp nests should be destroyed by burning them In hilly regions another bee hunter wasp attacks and carries away bees. 4. Wax beetles found in the hives under unhygienic conditions feeding on the debris and on old combs in weak colonies. Periodical examination of empty combs and regular cleaning of the bottom boards will control the enemy. 5. Birds

King crow and bee cavers capture bees and eats them. 6. Tracheal Mites The tracheal mite, Acarapis woodi, causes Acarine disease of adults. They feed on the blood (haemolymph) by piercing with their mouthparts through the tracheal walls. 7. Bee mites: ecto or endo parasites of honeybees. 9. Brood mite: ectoparasites on brood and adults of Apis mellifera. Other enemies The 'death's head' moth, Acherontia styx enters hive and consumes honey. Occasionally cockroaches enter weak colonies and impart a foul smell to the hive. The Robber bee, the leaf cutter bee Megachile disjuncta, dragon flies and preying mantids capture bees and feed upon them. Lizards, frogs toads capture bees at hive entrances. Bears dismantle the hives and eat upon honey, pollen, brood and the bees. Termites damagewooden parts of the hive; to check this the stands should be painted with coal tar. The termite mounds seen near the apiary-aid be destroyed by applying 0.1% Chlorpyriphos solution into the nests. The nymphs and adults of the Arachnid, Ellingsenius indicus C., cling to adult workers in hilly regions DISEASES OF HONEY BEES There are a number of diseases which affect the honeybee in India. Of the major diseases which affect honeybee are the Acarine and Nosema diseases of the adult bees and the brood diseases of larval stages. 1. Nosema Disease This disease is caused by a protozoan, Nosema apis. The Nosema infestation leads to dysentery. The flies are unable to fly and void loose excreta on the combs, frames and ground in front of the hive. It mainly affects the flight during cold weather. An antibiotic known as Fumagillin is useful in controlling the infection. The drug is administered by giving a feed of 100 mg fumagillin per colony in 250 ml of sugar syrup for 10 days continuously. 2. Broad Diseases Honey bee broods suffer from variety of diseases. Loss of brood affects the colony strength. Adult bees are not affected by brood diseases but they can spread the casual organisms. Brood diseases are more serious than adult diseases. Brood diseases of bees are described below. a. European foul-brood b. American foul-brood c. Sac foul-brood d. Thai Sac brood virus (TSBV) e. Chalk foul-brood and stone brood disease Out these brood diseases, the European foul-brood disease and the Thai Sac-brood disease are common in India. HARVESTING AND PROCESSING OF BEE PRODUCTS Honey, bees wax, royal jelly, bee venom, propolis and pollen are the important bee products. Honey is harvested at the end of a flowering season. Honey is extracted only from super combs using honey extractor. The sealing of cells on combs is removed with sharp knife before placing in the extractor. Extractor should be worked slowly at the beginning and at bout 150 rpm at the end for about 1 to 2 minutes. Then the sides of the frames are reversed and the extractor is again worked. Extracted honey is filtered through muslin cloth. During the lean season (May-September), remove the super chambers, arrange the available healthy brood combs in the brood chamber and use division boards to restrict the space. Provide artificial feeding once in a week by way of 1:1 sugar syrup in water. Each colony may require syrup prepared from 500-750 g sugar a week depending on the size of the colony and availability of stored food. It causes K winged condition in bees, where the wings are held at unusual angle and bees are unable to fly. Bees are seen crawling in front of the hive.

