How to Raise Bees for Pollination
Keeping and raising honey bees is a very difficult task. However, with proper guidelines, protective measures and appropriate tools you can raise the bees for any purpose. It is most commonly done to gather honey but some people also raise bees for crop pollination and many other things. Nowadays there is a shortage of bees so beekeepers travel around the country and rent their bee hives for different purposes, especially pollination. Honey bees are undoubtedly really important for harvesting crops. Setting up your own hives will require heavy investment but the first crop yielded will cover your costs.
Things Required:
– Protective suit, gloves and shoes
– Bees
– Supplements
– Smoker
Instructions
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1
Safety equipment
You are required to get the appropriate equipment for raising bees. Get the things which will protect you from bees like different types of suits which can be stretched from wrists and ankles. Also get a hat which has a net for covering the face. Furthermore you need to buy leather gloves and boots for protecting hands and feet. -
2
Get a brood chamber and supers
You need to get brood chamber and supers in order to kick off your hive. Remember that the brood chamber is where the queen lays her eggs. Supers on the other hand are frames where workers formulate honeycombs to store the honey. It is advisable for you to get five frames in the start. You can increase the number of frames later on. -
3
Buy bees
Next you need to buy bees. You can get them from a bee supplier. You are required to buy a queen, workers and drones. Remember that queens leave the hive once in order to mate. She then lays her eggs throughout her remaining life. -
4
Feed the bees
You need to feed the bees supplements in order to start up. You should give supplements or sugar and water. These items are easily available from beekeeping supply stores. This is to nourish them until the flowers start blooming. -
5
Wear protective suit and use smoker
When you are working with bees, you need to wear the protective gear and use a smoker. Remember, the smokers calms down bees and stimulates their feeding instinct. By this you can easily remove the supers and keep an eye on the bees.
