SMALL SCALE BEEKEEPING: HIGH TECH BEEKEEPING

Printed material from Small Scale Beekeeping (by Curtis Gentry. 1982. Peace Corps office of Information Collection and Exchange, Washington, DC. Illustrated by Stacey Leslie) may be freely reproduced, without changes, for non-commercial purposes (education and development). The html version is copyrighted and may not be reproduced in electronic form without the consent of the copyright holder (but as long as you're not selling it permission to duplicate will be granted upon request-- contact me at the email address in the banner above)

Beekeeping is a simple technology, it cannot really be called high technology when compared with other high-tech agriculture. All the physical inputs needed for "high-tech" beekeeping can easily be produced in carpentry, tailoring, and tin-smith shops at the local level. A viable high-tech beekeeping system at this level would differ from that of a "developed" region primarily in mechanization. For example, human power would replace the motors of extractors.

The lack of understanding of how to construct and use the inputs is the factor that prevents the economic use of a "high-tech" beekeeping system in most small-scale development situations. The principles of hive management are the same for high-tech beekeeping as for intermediate technology beekeeping. High-tech beekeeping provides for more ease in manipulations and gives more options to the beekeeper. It also calls for a greater investment.

High-tech beekeeping will give greater return for the investment in most beekeeping situations. However, the options of a high-tech system must be fully used to realize such a return. The combination of lack of capital for investment and lack of understanding of timing, organization, and bee biology often makes the success of high-tech beekeeping difficult for small farmers.

A high-tech beekeeping system uses moveable frames in several boxes. This system allows for easy manipulation of combs. Both frames (containing combs) and boxes can be easily interchanged for management. Frames containing honey are removed from the hive, the cappings of the cells cut off with a heated knife, and the honey is centrifuged out of the comb in an extractor. The empty combs are then returned to the colony for the bees to refill.

Honey production is maximized at the expense of wax production with moveable-frame hives. Bees need to produce about eight kilograms of honey to produce one kilogram of wax. Because the empty combs are returned for refilling, honey production is enhanced.

Comb foundation, or sheets of beeswax embossed with the dimensions of worker cells are used in the frames. The main function of this is to produce strong comb centered in the frame. Sharply embossed foundation reduces the amount of drone comb constructed. Comb foundation also reduces the amount of wax that the bees have to produce, which also increases honey production.

Since the combs are attached to the frame on four sides, and the frame usually contains several strands of thin wire to reinforce the comb, hives can be easily moved with little chance of comb breakage. Therefore, migratory beekeeping can be carried out with moveable frame hives.

In migratory beekeeping, colonies are moved to take advantage of the variations in the nectar flow between regions. This effectively increases the period of honey flow for the beekeeper. However, a good transportation system is necessary for this practice.

A moveable-frame beekeeping system also gives beekeepers the option to produce pollen, royal jelly, or queens in large numbers.

Pollen is collected by putting pollen traps on the hive entrance. These contain a wire mesh grid that scrapes the pollen off the legs of the returning foragers as they enter the hive. The pollen falls through another wire mesh too small for the bees to get through. it drops into a drawer-like collecting pan, and the beekeeper collects it regularly (usually daily).

Royal jelly is produced by using a queenless colony of bees. A strong colony of young bees is made up by shaking bees from the brood comb of several colonies. Such bees are mostly nurse bees, which have fully developed head glands and thus are good producers of royal jelly. The colony is given plenty of pollen and honey stores, but it is kept both broodless and queenless. After one day, frames with bars of artificial cell bases (queen cups) containing one-day old larvae are given to the colony. Because of the queenless condition of the colony, the young bees are stimulated to rear queens.

To harvest the royal jelly, the larvae are removed from the cells after a few days, and the royal jelly scooped out.

To rear queens, the started cells are usually transferred to a strong colony for finishing. They are placed in a super with unsealed brood separated from the queen by a queen excluder, a grid which allows workers to pass through, but prevents the passage of the queen since she is larger.

Each cell is removed and placed in a small, queenless colony before the queen emerges. When the queen has mated and is laying, she is caged with a few workers and sold. Queens in cages can also be stored in colonies that do not have a free queen.

This is the assembly line production of queens. Maintaining queenless cell starter colonies and mating colonies calls for intensive management, though the beekeeper can control the process to obtain any number of queens when they are needed.

Good timing and organization are essential for success in rearing large numbers of queens, producing royal jelly, or producing pollen. These are specialized operations for specialized markets. They are not for beginning beekeepers nor for small-scale beekeepers.

In some areas, beekeeping development programs have introduced moveable-frame equipment to small farmers. The goal was a direct transfer of "high-tech" beekeeping. Those projects that have provided for continued technical assistance as well as continued availability of necessary inputs have been the most successful. These successful projects have often been associated with cooperatives.

In many cases, though, development programs have led to many people becoming bee-havers using relatively expensive equipment meant for beekeeping In relation to the potential, little return was-realized from their investment. These projects failed because they tried to go too far too fast. Equipment was made available, but technical assistance was poor or lacking.

