Beekeeping is the maintenance of honey bee colonies, commonly in hives, by humans. A beekeeper (or apiarist) keeps bees in order to collect their honey and other products that the hive produces (including beeswax, propolis, pollen, and royal jelly), to pollinate crops. Depictions of humans collecting honey from wild bees date to 15,000 years ago; efforts to domesticate them are shown in Egyptian art around 4,500 years ago.

Seven types of beekeeping advice to avoid-

1)     Be wary of advice containing the words “always” or “never.

2)     Be wary of advice with an unknown origin.

3)     Be wary of advice that includes the phrase, “Bees survived just fine without us for millions of years.”

4)     Be suspicious of advice that isn’t backed with a reason.

5)     Ignore advice when the reason Be wary of curmudgeons, or let’s call them beemudgeons.

6)     Be wary of advice that contradicts your instincts.

Honey is a sweet food made by bees using nectar from flowers. The variety produced by honey bees (the genus Apis) is the one most commonly referred to, as it is the type of honey collected by most beekeepers and consumed by people.

Honey bees transform nectar into honey by a process of regurgitation and evaporation. They store it as a primary food source in wax honeycombs inside the beehive. Honey has had a long history in human consumption, and is used in various foods and beverages as a sweetener and flavoring. It also has a role in religion and symbolism. The physical properties of honey vary, depending on water content, the type of flora used to produce it (pasturage), temperature, and the proportion of the specific sugars it contains. The average pH of honey is 3.9, but can range from 3.4 to 6.1. Honey contains many kinds of acids, both organic and amino. However, the different types and their amounts vary considerably, depending on the type of honey.

Types of Honey Based on Processing Techniques are

Blended honey, raw honey, strained honey or filtered honey, ultra filtered honey, pasteurized honey, varietal or monofloral honey.

Crystallized or granulated refers to the transformation of the liquid honey unto hard crystals. This happens in varieties of honey that have a higher proportion of glucose to fructose. The flavor of honey is affected by its terroir (tur-WAHR), the unique combination of geographic location, climate and microclimate, soil and temperature that gives the flower nectar a complex composition.

Honey and bees products finds use in several industries which are under; pharmaceuticals, meat packing, bees wax in industries, bee venom, royal jelly, bee nurseries, bee equipment’s and hives etc.

Honey was the first sweet food tasted by the ancient Indian inhabiting rock shelters and forests. Commission Production of apiary honey in the country reached 10,000 tons, valued at about Rs. 300 million. In India, recent estimates of bee colonies are nearly 10 million, of which the large majority for honey production purposes. According to FAO, China is the fastest growing country in the Far East for honey production and has almost reached the 9 million mark of bee colonies.

FURTHER INFORMATION:

The Complete Book on Beekeeping and Honey Processing describes the detailed information on the subject. The major contents of this book are- history of beekeeping in India present, world scenario in beekeeping, beekeeping in India role of KVIC, beekeeping research set-up, major constraints in beekeeping, seasonal management of honeybee colonies, migratory beekeeping, bees and agriculture, pesticides poisoning to honeybees, promotion of beekeeping in Kerala, promotion of beekeeping in Punjab, beekeeping in Himachal Pradesh etc.

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