Introduction to Honeybees and Apiculture

Introduction to Honeybees and Apiculture

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  PRESENTATION ON HONEY BEES& APICULTURE FARM ZOOSEC-101: Apiculture Dr. Yahyea Baktiar Laskar M.Sc., Ph.D., PGDBI, PGDCA Assistant Professor Department of Zoology Ramanuj Gupta Degree College (Affiliated under Assam University, Silchar)
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  INTRODUCTION—Definition & Historyof Apiculture: Apiculture is the technical term for beekeeping. It includes the maintenance of honeybees and hives for the production of beeswax, honey and other edible bee products; crop pollination services. The earliest found record of honey gathering is depicted in the Cave of the Spider (la Cueva de la Araña) near Valencia, Spain. This 15,000-year-old painting shows a woman on a rope ladder gathering honey from a bee nest precariously on the side of a rock cliff. The earliest known form of organized beekeeping occurred in ancient Egypt. By 1500 BCE, beekeeping was widespread throughout the Nile region with Egyptian administrators accepting honey presented by farmers as payment.
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  INTRODUCTION—Definition & Historyof Apiculture: Apiculture has a long history in China, where the native Eastern Honeybee, has been used for crop pollination, as well as honey and beeswax production. By the time of the East Han-Dynasty (25-150 CE), beekeeping was well established and highly profitable. Origin and development of modern beekeeping lies between 1500 and 1851 when attempts were made to domesticate bees in different types of hives. Commercial beekeeping started in India from the second half of the 19th century. It is recorded that in 1882, artificial culture of honeybees was introduced in undivided Bengal following European methodologies. In 1939, All India Bee-keeping Association was established and very soon it spread its branches to most of the states and districts of India. Now it merges with ICAR (Indian Council of Agricultural Research) and has expanded its activities. In 1945, Central Bee-keeping Research Station was established.
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  BEE BIOLOGY—Castes andSocial Organization: Colony of honeybees consists of three castes: Queen, Drone, and workers. Queen is the fertile female that can lay up to 3000 eggs per day. It is largest among other castes. It can be easily identified by its long abdomen, strong legs, and short wings. Drones are the haploid, fertile, male members. The size of drone is smaller than the queen but larger than the workers. Workers are diploid sterile females and are smallest in size. Their number in colony is the highest.
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  BEE BIOLOGY—Life Cycleof honeybees:
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  BEE BIOLOGY—Bee species:
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  BEE BIOLOGY—Honey producingbee species: Apis dorsata Apis indica Apis mellifera Apis florea
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  BEE BIOLOGY—Morphological Peculiarities:
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  BEE BIOLOGY—Anatomical Peculiarities:
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  NATURAL BEEHIVE The majorityof a natural beehive is made up of comb, which is a series of interlocking hexagonal cells made of wax. These hexagons are used to store honey and pollen, and to raise brood. 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. The peanut-shaped queen cells are normally built at the lower edge of the comb.
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  BEE-KEEPING EQUIPMENTS Smoker Hive Stand BeeVeil Overall High Boots Frame Holder Gloves
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  BEE-KEEPING EQUIPMENTS Decapping knife QueenCage Queen Gate Artificial Bee hive Hive tool Bee Brush Queen cell protector
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  ARTIFICIAL BEEHIVE—History &Invention: Lorenzo Langstroth invented the modern beehive in 1851, enabling a greater production of honey. Langstroth was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and graduated from Yale College in 1831. Prior to Langstroth's work, beekeepers could not monitor the health, production, or containment of bees while harvesting honey. His design made it easy to inspect hives for disease, monitor the health of colonies, and harvest honey. 75% of beehives in use today are based on his design.
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  ARTIFICIAL BEEHIVE An artificialbeehive have the following parts: Stand—elevates the bottom board off the ground. Bottom board—provides a single point for bees to enter and exit the hive. Deep super—here the bees raise their young and first store honey. Queen excluder—prevent the queen laying eggs in some of the cells within the hive. Honey supers—used to collect honey. Inner cover—prevents bees from propolizing the hive's outer cover Outer cover—Provides additional insulation.
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  BEE FORAGES The plantspecies which produce nectar, pollen, extra floral nectaries or propolis are visited by bees for one or the other material are known as Bee flora or Bee pasturage or Bee forage. Eucalyptus tree (11 kg/tree) Pigeon pea (50 kg/hector) Brassica campestris (47.7 kg/hector)
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  PRODUCTS OF APICULTURE HONEY FightsInfections Boosts immunity, Antibacterial, Antiviral POLLEN Nutritional Supplement Boosts immunity, Antibacterial, Antiviral PROPOLIS Infection-fighting Powerhouse Healing property, Fights colds, flu, & sinusitis ROYAL JELLY Elixir of Life Antioxidant, Antibacterial, Antiviral, Skin health BEE VENOM Nature’s Botox Anti-wrinkle properties, Anti-aging, Skin health
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  BENEFITS OF APICULTURE