You may encounter the remnants of unsuccessful projects. The equipment may be intact, though it is either not in use or not in optimum use. (If you are going to be working with an established bee project using frame equipment, consult one of the information sources given in Appendix A. Many cover the specifics of high-tech beekeeping.)

All of the management problems coming from the lack of understanding bee biology and the seasonal bee cycle are usually found in failed projects. There are also other problems which stem more directly from the attempt to use Langstroth equipment. Some of the more common problems are:

The solutions to these problems are sometimes simple, but often misinformation or lack of understanding have established bad habits. Changing established practices is always difficult. Changing practice's in an unsuccessful bee project is often made even more difficult because the people involved have lost enthusiasm for working with bees.

Many problems are caused by poorly-made equipment. The idea that a moveable-frame hive is merely a box with frames in it is widespread. The fact that since the hive is designed around the concept of the bee space and exact dimensions are important in construction is more difficult to grasp. Equipment is sometimes made without any regard for the bee space. This can be the result of lack of understanding or a consequence of poor workmanship. Many local carpenters lack the experience or proper tools to make precise measurements.

Boxes and frames not built around the bee space are really no better than fixed-comb hives. Frames that fit too tightly will be stuck onto the box with propolis. Removing them will be very difficult. if there is too much space between the frames and the box, comb will be constructed there. Removing the frames without destroying the comb is impossible. in these situations, any advantage of a frame system is lost.

There should also be a proper bee space between the top bars of the frames and the top of the hive. If it is lacking, the top will be stuck down with either propolis or comb. Either situation makes management difficult.

The hive with too little space between the frames and box can cause ventilation problems for the colony. This is especially detrimental in damp areas. Small spaces that the bees cannot reach also provide areas where wax moth larvae can hide.

Space between the frames is also important. There should be sufficient space for the bees to construct full-size comb. Too little space will result in comb with shallow cells which cannot be used for brood rearing. Only small amounts of honey can be stored in such comb. On the other hand, if there is too much space between frames, the bees will construct comb between them. This makes frame removal difficult.

If frames are badly spaced and comb foundation is not used, the bees will construct their comb where they want. They will construct what is essentially a fixed-comb hive inside the frame equipment. Comb may even be constructed diagonally or perpendicular to the top bars. Frame removal is impossible in this situation.

Frames should be 35 mm center to center for European races of the western hive bee, and 32 mm for African races. For the eastern hive bee in India, the distance is 31 mm. Proper spacing allows the bees room to construct the comb and leave a bee space between the combs.

A bee space is needed between the top bars of the frames to allow the bees to move upward into the supers, thus frames are often constructed with a wooden ledge on the side bars to give the proper spacing. Such frames are self-spacing when pushed together. Good beekeeping habits call for assuring that the frames are properly spaced before closing the hive. Attention to this detail is often overlooked.

Frames that do not have the ledge on the side bars can be made self-spacing by using small nails. The nails should be on opposite sides of the frame, since this allows the frame to be turned either way in the hive and maintain proper spacing.

All wooden equipment should be well nailed. This is especially true of frames, which receive a lot of rough handling. Frames which break when trying to remove them frustrate beekeeping.

Wire should be used to reinforce both the frames and the comb. Use tin-coated wire to prevent rust; the zinc in galvanized wire will react with the honey, darkening it and changing its taste. An alternative is monofilament fishing line. Embed the wire or fishing line into the comb foundation with the edge of a coin.

The misconception that beekeeping with moveable-frame equipment entails the use of only two boxes is another common problem found in development projects. The erroneous idea is that one box is the brood chamber and the other is the honey super.

This idea perhaps stems from the term brood chamber. Since the term is singular, it implies that there is only one box. The brood chamber is that area of the hive that contains the brood. For a fully developed colony, the brood chamber should consist of two boxes. Using only one brood box for the entire colony restricts its growth colony, and makes it hard to get supers containing only honey.

Good beekeeping needs at least three boxes, two for the brood chamber and one as a honey super. with two boxes for the brood chamber, the colony population will be higher. Thus, there will be better utilization of the nectar flow.

Switch the two boxes of the brood chamber periodically to provide more space for expansion of the brood nest. The natural tendency of the colony is to expand the brood nest in an upward direction. When the lower box contains mostly older larvae and sealed brood, and the queen is laying in the upper box, switch the boxes of the brood chamber. This puts the queen in the lowest box of the hive where she can again move upward as the cells in the upper box are emptied as the adult bees emerge. with this management, the queen moves upward into the brood chamber, not upward into the honey supers.

Only one super for honey increases the need for labor. The honey must be extracted several times during the flow period so that the colony always has room to store it. An alternative is to have two or more honey supers. These can be added to the hive to increase storage space. This alternative lowers labor needs, but increases investment in equipment.

Queen excluders are a necessary piece of equipment for specialized operations such as rearing and storing queens. However, they are detrimental to optimum honey production. For the hobby beekeeper who is more interested in convenience than honey yield, they are perhaps a useful gimmick. But they are not for the beekeeper interested in maximum honey production.

Queen excluders are commonly misused in development programs. They are especially expensive for these projects since they have to be imported. The fact that their use restricts honey production increases their real cost even more. The idea of their use is to produce brood-free supers, but this objective can be easily achieved through management and using more than two boxes for a colony.

