Site Selection

1. Select an area that provides a wide variety of flowering plants which supports the foraging characteristics of bees. Flowering shrubs provide nectar and pollen for continuous supply of food for maintenance of the colonies.

2. Apiary sites should be chosen preferably in the centre of the bee pasture (foraging area) to allow access to all flowers within 3.5 – 4.0 kilometre radius

3. Do not select sites where the bees can gain access to hazardous chemicals or where volatile chemicals harmful to bees are used or stored. These may result in a high bee mortality rate and poor productivity of the colonies

4. Areas emanating high odours, whether pleasant or unpleasant, must be avoided as honey in the hives may absorb these odours.

Obtaining Bees

An apiary must be established from any one or a combination of the following:

1. Complete Colonies: Hives consisting of 10 or more frames/combs of bees to include a queen bee.

2. Nucleus/Artificial Swarm: 4-5 frames/combs of bees with eggs and open brood which is encouraged to make its own queen bee or to which a queen is later added.

3. Packaged Bees: 0.5 kg of worker bees with a mated queen bee.

4. Swarms: Bees absconding or swarming from existing nest.

5. Feral Colonies: Bees collected in the wild.

Pest and Disease

1. The bee-keeper and his attendants must be able to identify pests/disease symptoms in the apiary/beehive.

2. On observation of any unusual or unrecognisable symptoms the Apiculture Unit of the Ministry of Agriculture must be contacted.

3. Bee-keepers/attendants must be trained in pesticides application in the beehive.

4. Apply integrated pest management system to your operations; contact your extension officer.

5. Pesticides application records must be kept stating date of application, type, brand method of application and pre-harvest interval. These will be useful for the future reference.

6. Determine the type of pest present, as well as any immediate and potential damage, and then contact the relevant apiculture extension officer in case of uncertainty.

7. All American Foul Brood diseased hives must be promptly destroyed by burning with fire after consultation with the extension personnel.

Hygiene

1. Bee-keepers/attendants should practise good hygiene since strong odours (good/bad) irritate bees.

2. Protective clothing should be clean when working in the apiary.

3. Ideally, the bee-keeper should have food handlers’ permit for extracting honey.

4. Jewellery should not be worn during the processing of honey.

5. Bee-keepers/attendants known to be suffering from any illnesses/broken skin should not work in honey-handling facilities.

6. Dark/colourful clothing should not be worn when working in the apiary.

Transportation

1. Permission to transport bees must first be had and obtained in writing from the chief plant protection officer – Apiculture Unit.

2. Regular hive covers must be removed and replaced with meshed cover to allow ventilation.

3. Hive entrances should be blocked preferably with a strip of mesh and securely fastened.

4. All hive parts (hive bodies, covers and bottom boards) should be securely fastened to prevent separation and escape of bees while in transit.

5. All honey should be removed from the supers to prevent breakage of combs, spilling of honey and to reduce heat stress.

6. The hives must be covered with a mesh screen to prevent any escaping bees leaving the vehicle.

7. It is best to transport bees during the cooler time of the day (before sun up and after sun down).

Source: Ebony Park Heart Academy