Beekeeping is a profitable agricultural sector in many countries. It is practiced on all continents except Antarctica. It has reached the greatest development in America, Canada and Australia. Due to the good demand for beekeeping products, this activity is profitable in Ukraine and Russia. The features of industrial beekeeping are dedicated to this material.
Features of industrial beekeeping
Beekeeping is the branch of agriculture engaged in the cultivation of bees in order to obtain and sell various products of their activities, as well as renting bee families that are involved in pollination of plant crops. It is divided into amateur (private) and industrial.
Did you know? People kept domestic bees 5–6 thousand years ago. For them, they built beehives from rods and boards or settled bee colonies in an earthen vessel.
Industrial - characterized by scale and high standardization. It is it that makes it possible, with lower human and other resources with the use of automation, to receive a large number of high-quality products. For example, in industrial beekeeping, 500–1000 bee families can serve only 2 people, each of which is able to receive 5–15 tons of honey per season.
Today, the honey business is promising and profitable to conduct in Ukraine and Russia. There are conditions conducive to its development - a favorable climate, the presence of a large number of honey plants, unoccupied territories that can be used to organize apiaries.
The development of industrial beekeeping technology
Today, there are many developments and recommendations on how you can start and make a successful bee business.
Beekeeping on an industrial scale can be carried out in several directions:
- Honey. In order to obtain honey and other insect waste products.
- Honey pollinating. Getting beekeeping products and using insects for pollination of plants.
- Pollinating. Bees are used exclusively for pollination of vegetable crops in greenhouses, gardens and vegetable gardens.
- Intelligence. It is carried out with the aim of breeding bee colonies for sale.
- Integrated. All directions in the complex are used.
Implementation Methodology
To carry out the activity, it is necessary to have premises (under the central estate, beekeeping farms, cell stores and other buildings), the necessary equipment and means of mechanization. It is also important to select only strong families that continuously feed. The whole process must be streamlined and standardized.
Important! The central estate must be located in close proximity to the main honey plants.
Equipment
For beekeeping on an industrial scale, it is recommended to use the following types of hives:
- from several tiers with frames 435 × 230 mm in size;
- from one case with a socket frame 435 × 300 mm, equipped with two extensions with frames 435 × 145 mm;
- sunbeds.
There are several requirements for beehives for industrial beekeeping:
- Their details must be interchanged.
- It should be convenient to work with them.
- They can be easily transported.
- It is possible to treat families if necessary.
You will also be interested to read about the characteristics of different types of hives, namely:
Work simplification
To save human resources as much as possible, it is necessary to make a clear division of labor and automate most processes. So, for example, the duties of a worker who transports beehives should not include processes such as the removal of queens or pumping out honey.
Important! There is a requirement that in an apiary of 3-4 thousand families there should be no more than 4 permanent workers. This can be achieved with the help of the correct organization of labor and good material and technical support.
At each stage of production, it is necessary to use various devices that work automatically in order to simplify the work as much as possible. Machines are used for loading and unloading (cranes), for pumping out honey, preparing and feeding sugar syrup to bees, and processing wax (wax refinery, presses, centrifuges). Be sure to have at least one car or tractor for transporting bee colonies.
Industrial bee colonies
For industrial beekeeping, it is necessary to select certain breeds of bees with high productivity, good adaptation to the local climate, and in a timely manner (every autumn) weed out weak ones. A mistake in the selection can lead to a shortage of honey, jeopardizing future profits and the well-being of bee colonies.
For example, it has been proven that gray Caucasian bees are not suitable for doing business in central Russia. It is not necessary to purchase Carpathian, Italian, Central Russian, Krainka, some breeds of English breeding for industrial beekeeping.
In order to get the bees that are most suitable for work in a certain climatic zone, it is advisable to engage in their selection and breeding independently. So it is possible to achieve improvement in the quality and performance of the bee colony.
Anti-war techniques
Beekeepers have to deal with such a natural phenomenon as swarming. This is a natural way of propagating bee colonies, which leads to a decrease in honey collection.
The main methods to prevent swarming include:
- the formation of spring layers;
- family expansion;
- increase in the volume of the nest;
- competent design of honeycombs;
- removal of unnecessary drones from the family;
- organization of the correct temperature in the hive;
- seasonal wandering.
Video: Bee Swarming
Complete change of uterus
The strength of the whole family depends to a large extent on how strong and prolific the uterus is. It is customary to change the bee every 2 years at the beginning of the season, because after this period her productivity decreases and she lays more unfertilized eggs, from which drones emerge.
When replacing the uterus, it will be possible to maintain the working capacity of the family. The mother will be removed artificially from the larvae by placing them in a special kindergarten.
The use of bees in other sectors of the economy
Insects, their beneficial properties and products are used not only in beekeeping, but also in medicine (bites for the treatment of rheumatism, back pain), agriculture (for pollination of crops), food industry, cosmetology.
Other beekeeping products
In addition to honey, bees produce:
- pear bread;
- propolis;
- royal jelly;
- poison;
- zabrus;
- wax;
- shreds.
Did you know? The oldest bee remains were excavated in Burma. Scientists have established that they date back to 100 million years ago. The excavated insect is a transitional form from a carnivorous wasp to a pollinating bee.
Perga is pollen that is collected by bees, laid in a honeycomb and sealed with honey. It is necessary for bees to feed. People use it for eating, as well as in traditional medicine to improve blood composition, increase hemoglobin levels.
Propolis is produced by insects to seal cracks in the hive and sanitize the honeycomb. It has antimicrobial, antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, immunomodulating and cardioprotective effects that are used by humans to treat gastritis, inflammation of the oral mucosa, heart disease, cancer prevention, and faster wound healing.
With royal jelly, the bees feed the young offspring and the queen bee. People extract it to add to cosmetics, dietary supplements, traditional medicine.
The poison is secreted by working bees from special glands. Due to the presence of biologically active substances in it, it is used in apitherapy and is used for the manufacture of medical preparations. It contributes to an increase in hemoglobin and a decrease in blood cholesterol, blood thinning, vasodilation, pain relief, tonus, and sleep.
Zabrus are the caps with which insects seal the honeycombs. It is used to eliminate gastrointestinal problems and improve peristalsis.
Wax is a solid substance and is a material for the construction of honeycombs. It has a complex composition. It is used for industrial (for the manufacture of candles, models for casting, polishing compounds, protective mastics, crossbow parts), food (for coating cheese) and medical purposes, for the manufacture of waxes, cosmetics.
The pollen is called pollen, which is glued together with insect secretion into granules. It has a number of useful properties and is used in traditional medicine.
Thus, the industrial production of honey and other products is profitable and promising for Ukraine and Russia. This is due to the presence of a large number of honey plants and unoccupied territories that can be occupied by apiaries. You can organize a successful honey business with the help of the necessary equipment, the correct distribution of labor and the cyclical processes.