Often when excluders are used in small-scale projects to restrict the queen to one box, nothing is done to alleviate honey-bound brood nests. This restricts the colony's growth and leads to a lot of swarming.

The proper use of queen excluders requires good timing and management. They are often used in place of management and left on the colony all the time. if used at all, they should be used only during the flow period. Using queen excluders during a dearth period prevents easy access by the bees, and allows wax moths to build up in the supers. This often results in high colony loss.

If queen excluders are needed, a substitute for importing them is to use five-mesh (five holes per 2.54 cm) hardware cloth. In some regions this is called coffee wire. Try to use a quality of hardware cloth that is uniform and has smooth holes. Larger holes will allow the queen to pass; rough hardware cloth will tear the wings off the workers as they squeeze through. Mesh of this size may not work as well if the queens are small. This would apply to queens of the eastern hive bee and smaller queens of African races of the western hive bee.

Storing combs during the dearth season is necessary for good management of a moveable-frame beekeeping system. This is especially difficult in the tropics since the wax moth is active throughout the year. To prevent damage to the combs by wax moth larvae, the boxes containing the frames and combs should be tightly sealed and treated with chemical fumigants.

Fumigants are volatile, toxic gasses which dissipate and leave no toxic residues. Their application is limited to enclosures which are relatively gas tight. As most fumigants are extremely toxic and often highly flammable, you should be cautious in recommending their use. Using fumigants safely requires special equipment and training.

A relatively "safe" fumigant is sulfur dioxide because the gas has an irritating, obnoxious odor. It can be generated by burning sulfur moistened with alcohol. Both of these products are available in pharmacies. (The gas is also corrosive since it forms sulfuric acid in the presence of moisture.)

Another relatively safe fumigant is aluminum phosphide-- which is used to treat stored-grain products and is available in many agricultural supply stores. The chemical is sold as a tablet in a sealed container. When exposed to moisture in the air, phosphine, a toxic, flammable gas, is released. A sulfur compound included in the tablet releases hydrogen sulfide, a noxious gas, which makes this product safer to use.

A stack of supers sealed with mud or with strips of newspaper glued on with flour paste (any starch flour and water) can be easily treated with burning sulfur or with aluminum phosphide.

Once the comb has been treated, use moth balls to prevent adult wax moths from laying eggs. Check stored combs periodically for reinfestation with wax moth larvae. Do not use any type of chemical insecticide to treat comb for wax moth. These chemicals may be absorbed by the wax and kill the bees when the combs are placed on a hive.

The lack of comb foundation is sometimes a barrier to beekeeping development projects. Comb foundation is often difficult to obtain. It is also expensive. The people involved in the beekeeping project become dependent on this input since it is introduced to them with the hive equipment. This becomes a psychological barrier due to a lack of understanding of bees and why comb foundation is used in the frames. With such an understanding, you can stretch the supply of comb foundation on hand or improvise suitable replacements.

The main purpose of comb foundation is to guide the bees to construct comb centered in the frame. A narrow strip (about three centimeters) of foundation stuck in a groove centered in the top bar will serve for this. Several starter strips can be cut from each full sheet of foundation. A ridge of beeswax stuck down the middle of the top bar like that used on the top bars of the KTBH also works for this. Yet another alternative is to stick small pieces of comb on the top bars.

Starter strips of beeswax can be made by using a dip board (see Appendix C). These strips will not be embossed, but this is not important since the purpose of the strips is only to guide the bees to start building the comb.

Another minor purpose of comb foundation is to guide the bees to construct comb containing worker cells. If you are using only starter strips, you can achieve mostly worker cells if you use small, rapidly-growing colonies to construct comb. Such colonies construct little drone comb since no drones are needed in the hive.

It is also possible to make a mold to produce comb foundation. (See Appendix C.) Buying beeswax and producing foundation to supply local beekeepers can be a good business opportunity for a family involvement in beekeeping.

A bad practice unrelated to type of equipment which is often seen in high-tech development programs is the mass feeding of apiaries. Large, open containers of sugar syrup are put in the apiary to feed the bees. This is usually done in areas where sugar is cheap and readily available.

Proper feeding of colonies should be based on the needs of the colony, and each colony should be fed individually. The practice of putting large barrels of sugar water in the apiary for feeding is wasteful. Not only does this feed the bees in the apiary, but it also feeds wild insects as well as bees from other apiaries.

Usually, only the weaker colonies in an apiary need feeding. They benefit little from mass open feeding. The stronger colonies are the ones that benefit most since they have the foragers to take advantage of the sugar water.

This feeding method also encourages robbing. When the sugar syrup is finished, the stronger colonies often rob out the weaker colonies. Thus this method can lead to the death of the very colonies it attempts to help.

Most of the food value of the sugar syrup is used by the bees in the intense flight activity of robbing. The colony that robs honey actually gains very little. Thus, the beekeeper usually loses more than is gained with open feeding.

To be economically viable, feeding colonies must be part of an overall intensive management scheme. In some beekeeping situations, feeding is wrongly used as a substitute for good management. It is not recommended for most small-scale beekeeping.


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