apiculture and its advantages and disadvantages

Communication with bees

1. 1
PRESENTED BY:
SafeerAhmad Manhas
M.Sc. (Final) Entomology
16-ZYM-29
Gj5686

2. Introduction:
Apiculture(Beekeeping)isthemaintenanceofhoneybeecolonies,by
humansinordertocollectproductslikehoney,beeswax,propolisetc.
Alocationwherebeecoloniesarekeptiscalledanapiaryor"beeyard’’.
Honeybeesarehighlyorganizedsocialinsectsandtheirsystematic
positionisasfollows-
2

3. History:
•Apiculture is thought to have been practiced as early as 13,000 BC.
•The medicinal importance of honey is mentioned in QUARAN in
SURAH NAHL in chapter 16 verse no 68 and 69.
•Use of honey has also been mentioned in religious scriptures like
Vedas, Puranas, Ramayana and Mahabharata.
Tomb of Pabasa(Dynasty 26
th
)Egypt
3

4. Species of Honey bees:
1.Apisdorsata(Therock-bee)
Thisisthelargesthoneybee.
Buildssinglelargeopencombonhigh
branchesoftreesandrocks.
Produceslargequantityofhoney,butthis
beeisdifficulttodomesticate.
2.Apisceranaindica(TheIndianbee)
Medium–sized.
Hiveconsistsofseveralparallelcombsin
cavitiesoftreetrunks,earthenpots,etc.
Thisbeeisnotsoferociousandcanbe
domesticated.
4

5. 3.Apisflorea(Thelittlebee)
Small–sized.
Buildssinglesmallcombsinbushes,
hedges,etc.
Honeyyieldispoor.
4.Apismellifera(TheEuropeanbee)
SomewhatlooklikestheIndianbee
(Apisindica).
Thishasbeenintroducedinmany
partsoftheworldincludingIndia.
Itiseasilydomesticated.
5

6. The Bee colony
6
Ahoneybeecolonyhas
threecastes–Queen,worker
anddrone.
(i) Queen Bee
• Queen bee is the only fertile female in colony
• She is largest in size.
• No wax glands.
• Live for about 3 -4 years.
• May lay eggs at the rate of 1500-2000 per day

7. (III)Worker Bee:
Havewell-developedstingandHindlegshave“pollenbasket”
forcollectingpollen.
Theyperformdifferentdutiesdependingupontheiragewhich
areasfollows:
Day1-14:Activityinsidethehivesuchascleaningthehive,
feedingthelarvae,etc.
Day14-20:Guardtheentranceofthehive
Day21-35:Foraging,i.e.collectingthenectarandpollen
fromthesurrounding.
7
(ii) Drones
• Drones are the male member of colony.
• Drones can live up to about 60 days.
•Sting and wax gland absent.
•Develops from unfertilized egg.
•The sole duty of drone is to fertilized the virgin queen.

8. Life cycle & Development
The 7 days old virgin queen goes out form hive along with some
drones for mating. This is called as Nuptial ormarriage
flight.
Only one drone mate with queen and she stores spermatophorein
her spermatheca.
Mating takes place while flying and after mating drone dies and
queen returns to the hive.
The queen has ablityto control the release of the sperms from her
spermatheca(sperm store).
8

9. Stages of Development Type of Development
9

10. Methods of Beekeeping
(A)Indigenousmethodsofbee
keeping:Thisisanoldmethodandthetwo
typesofhivesusedareinthesemethodasfollows–
 (i)wallorfixedhive-Itispurelynaturaltypeof
combbecausebeespreparethehive
themselvesonthewallortrees.
 (ii)movablehive-Itcompriseswooden
boxesorearthenpitchers.
Thetraditionalbeekeeperscatchclustered
swarmsfromtrees,bushes,etcandtransferthem
totheabove-mentionedspaces.
Fixed Hive
movable hive
10

11. (b) Modern method of apiculture:
•ThemodernBeehiveswere
designedbasedon“BeeSpacetheory”
byL.L.Langstrothin1851.
•Beespaceistheoptimumdistancetobe
leftinbetweentwoadjacentcombsurfaces
inabeehivewhichisessentialfor
normalmovementandfunctioningofbees.
•Typesofhives:IngeneralforA.melliferaweuseLangstroth
hiveandforA.cerana,BIS(BureauofIndianStandard)hiveA
andBtype.
Lorenzo Lorraine Langstroth
11

12. Partsoftypicalmovablehive:
1.Stand:Tosupportbottomboard.
2.Bottomboard:Itformsproperbaseforthe
hivehavinganentranceforbees.
3.Broodchamber:Chamberusedforrearing
ofbrood.Framesareplacedinthischamber
onwhichbeesraisecombs.
4.Queenexcluder:Perforatedzincsheets
assembledinsuchawaythatworkerscan
passthroughthembutaqueencannot.
5.Super:Itisprovidedwithmanyframes
containingcombfoundationtoprovide
additionalspaceforexpansionofhive.
6.Innercover:Aboardwhichactsasa
partitionbetweenbrood/superchamberand
theroof.
7.Top cover:A type of lid acting as roof
placed over inner cover.
Typical movable hive(Langstroth
type)
12

