Specification

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THE PLAYERS in the honey game

Queen Bee: She is larger than the worker

bees, longer than the drones, and has a long

abdomen that resembles that of a wasp. Her

job is to lay eggs, and other bees in the hive

tend to her needs as she lays nearly one egg a

minute (1,500-2,000 per day) around the hive.

If the hive begins to become too crowded, the

queen will lay special eggs in large cells which

will produce new queens. The rst new queen

to develop will take over the hive while the old

queen will leave the hive with a swarm of bees

to start another hive and a new colony.

Worker Bee: Worker bees are female bees

that do not lay eggs. Their job is to keep the

hive clean, feed the bee larvae, attend to the

queen. They work to keep the hive warm or

cool depending on the temperature needs.

They also build honeycomb, guard the en-

trance to the hive, and later collect nectar and

pollen for the colony. These bees only live

four-ve weeks in the summer and die from

exhaustion.

Drones: These are the male bees whose job

is to mate with the queen so that she can lay

eggs around the hive. They do not do any work

around the hive and do not have stingers, so

they are quite defenseless. When the winter

food supply gets low, worker bees will push the

drones out of the hive to die.

Flowers: Honeybees get nectar from owers

to produce honey. While gathering this nectar,

bees will also collect pollen all over their bodies

and in pollen sacs on their legs. As they move

from one ower to next, some pollen will trans-

fer to the next ower, then pollinating the new

ower. Pollination must occur before a ower

can produce seeds. Hundreds of owering

plants are dependent upon honeybee pollina-

tion.

Beekeeper: The primary role of the beekeep-

er is to be a good steward of the hive and

to increase healthy bee numbers providing

stronger colonies and a good yield of products.

The beekeepers challenge is to keep the hives

protected through extreme weather as well as

from pests and diseases.

SUPPLIES FOR SUCCESSFUL BEEKEEPING

AND HONEY PRODUCTION

Once you have acquired your honeybees,

which can be done by catching a swarm of

feral bees, baiting and trapping, purchasing a

package from a breeder, or by obtaining a nu-

cleus colony if you are using a Langstroth Hive.

There are many resources available online for

determining how you would like to start your

own colony.

basics

of bees & honey

Honey is the only food that includes all the substances necessary to sustain life, including

enzymes, vitamins, minerals, and water; and it’s the only food that contains “pinocembrin”,

an antioxidant associated with improved brain functioning. Whether a newbie to the honey

industry, or a seasoned beekeeper, there are tips and tricks here to help your hive thrive.

THAT YOU MAY ALREADY KNOW

HONEY EBOOK

Summary of content (8 pages)

PAGE 1
HONEY EBOOK basics of bees & honey THAT YOU MAY ALREADY KNOW Honey is the only food that includes all the substances necessary to sustain life, including enzymes, vitamins, minerals, and water; and it’s the only food that contains “pinocembrin”, an antioxidant associated with improved brain functioning. Whether a newbie to the honey industry, or a seasoned beekeeper, there are tips and tricks here to help your hive thrive.
PAGE 2
02 Choosing the best hive: TOP BAR HIVE WARRE HIVE LANGSTROTH HIVE OVERVIEW Rising in popularity for backyard beekeepers due to its simplicity, ease of access, no heavy lifting, and few accessories required. The most hands-off hive, ideal for those looking for a simple-to-manage hive with lighter boxes. Most common hive in North America. Heavy boxes, lots of accessories and resources available. COST Low to high.
PAGE 3
HONEY EBOOK After determining the hive that is best, a new beekeeper should invest in the following: Hive tool: Your hive tool is one of your most critical pieces of equipment. Without it, you will find it nearly impossible to inspect your colonies or add new boxes if you are using a Warre hive. Bees glue everything in the hive together with their resin-like propolis.
PAGE 4
04 to supplies found in beekeeping catalogs. • A serrated bread knife makes a good uncapping knife. Use a sawing motion. No need to heat it. Change directions if it catches the wood. Some beekeepers really like using a hot-air electric paint stripper to quickly melt the cappings, as well. • Kitchen strainers, nylon paint strainers, and women’s nylon stockings can serve as good honey filters. Clean ones, of course. • Tupperware and Rubbermaid both make good plastic containers to hold honey and cappings.
PAGE 5
HONEY EBOOK Uncapping is easier with only 8 or 9 frames spaced evenly in a 10-frame super. The thicker comb means almost no scraping with the fork. After bees have drawn out the foundation the first season, return only 8 or 9 frames into each extracted super to make the next crop easier to uncap. Uncap all the way down to the wood on the top and bottom bar, regardless of how far the comb in drawn out, so the comb will be nice and even next year. share equipment.
PAGE 6
06 Warm honey flows best. Warm honey spins out of the comb faster and more thoroughly than does cold honey in an extractor. Warm honey also strains faster through a filter. Honey at 80 degrees Fahrenheit (27 c) or higher will be extracted most easily.
PAGE 7
HONEY EBOOK When short a few frames, frame feeders (also called division-board feeders; the kind that normally replace a frame or two) can be put in the empty spaces in the supers so any burr comb built there will be inside the feeder where it will actually be useful to prevent drowning when it is time to feed. Let the bees clean the “wet” empty supers after extracting. Whether intending to return the supers to the bees or store them off the hives, the bees do a great job of drying supers after extracting.
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08 The label must let consumers know who put the product on the market and how to contact that person. The name and the address of the manufacturer, packer or distributor of a packaged food product are required to appear on the label of the packaged food. This information, sometimes referred to as the “signature line,” must appear on the front label panel or the information panel. If space permits, include full address and telephone number.