Introduction to Honeybees and Apiculture

Apiculture is the practice of raising honeybees for commercial or agricultural purposes. The oldest evidence of beekeeping dates to 1669, although it is likely that beekeeping is more than 3,000 years old. Apiculture provides farmers and hobbyists with a variety of enterprises, including production of beeswax, honey, and other edible bee products, crop pollination services, and sale of bees to other beekeepers. Bees are bred in apiaries, which are areas that can hold many beehives. Bees are cared for and managed to produce honey and wax. Humans are responsible for maintaining bee colonies, which are usually kept in hives.

1. 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)

2. INTRODUCTION —Definition & History of Apiculture:
Apiculture is the technical term for beekeeping.
It includes themaintenanceofhoneybeesandhivesfortheproductionofbeeswax,honeyandother
ediblebeeproducts;croppollinationservices.
TheearliestfoundrecordofhoneygatheringisdepictedintheCaveoftheSpider(laCuevadelaAraña)
nearValencia,Spain.This15,000-year-oldpaintingshowsawomanonaropeladdergatheringhoneyfroma
beenestprecariouslyonthesideofarockcliff.
Theearliestknownformoforganizedbeekeepingoccurredin
ancientEgypt.
By1500BCE,beekeepingwaswidespreadthroughouttheNile
regionwithEgyptianadministratorsacceptinghoneypresentedby
farmersaspayment.

3. INTRODUCTION —Definition & History of Apiculture:
ApiculturehasalonghistoryinChina,wherethenativeEasternHoneybee,hasbeenusedforcrop
pollination,aswellashoneyandbeeswaxproduction.BythetimeoftheEastHan-Dynasty(25-150CE),
beekeepingwaswellestablishedandhighlyprofitable.
Originanddevelopmentofmodernbeekeepingliesbetween1500and1851whenattemptsweremadeto
domesticatebeesindifferenttypesofhives.
CommercialbeekeepingstartedinIndiafromthesecondhalfofthe19
th
century.
Itisrecordedthatin1882,artificialcultureofhoneybeeswasintroducedinundividedBengalfollowing
Europeanmethodologies.
In1939,AllIndiaBee-keepingAssociationwasestablishedandverysoonitspreaditsbranchestomostof
thestatesanddistrictsofIndia.
NowitmergeswithICAR(IndianCouncilofAgriculturalResearch)andhasexpandeditsactivities.
In1945,CentralBee-keepingResearchStationwasestablished.

4. BEE BIOLOGY —Castes and Social Organization:
Colonyofhoneybeesconsistsofthreecastes:Queen,Drone,andworkers.
Queenisthefertilefemalethatcanlayupto3000eggsperday.Itislargestamongothercastes.Itcanbe
easilyidentifiedbyitslongabdomen,stronglegs,andshortwings.
Dronesarethehaploid,fertile,male
members.Thesizeofdroneissmaller
thanthequeenbutlargerthanthe
workers.
Workersarediploidsterilefemales
andaresmallestinsize.Theirnumber
incolonyisthehighest.

5. BEE BIOLOGY —Life Cycle of honeybees:

6. BEE BIOLOGY —Bee species:

7. BEE BIOLOGY —Honey producing bee species:
Apis dorsata Apis indica
Apis mellifera Apis florea

8. BEE BIOLOGY —Morphological Peculiarities:

9. BEE BIOLOGY —Anatomical Peculiarities:

10. NATURAL BEEHIVE
Themajorityofanaturalbeehiveis
madeupofcomb,whichisaseriesof
interlockinghexagonalcellsmadeofwax.
Thesehexagonsareusedtostorehoney
andpollen,andtoraisebrood.
Honeyisstoredintheupperpartofthe
comb;beneathitarerowsofpollen-
storagecells,worker-broodcells,and
drone-broodcells,inthatorder.
Thepeanut-shapedqueencellsare
normallybuiltattheloweredgeofthe
comb.

11. BEE-KEEPING EQUIPMENTS
Smoker
Hive Stand
Bee Veil
Overall
High Boots
Frame Holder Gloves

12. BEE-KEEPING EQUIPMENTS
Decapping knife
Queen Cage
Queen Gate
Artificial Bee hive
Hive tool
Bee Brush Queen cell protector

13. ARTIFICIAL BEEHIVE —History & Invention:
LorenzoLangstrothinventedthemodernbeehivein
1851,enablingagreaterproductionofhoney.
LangstrothwasborninPhiladelphia,Pennsylvaniaand
graduatedfromYaleCollegein1831.
PriortoLangstroth'swork,beekeeperscouldnot
monitorthehealth,production,orcontainmentofbees
whileharvestinghoney.
Hisdesignmadeiteasytoinspecthivesfordisease,
monitorthehealthofcolonies,andharvesthoney.
75%ofbeehivesinusetodayarebasedonhisdesign.

14. ARTIFICIAL BEEHIVE
Anartificialbeehivehavethefollowingparts:
Stand—elevatesthebottomboardofftheground.
Bottomboard—providesasinglepointforbeestoenterand
exitthehive.
Deepsuper—herethebeesraisetheiryoungandfirststore
honey.
Queenexcluder—preventthequeenlayingeggsinsomeofthe
cellswithinthehive.
Honeysupers—usedtocollecthoney.
Innercover—preventsbeesfrompropolizingthehive'souter
cover
Outercover—Providesadditionalinsulation.

15. BEE FORAGES
Theplantspecieswhichproducenectar,pollen,extrafloralnectariesorpropolisarevisitedbybeesforone
ortheothermaterialareknownasBeefloraorBeepasturageorBeeforage.
Eucalyptus tree
(11 kg/tree)
Pigeon pea
(50 kg/hector)
Brassica campestris
(47.7 kg/hector)

16. PRODUCTS OF APICULTURE
HONEY
Fights Infections
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

17. BENEFITS OF APICULTURE