Apiculture, commonly known as beekeeping, is caring for and managing bees to produce honey and wax. Even before, beekeeping was considered a profitable business because of its huge potential in the market, such as honey production.
For one, honey is a healthy alternative to a sweetener. Thus, its demand becomes high- making many people interested in journeying in this field. Also, as time passes by, many advancements in beekeeping equipment make apiculture much easier.
If you’re interested in starting your journey with beekeeping, try to learn the basic types of equipment needed first. Thus, here are the top 5 essential pieces of beekeeping equipment you need to consider:
Hives
If you want to increase the production of honey and wax, a hive is a must-have! It comes in different types, but one common feature is that it has a waxy appearance with small honeycomb-shaped openings, which serve as the bee’s house.
Beehives are essential for various reasons. For one, it’s where the queen bee stays when she has already laid eggs on the frames inside the beehive. Also, it’s essential in the production of honey.
The USDA reported 1.48 million pounds of produced raw honey in the United States in 2020. The consumption of honey in the United States reaches approximately 1.51 pounds per year. In Australia, the beekeeping business is huge.
Annually, the apiculture industry could generate honey bee products up to $125 million. But, without a beehive, all this income and honey bee production wouldn’t be possible. All thanks to well-cared-for beehives, there is an abundant production of honey bees in various areas.
Also, honey and beekeeping have become easily available and in demand. Thus, when starting a honey bee business or for apiculture purposes, check out the hives at Buzz Bee and choose from the various kinds of beehives they offer.
Honey Frame
A honey frame, also known as a hive frame, is a rectangular structure placed inside a hive. Its main purpose is to provide a strong foundation for bees in building their honeycomb. When preparing for the winter season, it’s also when bees cluster around to spend most of their time and stay warm.
Honey frames could be removed from the hives for easier extraction of honey. Also, to check if there is a disease inside the hive. Thus, it also helps reduce damage in the hives because bee extraction is made in the safest way possible, even without bugging the bees inside.
Bee Suit
Some people are afraid of bees because of potentially being stung. But it’s common knowledge that bees are not aggressive insects but only sting to show self-defense. So, when considering starting a beekeeping business, ensure that you have a bee suit to protect you.
A bee suit is a full-body garment that could help shield a person from being stung by bees. It’s made out of a thick, heavy white canvas to help one move near a beehive and do their job when caring for the bees. It reduces the worry of every newbie beekeeper handling bees since the suit is also in long sleeves with an elastic band at the wrist and ankle part to ensure no bees can go inside the suit.
Also, observe that most beekeepers only use white-colored bee suits or garments when handling bees. Although white-colored garments aren’t a requirement, it’s recommended that light-colored clothing is still best since bees could react negatively to dark clothing. Lastly, it allows beekeepers to see if any bees have landed on them.
Queen Catcher
A queen bee is one of the most important factors you must know how to care for when starting beekeeping. They are vital in ensuring that your colony will be strong and not fall apart.
Also, the queen bees are the only female with a developed ovary. That way, they are the only ones that could produce a lot of eggs and scents that are essential in regulating the unity of the colony.
That said, a queen catcher is an essential tool because there could be a time that you would need to find the queen bee inside the hive and separate her from the colony for a while.
Usually, this is done when a new queen is introduced in the hive. Through this tool, the transfer of the queen would be made in the safest way possible and prevent possible damage, especially when handled with fingers only.
Smoker
The smoker doesn’t harm the bees and is only used to help calm the bees when a hive inspection is needed to be conducted. A common myth about using a smoker is that it makes the bees sleepy.
But the truth is when bees notice that there’s smoke, they think that their hive is on fire and will move away from the area. This way, it provides less possibility of being stung, and it benefits both bees and beekeepers in helping minimize risk.
Final Thoughts
Breeding bees for their honey could take a lot of effort and time. Also, you’d need the right skills to ensure they’re healthy, which requires a lot of attention. Thankfully, there are many available beekeeping equipment available in the market to make bee farming as doable as possible! That said, refer to the guide above to learn about the tools needed to start apiculture.