1. Honey Flowers nectar is a solution of sugars and other minor constituents that bees collect and concentrate into honey. a sweet, viscous fluid, produced by honeybees. collected as nectar from nectarines at base of flowers. collected from nectar secreted by plant parts other than flowers known as extra floral nectaries. collected also from fruit juice, cane juice etc.. Collection and ripening of honey Honeys contain a wide range of sugars, varying according to the nectar source, and small amounts of other substances such as minerals, vitamins, proteins and amino acids. The temperature in a nest near the honey storage area is usually about 35 C. Field bees draw nectar by its lapping tongue known as proboscis. Field bees regurgitate the nectar which is colIected by hive bees and deposited in cells in comb. Nectar contains 20 to 40 per cent sucrose. The enzyme invertase converts sucrose into dextrose (glucose) and levulose (fructose). Invertase is present in nectar itself and also in saliva of honeybees. Finally ripening of honey takes place by the action of enzyme and by evaporation of water from honey by temperature and the ventilation produced by fanning of wings by bees. When the water content is reduced to about 20 percent, the bees seal the cell with a wax capping. The honey is now considered "ripe" and will not ferment. In this way the bees prepare for themselves a concentrated food source packed in minimal space. It is free from problems of fermentation; therefore bacteria cannot grow in the honey and it will not deteriorate during storage. This food sustains the bees through periods when there are no flowers. Composition of fully ripened honey Per cent (Approx.) Constituents Levulose Dextrose Sucrose Dextrins Minerals Water Undetermined (Enzymes, vitamins, pigments, etc.) 41.0 35.0 1.9 1.5 2.0 17.0 16.0

Pigments: Carotene, chlorophyll and xanthophyll are the important pigments present in honey. Minerals: Potassium, Calcium, Phosphorus, Sodium, Magnesium, Manganese, Copper, Sulphur, Silica and Iron are the minerals present in honey. Vitamins: Vitamin B1 (Thiamine), B2 (Riboflavin), Nicotinic acid, Vitamin K, Folic acid, Ascorbic acid and Pantothenic acid are the vitamins present in honey. Physical properties of honey Honey is hygroscopic. If exposed to air it absorbs moisture Honey is a viscous fluid. Heating of honey reduces viscosity Specific gravity of pure honey is 1.35 to 1.44 gms/cc Refractive index of honey, helps to find moisture content measured using refractometer Purity test for honey o o Measure specific gravity of honey using hydrometer If the specific gravity is between 1.25 to 1.44 it is pure honey

Aroma and flavour of honey It is acquired from the nectar of the flower It is lost if heated or exposed to air for long time

Colour of honey Depends on the nectar of flower and the plant species

Darker honey has stronger flavour Lighter honey has more pleasant smell Crystallization or granulation of honey: This is a natural property of honey particularly at low temperature. Dextrose present in honey granulate and settle down. Levulose and water remain at top which is more prone to fermentation. High ratio of Levulose :Dextose (L/D)results in less granulation. High ratio of Dextrose:Water (D/W) results in more granulation. Uses of honey Honey has value as a food, as a medicine, as a cash crop for both domestic and export markets and as an important part of some cultural traditions. As a food: Honey is valued everywhere as a sweet and tasty food. At times of food shortage it is a useful carbohydrate source that contains trace elements and adds nutritional diversity to poor diets. Honey often has an important place in traditional food preparation. As a medicine or tonic: In many parts of the world, honey is used as a medicine or tonic and as a special treat for children. Modern medicine is increasingly using honey for a variety of treatments. As a cash crop: Fresh local honey is always more highly valued than imported honey. Many beekeepers sell their product directly to consumers. Honey is often used as a barter commodity in villages, especially in remote areas or areas isolated by war or sanctions. Honey is a stable commodity with a long shelf life. If harvested carefully, it will remain wholesome for many years. As an export crop: As standards of living rise, honey consumption increases. Most industrialized countries import honey to meet demand. This requirement can provide developing countries with a useful source of foreign exchange from honey exports. The countries with the highest honey exports are Mexico, China and Argentina. Because beekeeping does not use land, production of honey for export need not conflict with growing crops for local consumption. 2. Beeswax Beeswax is the material that bees use to build their nests. It is produced by young honeybees that secrete it as a liquid from special wax glands. Worker bees secrete wax when they are 14 to 18 days old. On contact with air, the wax hardens and forms scales, which appear as small flakes of wax on the underside of the bee. About one million wax scales make 1 kg of wax. Bees use the wax to build the well-known hexagonal cells that make up their comb, a very strong and efficient structure. Bees use the comb cells to store honey and pollen; the queen lays her eggs in them, and young bees develop in them. Beeswax is produced by all species of honeybees, although the waxes produced by different species have slightly different chemical and physical properties. Composition and property Alcohol's and fatty acids 70 to 74 per cent; free acids 13 to 15 per cent; saturated hydrocarbons 12 to 15 per cent; vitamin A 40961U; specific gravity 0.95; melting point 65C. Processing Beewax is obtained from the cappings collected during honey extraction. Wax is obtained from old combs that are unfit for use and from combs damaged during honey extraction. Best grade wax is obtained from cappings where the recovery per cent is higher. In India, major proportion of wax is from combs of Apis dorsata Uses Mainly used by candle industry Used for preparing comb foundation sheets Used in cosmetics like cold creams, lipsticks and rouges Used in pharmaceutical and perfume industry (ointments, capsules, pill coating and deodorants) Used for preparing shoe polish, furniture etc. for water proofing Used in adhesives, chewing gums and inks etc. It is used in the manufacture of very many items of cosmetics like beauty lotions and creams, lipsticks, ointments and pomades and of polishes for boots, floor and furniture, of lubricants, paint and varnishes, inks, electrical insulating apparatus and candles. 3. Bee venom Sting of worker bee is attached to a poison sac where venom is stored. Newly emerged bee is unable to sting because she cannot insert the sting which is not fully chitinized. Also little

