BEEKEEPING GUIDE FOR FARMERS

Transcription

1 Funded by Strengthening Product Value Chain of Agro Business Enterprises in South Nyanza European Union CEFA is an Italian Non-Government Organization of International Voluntary Service. CEFA s goal is that everyone everywhere in theworld can become a protagonist of development and an active agent of democracy and peace. CEFA Comitato Europeo per la Formazione e l Agricoltura Onlus (European Committee for Training and Agriculture) Via Lame, Bologna Italy Tel / Fax: info@cefaonlus.it website: BEEKEEPING GUIDE FOR FARMERS C-MAD is a Kenyan based Non-Government Organisation. C-MAD envisages a world where men and women live dignified and prosperous lives with a mission of enabling communities in Kenya to improve their livelihoods, live dignified, healthy and prosperous lives through capacity building, collaboration and service delivery. C-MAD Community Mobilization Against Desertification P.O. Box155, Rongo, KENYA Tel ; Fax info@cmadkenya.org website: Leading Agency and co-funder Partner C-MAD

2 Editor: John Robins Oyia and Flavio Braidotti Co-editor: Daniel Nyambok Art Direction and Design: Moses Musyoki - Prologue Media Ltd Sketches: Anthony Wycliffe Muholo Coordination: Flavio Braidotti This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial No Derivatives 2.5 Italy License. To view a copy of this license, visit:

3 1 - Morphology Bees are social insects that live in colonies. They collect nectar, pollen, water and propolis and produce wax in order to live. To carry out these tasks, different parts of the body have peculiar functions. This distinguishes bee from other insects. Proboscis sucking nectar Glands Produce wax and enzymes that break nectar into honey Abdomen storing nectar Sting Fore leg Used to remove pollen from the hairy body to store in the hind legs Hind leg (as pollen sacks) Store and transport pollen and propolis 1

4 2 Castes of the bees Bees are divided into 3 different castes: Worker bee Drones Queen Queen Worker Bee Drone 2

5 3 Castes of the bees (cont.) The table below shows some characteristics for each cast: Queen Drone Worker bee Body length mm 15 mm mm Legs Not well equipped Not well equipped Equipped for storage Sting Flat Not present Saw-shaped Proboscis Small Small Long Duration of the metamorphosis* Life duration 5 6 years 50 days days Characteristics 16 days 24 days 21 days Longer than others eat royal jelly throughout only fertilized female there is 1 for each colony It has large wraparound eyes Eat royal jelly the first 3 days, then honey, pollen and water Few present within the colony (5%) Smallest Eat royal jelly the first 3 days, then honey, pollen and water Majority of the colony are worker bees 4 Tasks Queen: lay eggs (the queen is fertilized once in her life during the mating flight) produce pheromone that unifies bees within a particular colony 3

6 Drones fertilize the queen. This happened during the mating flight. The few drones that fertilize the queen die afterwards. Workers Period (days) Tasks performed 1 3 Cleaning, polishing the cells 4 10 Feeding and nursing Building the wax comb Receiving nectar and pollen, and storing it in the cells Guarding the hive Foraging and collecting nectar, pollen and propolis 5 Different comb cells for each caste The different bee castes grow into different cells Drone Cells Bigger cells where drones are raised. Usually located on the bottom of the comb Worker Bee Cells smaller cells where workers are raised. Usually located on the top of the comb Queen Cells Where Queen is raised 4

7 6 What bees collect and why? Nectar: collected from flowers and transformed into honey for food Pollen: collected from flowers. It is the bread of the bees. Through collection of pollen they also do cross-pollination Water: used for preparation of food and hive temperature reduction through evaporation Propolis: collected from the barks of trees. It is used to seal small holes, embalm carcasses and disinfect brood cells soon after they are hatched. 7 What attract bees to flowers? 1. Colours Colours attract bees from far blue yellow white green-blue ultra violet Black is also recognized by bees but it stimulates aggression. 2. Scent (perfume) Guide the bees when close to the plant 5

8 8 - How bees communicate Bees communicate through: Pheromone. It is a chemical signal produced by the queen and other worker bees belonging to the same colony. The most famous is the one produced by the queen, through which she lets the colony know that she is in residence. This stimulates worker bee activity. Dances. They provide precise information on the location of pollen, nectar and water. The direction of the food is based on the position of the sun. The distance of the food is based on the speed of the rotation made in a particular period of time. There are two types of dances. 1. The round dance which communicates that the food source is near the hive ( metres) 2. The waggle dance is performed when the food source is found at a greater distance from the hive (more than 100 metres). 6

9 9 - Importance of bees in agriculture Increase quality and quantity of agricultural products through crosspollination. In particular crops/fruits pollinated by bees are: -larger in size -produce higher number of seeds -can be preserved for a longer period -high sugar content (sweeter) Positioning hives close to fields growing fruits, vegetables and species that produce seeds (for example, sunflowers), the quantity and quality of the products increased by %. Cross Pollination 7

10 MANAGEMENT OF AN APIARY 10-Essential rules of modern beekeeping A) Use few frames and separator at the beginning and add frames in the hive as colony grows. B) The broods, food for brood and stock of honey for worker bees are requirements allowing colony to be strong. C) It is important that the colony is numerous and strong. D) Ensure that bees collect pollen and nectar and that the queen is young and laying eggs. E) When conditions are unfavorable, the beekeeper should provide bees with sugar syrup (see No. 29). F) Avoid swarming as colonies that experience swarming produce little honey. SWARM: Swarming occurs when 25 to 40% (10,000 12,000 bees) of the colony packs up with the queen and moves away. Swarming is a natural biological event for the bees. 11. Task of a beekeeper a) check soon after rains if queen is laying eggs b) observe if foragers bring pollen to the hive c) add super at the right time i.e. when brood chamber if full. d) do harvesting when at least 80% of cells are capped. e) check health of colony before rains and make sure there is enough stock of food. 8