13. Otherequipments:
Combfoundationmill:
•Usedtoprintnaturalcellsizeof
desiredcombfoundationsheet.
Beeveil:Usedforpreventing
beestingsonfaceandneck.
Smoker:Usedtocalmdownthe
beeswhileopeningthehive.
13

14. 14
Uncappingknife:Largesizedknife
usedtouncaptheframesbefore
honeyextraction.
Honeyextractor:Itisusedfor
extractionofhoneyfromcomb
andisfunctionontheprinciple
ofcentrifugalforce.
Uncapping knife
Honey extractor

15. Products of apiculture
(a)Honey:
Beesproducehoneyfrom
Nectarofplantsthrough
enzymaticactivity,regurgitation,
andwaterevaporation.
Uses:
–Food:Honeyisanutritiousfood,richinenergyandvitamins.
–Medicines:Itisusedtopreventscold,coughandfever.
•Compositionofhoney:
15
Levulose 38.9%
Dextrose 21.28%
Maltose & othersugars 8.81%
Enzymes and pigmentes 2.21%
Water 17.20%

16. (b)Beeswax:
•Beeswaxissecretedbythewaxglandslocatedontheundersideof
thelastfourabdominalsegments(4thto7th)oftheworkerbee.
Uses:
–makingofcandles.
–usedincreams,lotions,lipstick.
–formationofcombfoundation(waxfoundationinapiaries).
Wax scales from
wax glands
16

17. (c)RoyalJelly:
Theglandularsecretionsofyoungworkerbees(4-10daysold),
producedbythehypopharyngealglandinthehead.
Uses:Usedintreatmentofdiabetes,osteoporosisetc.Italsoaidsin
healingwoundsandboostsimmunity.
17

18. (d)BeeVenom:
•Beevenomisabittercolourlessliquid,containingproteins,which
causeslocalinflammation.
Uses:Beevenomisgivenasashotforrheumatoidarthritis,nerve
pain(neuralgia),multiplesclerosis(MS),desensitizingthepeople
allergictobeesting.
Component of Bee Venom % (bee venom)
Melittin 30 –50
PhospholipaseA 10 –20
Apamin 3
Hyaluronidase 2
Mast cell degranulating
peptide
2
Histamine < 1
18

19. (e) Propolis:
It is a resinous mixture thathoneybees produce by
mixing saliva and beeswax with exudate gathered from
tree buds.
Uses:
•It is used by bees to seal unwanted spaces in hive.
•Used to treat cough and throat irritation.
19

20. Bee Enemies & Diseases
•EnemiesofHoneybees:
1.WaxMoth(Galleriamellonella):Thecaterpillarsliveinthesilkentunnels
madebythebees,feedonthepropolis,pollen,andwaxinthecombs.
2.Wasp:Itwaitsneartheentranceofthehive;catchesbeesastheycomeout,
maceratethemforfeedingthejuicetoitsyoungones.
3.Otherenemiesarewaxbeetle,birds,antsetc.
Comb infested by wax moth Wasp feeding on bee Bird eating honeybee
20

21. •Diseases of Honeybees:
Acarapis woodi American foulbrood Nosema disease
Type of DiseasesCausative AgentCauses
Acarine Acarapiswoodi Infest the tracheal
systemof bee.
Varoasis VarroadestructorSucksthe
haemolymphof
bees.
American
foulbrood
Bacillus larvaeDeathof bee larvae.
Nosema Nosemaapis Destroys stomach
cells & interferes
with digestion.
21

22. ColoneyCollapse Disorder (CCD)
•CCDis the phenomenon that occurs when the
majority ofworker beesin a colony disappear and
leave behind aqueen, plenty of food and a few nurse
bees to care for the remaining immature bees and the
queen.
•This disorder cause great economic loss
because bees play an important role in the
pollination of many agricultural crops.
•Several possible cause of CCD includes such as
infection with varroaand acarapismites,
malnutrition, genetic factor, immunedeficiencies,
and pesticides(neonicotinoid).
22

23. Agencies involved in apiculture in India
AgriculturalProductsExportDevelopmentAuthority
(APEDA)undertheaegisoftheMinistryofCommerceand
Industryhelpstopromoteexportsofhoney.
NationalBeeBoard(NBB)undertheMinistryofAgriculture
hascontributedtooveralldevelopmentofscientific
beekeepinginIndia.
TheCentralBeeResearchandTrainingInstitute,(Pune)provide
trainingtobeekeepers.
APEDA head office in New Delhi
Training held by NBB
23

24. KhadiandVillageIndustriesCommission(KVIC)provide
traininganddevelopedseveralappropriatetechnologiessuitedto
Indianbeekeepinginruralareas.
Training held by KVIC
24

25. 25

26. 26

27. 27

28. References
•B.VasantharajDavid and
V.V.Ramamurthy:ELEMENTS OF
ECONOMIC ENTOMOLOGY.
•MahindruS.N., Beekeeping, APH Publishing
Corporation
•Shukla and Upadhaya, Economic Zoology,
RASTOGI PUBLICATION
•http://agritech.tnau.ac.in
•http://nbb.gov.in
28

29. 29