Breeding bees is a lucrative and labor-intensive business that requires much more time, experience and energy than you might think at first. The beekeeper needs to master a large amount of information, to find out on his own strength and experience how to care for bees so that they bring more benefit than trouble.
You should start breeding bees only after you have already mastered at least basic information on their maintenance.
First, you need to find out which species of bees take root in your territory, what conditions are needed so that the apiary is not exposed to stressful environmental influences, which diseases of the bees are the most dangerous. A prerequisite for starting in beekeeping is the ability to handle bees, because they are very nervous and unpredictable insects, which can be freaked out by any sudden movement.
In order to properly keep bees, every novice beekeeper must acquire an inventory, which includes: a smoker, a chisel, a bobber, a swarm, a honey extractor and other items. The beekeeper's clothing should be light, preferably white.
You should also take care of the hives - they must be correctly designed and placed in the apiary as convenient as possible for both bees and beekeepers. A special zeal in beekeeping can induce you to make a hive yourself, then you should follow the manufacturing technology and the proportions of the hive as closely as possible. With certain skills, making a hive will not be a big puzzle, but if you do not have the necessary skills, you can purchase ready-made hives.
Each season requires special handling of the bees. It is necessary to study in detail what works are carried out in what season. You should learn how to make it easier for bees to winter, what procedures they will need in the spring, what to do during periods of rains or droughts. In addition to climatic adaptation, bees can have health problems due to excessive dampness, therefore, before starting to breed bees, they should choose a place for an apiary, which will be dry, not weathered and located near honey vegetation and away from crowds of people and livestock. You need to know a list of plants that will be beneficial to bees.
Much attention should also be paid to the biology of bees, their needs, and the details of life in a bee colony. You need to know how families evolve in order to increase their ability to work and endurance.
Inspection of the nest is a means of preventing many problems, but in order to carry it out correctly, you need to know the technology of this process. Family inspection is practically one of the most important parts of the entire beekeeper's work. You should know how often and how to carry out the examination in order not to disrupt the productivity of the family by improper intrusion.
This information is just a small part of everything a beginner beekeeper should know. But those who do not give up and decide to go to the end should not be afraid of the abundance of information, since all these nuances are learned in the process of the beekeeper's activity and are mastered quite easily in practice.
