User:The Top Beekeeper

An Introduction to Beekeeping

Today, honey and beeswax are produced in large amounts by beekeepers from all over the world. As demand continues to grow for this product, the number of beekeepers in Africa, Asia, Europe and The United States increase also. The old method of beekeeping in its birthplace, Europe is a far cry from the current modern version, especially the ones in the United States. Some cultures accept it as part of their tradition and it appears to be a way of life.

It is useful to know that honey has been used extensively in religious rituals throughout the ages and during moments of special celebrations, where it is used as a flavoring to add that extra dash of sweetness to any meal. Americans who find this business attractive often enters this niche to supply to the local supermarkets and to buyers from all over the world, especially those that do not possess their own beekeeping industry. Honey bee producers in the United States often come with small processing and production facility and are therefore unable to tap into the larger market such as supplying to the retail giants.

Beekeeping - keepingbeesformoney.weebly.com in the United States is so advanced that we can actually mass produce a single product such as honey and collectively cater for the worldwide market. Bees produce honey when flowers are plentiful and spring is the time for honey producing in the Unites States. Honey produced in the United States is often sent to retail chains all over the country and when production is large, beekeepers supply to larger organizations under specific individual brands.

Beekeepers often spend time every 7 to 8 days watching hives, and most find it to be a good way to pass time during the weekend. Even during the peak producing seasons between May to September, hives don't need too much maintenance, in fact just an hour a day watching them would be just fine. A beekeeper can expect to harvest around 80-100 pounds of honey from each beekeeping season, and depending on the price he gets paid per pound, the total amount of profit can be estimated.

Bumblebees are pests that can irritate even the most patient beekeeper, especially during the main beekeeping time. They live underground and flowers which are supposed to be enjoyed by the honey bees are now being swarmed by those bumblebees, which have an easier access to them. To avoid unnecessary competition, beekeepers often move the hives to a new location and enable those honey bees to feast on a new batch of flowers. It is helpful to note that different flowers produce different types of honey, so moving those hives to a new location will often produce new varieties.

Visit: Beekeeping for Beginners - beekeeping-for-beginners.com for a recommended guide to successful beekeeping.

Beekeeping Equipment

You will need some equipment to start with a successful beekeeping activity. You must make your equipment available before the bees actually arrive. The most obvious piece of equipment you will need is the actual bee hive.

Your beehive should have five supers. You cannot miss out on the supers because the bees store honey there. The beehive bottom should be below the five supers and the cover must be on top. These supers are very important because they are where the bees will be storing their honey and raising their offspring. When the hive starts buzzing with activity, each of these frames will show nine to ten frames. You have two options with supers – the shallow ones and the deep ones. Only a single size of foundation will be needed with a deep super. However, a full deep super can weight as much as 100 pounds. Place your beehive on a plane flat surface, because you don't want to take the chance of it turning over when there's a strong wind. Arrange your beehive in a place that will be undisturbed by people or pets. A spacer is a piece of equipment beekeepers use to keep an equal amount of space between the frames while they are in the super.

After all this, you will need to get hold of a smoker. The smoker is a tool that will help you to get the bees to leave the hive as you are harvesting the honey within. The design of the smoker is actually quite minimal. Its main parts are a funnels, a chamber for combustion and bellows. Many beekeepers claim that old, clean burlap is the best material to use in the smoker because burlap is easy to ignite and smolders and smokes. Alternatively, you can use dried corn cobs. The bellows will see to it that it is kept going. With the help of the funnel, you can direct the smoke into the beehive.

The next thing you will need is a metal hive tool. You can prise open the hive with this tool then the compartments can be divided and hygiene of the hive can be maintained. There are a lot many things that you can do with this tool in beekeeping. Without a bee brush, getting bees is just not wise. Your bee brush will help you to remove the bees while you check out the frames.

When it is time to harvest your honey, you will need a fumer board. The bee repellent chemicals in the board help you to do that. You can use them, if you don't mind buying preowned material. You can get both professional and amateur beekeeping stuff from catalogs and websites.

Visit: Beginner Beekeeping for more information.

Guide to Training to Keep Bees

It's good to keep in mind that anyone who focuses on their efforts on beekeeping has to have affection before getting started, because it's no longer the simple hobby it started out as, and has grown to a thriving part of the billions the food industry makes each year. Beekeeping has come a long way since it became a simple hobby, and its end product, honey, is now frequently seen on tables across the world.

Many beekeepers that have not been brought up in a family that practiced this are going to have to really learn fast from an experienced beekeeper that has had years of experience from knowing the biology and study of bees and what to expect when they turn out a good product of honey. As delicious as honey actually is, it's a little gross to think that it is merely regurgitated food that bees store to get them through the long winter without flowers.

Getting through winter doesn't seem to be a problem for bees the way it is for some other animals. Beekeepers also have to keep in mind that certain times of the year there may not be any honey production since bees are most active during the warm months so that's why many of them are actually farmers since they have to have a way to make a living when it gets cold. You pay a lot of money to train to be a beekeeper, because you have to know where to place the bee housing in order to get the bees to thrive.

You have to train yourself in entomology so that you do not allow other insects which feed on your bees, which include yellow jackets, hornets, wasps, and mites. Science is very important in a beekeeper's training and experience, and most people do not have this training initially, which is essential to have some idea how to manage bees, their habitats, and their natural pests. There are many steps involved in proper education of a beekeeper, and you need to look for someone who is serious and dedicated to a way of life that has tradition going back generations in some families.

People who are taught the art of keeping through their family members tend to see their skill as a part of everyday life and a skill that should be passed down to their children as well. As with other farm products, honey production began as a chore, but eventually gained profit through being taken to the market.

Visit: How To Start Beekeeping to get started in beekeeping.