amount of venom is stored in the venom sac. A bee, when two weeks old has maximum venom in her poison sac. Properties Bee venom contains histamine, apamine, acithinase, hydrochloric acid, formic acid, orthophosporic acid, sulphur, calcium, copper and magnesium sulphate. Production Bee venom is commercially obtained by the use of electric shock. An electric current is passed through copper wires at 12 volts. The bees get shock, irritated and release venom by inserting the sting into a thin nylon cloth below the copper wires. Venom is deposited on a glass plate placed below the nylon sheet. The venom on drying is scrapped from the glass plate. One Mellifera colony yields about 50mg of venom. Uses Rheumatism can be cured by apitherapy where bees are made to sting the patient Venom can be used as sub-cutaneous injection for treating rheumatism Ointment made by mixing apitoxin, vasaline and salicylicacid (1:10:1) can be applied on affected areas. It has stimulating effect on heart muscles and decreases cholesterol level and lowers blood pressure. It can cure neurosis, endoarteriosis, endoarthritis and neuraglia Antihistamine creams or injections are used as anti-allergents 4. Propolis Propolis gathered by bees from resinous exudes of tree. In the bee colony propolis is used for sticking frames, sealing cracks and crevices but it is a contaminant of comb wax. Propolis is obtained by scrapping it from the frames. Properties It contains resins and balsams 55 per cent, ethanol and scented oils 10 per cent and pollen 5 per cent. Uses Used in preparing ointments for treating cuts, wounds and abscesses in cattle. Mixed with vasallne to soothen burns.

5. Royal jelly Royal jelly is secreted by gland of nurse bees of the age of 6 to 12 days when the glands are fully active. It is very nutritious food and is fed to the young worker larvae and the queen larva and adult. Royal jelly is milky or light pale in colour. Properties It contains proteins 15 to 18 per cent. Proteins are mainly amino acids (alanine, arginine, aspartic acid, gultonic acid, glycine, isoleucine, lysine, methionine, phenyl alanine, tryptophane, tyrosine and serine). It also contains lipids 2 to 6 per cent, carbohydrates 9 to 18 per cent (glucose, fructose, melibiose, trehalose, maltose and sucrose) and ash 0.7 to 1.2 per cent. Vitamin A, B and C, iron, copper, phosphorus, silicon and sulphur are also present. Production The queen cell is trimmed to the level of the royal jelly. After 2 or 3 days of grafting, larvae are gently removed with forceps and the royal jelly is removed with royal jelly spoon. This is stored in refrigerated conditions. In case of Apis mellifera 200mg of royal jelly is obtained from a queen cell. Uses Responsible for queen determination Very nutritious food for human beings 6. Pollen It is collected by pollen trap from ingoing pollen foragers. Pollen is a rich protein source for human diet. Uses of honey bee In addition to providing man with very valuable materials as honey and beeswax, the honey bees are also useful to him in aiding in pollination of many of his crops. In fact, it has been claimed that the value of bees in pollination of crops is ten to twenty times the value of honey

and wax they produce. Certain crops like apples, alfalfa and clover almost entirely depend upon bees for their pollination. Even among some regularly self-pollinated crops, the yield is considerably increased after visit of bees.