11 12. The Langstroth hive Use seasoned pine or cypress wood 9

12 13. Why Langstroth? i) high honey yields as compared to other hives, super separated from brood chamber ii) extraction done without breaking the combs as frame fit well in the centrifuge machine. iii) less destructive to bees when doing inspection iv) better quality honey, less smoke required 14. Design of an apiary Key concepts for designing an apiary: orientation: South/South-East presence of bee botanical species provide water source m from the hives build a roofing for hive with twigs, dry grass. DON T USE CORRUGATED IRON SHEET good aeration and positioning in a sunlit area access to the hives from the back of the hives (not in front of the entrance) have shrubs/young trees close to the apiary where bees will go in case of a swarm cut grass around the hives for easy movement in the apiary do not positioning hives inside a bush 10

13 15. Design of an apiary (cont.) 11

14 16. Design of an apiary (cont.) Maize(pollen) Eucaliptus (nectar and pollen) Pineapple (nectar and pollen) Mango (nectar and pollen) Apiary south/east Sunflower (nectar and pollen) Gravelia Pumpkin Butternut Cougette (pollen) Water Melon (pollen) Calliandra Moringa (nectar and pollen) Water Paw paw (nectar and pollen) Avocado (nectar and pollen) 12

15 17. inspection equipments 1 Bee suit 2 Smoker 3 Hive tool 4 Brush 5 Latex Gloves 6 Gum boots 7 Tape (to apply in the wrist and ankles to seal any opening in the clothing)

16 18. Inspection: how to do it Inspection is important to be done regularly to check the status of the colony. Inspection should be carried out in the morning (from 8 to 12 noon) or at around 6pm. 14

17 19. Inspection: what to check 1) the stock reserves: if the frames located on the side of the hive are full of honey, the reserves are enough to overcome long periods of rain or drought 2) the condition of the brood: the brood combs, located in the middle of the hive, should be 75% occupied by the brood and 25% by reserves of pollen and honey 3) age of the brood combs: Old brood combs (recognizable by a dark brown colour) should be disposed and used for wax collection purposes, thus allowing the colony to build a new one. This is done to avoid: 1) wax moth 2) have a weak colony 20. When to place the super When through inspection you see that: the brood chamber is full (honey combs with reserve are full) there is new wax on the top part of the hive frames. In this case before adding the super it is important to place the queen excluder on top of the brood chamber. The function of the queen excluder is to prevent the queen from moving up and laying eggs in the super 15

18 21. Harvest: when and preliminary arrangements Beekeeping Guide for Farmers The honey is ready to be harvested when at least 80% of the comb of the super is capped. If so the clearer board should be added in between the queen excluder and the super. After 24 hrs remove the super, the clearer board and the queen excluder making sure that all the bees are back into the brood chamber. Before harvest leave the super frames to cool for another 24 hours. During this time place the supers inside a gunny bag. 16

19 22. Harvesting: procedures remove the capping wax through a uncapping knife following an upwards movement. A special fork can also be used for the shallower parts place the frames into the centrifuge and spin place a strainer of 2mm in the bucket collecting the honey place the honey into a bottling bucket ( Kg capacity) using a strainer of 0.5 mm and let it rest for at least 20 days. pour the honey into the bottles for sale

20 23. Increasing the apiary by dividing one strong colonies 18

21 24. Combining 2 weak colonies When colonies are weak it is advisable to merge them together to create a strong colony. 19

22 25. How to capture a swarm. MAIN PESTS 26. Varroa Mite Varroa is a mite of a brown or reddish colour. It is the size of a pinhead and attaches itself to a bee and feeds on its lymph. They reproduce fast and weakness the colony until it is forced to abscond. The varroa mite can be identified through a careful inspection. An alternative method is to remove a piece of capped cell with brood from the brood comb. Considering that varroa mites tend to attack the drones, it would be preferable to take drone cells. 20

23 27. Wax Moth This is a night moth that once in the hive lays its eggs. The larvae of the moth eat the wax and do large-scale damage in a weak colony producing cocoon threats and channels in the combs. It forces the colony to abscond and it affects also the hive. If the wax moth already damaged the combs extensively, it is advisable to burn the combs and clean the hive for water and soda. Alternatively it can be used fumigation through sulphur-compound tablets. 21

24 28. Small hive beetle The adult beetle is dark-brown to black and about a half centimetre in length The primary damage to colonies and stored honey caused by the small hive beetle is through the feeding activity of the larvae. Larvae tunnel through combs with stored honey or pollen, damaging or destroying cappings and combs together with the honey that becomes contaminated by beetle faeces. One of the remedies is to disinfect the ground area surrounding the affected hives with pyrethroids-based drugs in order to kill the beetle at their larva state. 22

25 29. Sugar candy recipe 1. Boil a litre of water. 2. Turn off the heat 3. Add 2 kg of sugarcane 4. Stir until it completely dissolves. 5. Let it cool for one day. 6. Place the sugar candy obtained into a well-sealed plastic bag. 7. Apply a small cross-shaped cut to the middle of the plastic bag 8. Place the bag it in the inner cover where through the opening the bees will eat the candy. 9. Close the outer cover