A Beekeeping Guide Quick Facts

A person interested in getting information on beekeeping will need to get some quick facts or a beekeeping guide in order to start.

You would need to know the jargon and a few of the words that you will come across will be: apiary, apiarist, apiculture, colony, hive, propolis and royal jelly.

An apiary is the place where bees are kept and an apiarist is a person who cares for the bees. The term apiculture is the proper name for beekeeping.

A colony is a group of bees which consists of a queen, her drones and the worker bees; a hive is where bees live or are kept. In addition to honey, propolis and royal jelly are also some products that a beekeeper can get from his bees.

Your guide should add more terms as you go on with beekeeping.

The beekeeper needs to acquaint himself with the basic members of the hive. A beekeeping guide will show that the queen bee is the star because without her, you won’t have a colony. The queen mates to produce more bees in order to keep the hive thriving.

The mating is between the queen and the drones, this is the only job the drones must do.

In regards to the worker bees, they are the ones responsible for making the honey, for protecting the hive, for caring for the baby bees and for practically everything else. In addition, a guide will inform you about the kind of bees you can raise.

There are different bee varieties so it is important to know which ones are available and that can thrive in your area.

If you plan to set up an apiary, you will need protective equipment and clothing.

A smoker is one of the first things you need because without it you won’t be able to calm the bees. You must also have protective clothing because when you disturb their hive, they will protect their home and this defense process could result in them stinging you; the proper clothing can prevent the unwanted stinging.

Your basic guide will also show you the ways you can safely harvest honey without destroying the hive, what you need to do during each season and how to keep your bees healthy and happy so that you can enjoy more honey.

My suggestion as to where to start, get yourself an excellent beekeeping guide and start educating yourself.