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Yatta Beekeepers: A Beginner'S Guide To Beekeeping
Yatta Beekeepers: A Beginner'S Guide To Beekeeping
◊ Fun Facts
◊ Introduction
◊ Importance of Beekeeping
◊ Benefits of Beekeeping
◊ Types of Hives
◊ Apiary Management
Fun Fact 1
Fun fact 2
Advanced mode of communication
Did you know that bees have the most advanced mode of communication among all
social insects? They communicate through dances, vibrations and body chemical
signals known as honey bee pheromones. The scout bees have the task of finding new
pollen, nectar and water sources. Once they have sourced these they return to the hive
and perform either a round or waggle dance across the honeycomb.
Honey production
To make a pound of honey bees have
to travel to about 2 million flowers. An
average worker bee makes only about
1/12 teaspoon of honey in its entire
lifetime.
Fun Fact 4
The democracy
Honeybees make decisions collectively-
-and democratically. When honeybees
seek a new home, they choose the best
site through a democratic process that
humans would do well to emulate
START UP KIT
B
eekeeping is the maintenance of bee colonies, commonly in man-made hives,
by humans. Most such bees are honey in the genus Apis, but other honey-
producing bees such as Melipona stingless bees
80% of the Kenya’s honey production potential remains untapped.
The demand for honey is increasing at a rate of 15% per year while honey production
has stagnated over the years posing a great opportunity for youth to tap this potential.
We can embrace this opportunity. Beekeeping has a high potential for creating
employment and generating a sustainable income and reducing poverty in Kenya.
Beekeeping requires very minimal resources like land and capital and .Additionally
beekeeping is important for biodiversity it plays a key role in crop pollination and
conservation of biodiversity,
Most beekeepers lack the knowledge and skills required to efficiently maximize the
honey production level. Resulting to poor apiary performance, hive occupation rate,
honey yield and quality.
This practical guide to beekeeping provides a simple technical and theoretical
information on the most important aspects of beekeeping to supplement initial
information for beginners.
B
ees play a key role in the pollination of agricultural crops and many other
flowering plants. They contribute to nutritional food security for increasing
the production for most fruits and vegetables. Bees are major pollinators
of agricultural crops and contribute to nutritional food security and biodiversity
conservation through pollination. Pollinators transfer pollen and seeds from one flower
to another, fertilizing the plant so it can grow and produce food. Cross-pollination
helps at least 30 percent of the world’s crops and 90 percent of our wild plants to
thrive. Without bees to spread seeds, many plants including food crops would die off.
Beekeeping is also an essential economic activity for generating income and improving
the livelihoods of community groups.
Benefits of Beekeeping
• Environmental conservation
• Provides food sources and increases
production in the farms
• Earns foreign exchange through export
• Requires limited land
• Requires minimum time for production
• Low labour requirements
H
oney bees are social insects that live in colonies.( Bee species) Honey bee
colonies consist of a single queen, hundreds of male drones and 20,000 to
80,000 female worker bees. Each honey bee colony also consists of developing
eggs, larvae and pupae. A honey bee colony typically consists of three kinds of
adult bees: workers, drones, and a queen.
Queen Worker Bee Drones
Developmental stage 16 days 21 days 24 days
Life span 2-3 years 3 months 3 months
langstroth
Long langstroth
Box Hive
H
arvesting should be done in the morning or evening to avoid attack since bees
are less active at this time. Assemble the necessary tools for harvesting. This
include; a Beesuit, gloves, Smoker, hivetool, beebrush, bucket, Gumboots.
Prepare the smoker to generate smoke use charcoal maize combs and
sawdust.
Steps
1. Identify honey flow-nectar sources 5. Remove the lid
when the flowers are in bloom and 6. Apply smoke continuously on the
ideal seasons for harvesting. hive.
2. Identify the right window for 7. Open the hive
harvesting 8. Identify frames with honey.
3. Identify wax capping that symbolize 9. Remove bees from the frames using
the honey is ready for harvesting a bee brush.
4. Wear Protective Beekeeping Suits 10. Uncap the honey
–Wear safety gear any beekeepers 11. Filter the honey
will make this recommendation 12. Package the honey.
because lighter-colored clothes have
a calming effect on the bees and
keeps them calm.
Cost/Revenue analysis
For economic sense it is advisable to start with 10 hives on an Apiary.
No of hives Startup kit 10
Estimated Cost of pur- Kes 5,000 per Hive Kes 50,000
chase
Estimated Harvest in Kgs Harvest 3 times per year 5 kgs per 150Kgs
per year hive/per harvest
Estimated Revenue per Sell I kg @a minimum of Kes 500 Kes 75,000
year
Get a Return on initial investment within the first year and Revenue of 75,000 every
year after that when you buy 10 hives .
A BEGINNER’S GUIDE TO BEEKEEPING 15