Wednesday, June 30, 2010

Beekeeping eBooks - Your Guides Toward Beekeeping Success

A lot of areas in the globe are producers of beeswax and honey for food and medicinal reasons. In fact, you will discover that a large number of beekeeping enthusiasts are scattered all over the world. In view of the fact that beekeeping has an impact to several people and since this hobby has been modernized in some places, there is an increasing number of people who are wanting to learn more about this very satisfying and money-spinning leisure pursuit. People want to know how beekeeping is done in different ways and means on how it is being maintained, as well. It is also quite interesting to note how beekeeping has been a big part of the different cultures.




However, it is never an easy task to train someone to do beekeeping as a way of life and part of the culture. There is a need for a guide that will help any beekeeping wannabee to understand better the ins and outs of beekeeping. With today's technological advancements, the development of beekeeping eBooks has been so extensive. The coolest thing is that the beekeeping eBooks are full of informative facts and details that will help each beekeeping enthusiasts to gain more helpful and functional knowledge about beekeeping.



Most of the beekeeping eBooks contains the basics of beekeeping and the process involved as it progresses. Since honey is used for most of the foods that people consume every day, there is really a need to be engaged in an activity that will serve not only as an exciting and challenging activity but also as a food source.



With Beekeeping eBooks, you will be acquainted with the different beekeepers in the world. You will also be informed about the best seasons of starting the beekeeping adventure, the costs that you are about to outlay and a lot more facts and figures about beekeeping.



You will also take notice of the most widespread irritation to beekeepers throughout their harvesting and maintenance of the hives. With beekeeping eBooks, you will discover how to increase honey making and how to give bees a fresh delivery of flowers for pollination and for feeding so they can manufacture diverse batches and variations of honey.



So, if you want to engage in this very lucrative pursuit, make certain that you start using beekeeping eBooks now and find out the effective and proven ways of managing a beekeeping adventure. Have one yours now and become a very competitive item in the beekeeping scene.



Earl Reed is a bee keeper and his hobby is beekeeping. He has a lot of benefits to offer. If you can overcome the fear of being stung by a bee, then beekeeping can be worth a try. For more details please visit this site: Beekeeping Success



Article Source: http://www.EzineArticles.com/?expert=Earl_Reed

Tuesday, June 29, 2010

How to Find the Right Bee Hives in the Most Convenient Way

Let's build a bee hive

If you are just a beginner in beekeeping, you need to work hard to learn everything you need to know. Beekeeping is not as simple as rearing honey bees. Yes, you will raise honey bees to harvest honey in the end. But, there are lots of things you should learn to become a successful beekeeper someday.

There are different bee equipments needed to get started. Some of the tools you need to produce are bee hives, bee smoker and fuel, beekeeper suit, hive tool, frame lifter, pollen trap, magnifying glass, and log book.



Having the right bee equipment is imperative for every beekeeper because this will help them in working with their bees without much difficulty. In finding the right equipments, you can start your search from your local beekeeping supply or online. Most beekeepers prefer buying beekeeping equipment online because this method offers them more convenience in shopping.



Different bee equipments differ in prices. If you know how to shop around, you can get great deals offered by a number of online sites. Since you will use equipments throughout your beekeeping business, it is only necessary to take care of your equipment.



Here is how you should maintain your bee equipment:



How to Maintain the Hive



• Check your hive if there are rotten boards or corners. Replace the rotten boards if possible or reconstruct them with waterproof wood filler.

• Decide to paint the hives. Choose light colors to best beat the heat of the summer.

• Clean away all burr comb and propolis found on the hive.



How to Maintain Other Bee Equipments



• Let the sun melt wax off the queen extruder. Remember not to scrape wax between the bars because you might bend them.

• Check the combs in the frames. Replace damage combs.

• If the frame is loose, you can re-glue or rewire them.

• Change any equipment found in your tool bag like sting kill, gray duct tape, nails and rope.



As a beekeeper, your main concern should not only be concentrated on your bees. You should also give time to maintain your equipment. Just like any other things, bee equipment also requires little maintenance coming from you. Proper maintaining of bee equipment will help you extend its life. This way, you can use your bee equipmentR for a couple of years.



Blake Trujillo is a bee keeper and his hobby is beekeeping. He has a lot of benefits to offer. If you can overcome the fear of being stung by a bee, then beekeeping can be worth a try.For more details please visit: Beekeeping Success



Article Source: http://www.EzineArticles.com/?expert=Blake_Trujillo



Monday, June 28, 2010

Bee Hive Plans - Some Design Options You May Want to Consider

If you are looking for bee hive plans or considering getting into the hobby of beekeeping, here are some designs you may want to consider.




The most commonly used hive design worldwide is called the Langstroth bee hive, named after its inventor Lorenzo Langstroth. Prior to his invention, it was difficult to keep the bees from cementing the entire hive together, making it difficult to extract the honey & manage the hive.



By designing the hive with interior frames with space he called "bee space" between the frames, he was able to come up with a hive that allowed for easy removal of the frames to manage the hive & collect honey. It is estimated that 75% or more of all hive designs now in use are built according to Langstroth's design. They can be constructed with a number of different frames. There are 3, 5 & 10 frame bee hive plans available.



Some other pieces of equipment you can build yourself include:



A Bee-Vac-This is a wooden box with a small shop vac attachment. It can be used to suck bees out of an existing hive for repair or other work. It also works great for harvesting bees from wild or feral hives to get your colony started. Care should be used to adjust the amount of suction to keep from killing the bees.



A Honey Extractor-This will help use centrifugal force to spin the honey out of your frames. A kit is available with the bearing assemblies you will need.



Solar Wax Melter-This will allow you to render the wax from your hive. Should be painted black for maximum heat retention.



Swarm Catcher Frame-This will allow you to harvest wild or feral bees from their hives.



Miller Type Feeder-Designed to place on top of a Langstroth type hive to allow large quantities of bee feed to be given without disrupting the bees or subjecting the keeper to stings.



Bee hive plans for all the equipment mentioned in this article are available at http://www.diywoodworkingprojects.info. In addition, you will find plans for any number of other DIY home woodworking projects.



Article Source: http://www.EzineArticles.com/?expert=Drew_E._Spaeth

Saturday, June 26, 2010

Home Beekeeping - What You Need to Know to Be Successful in This Amazing Hobby

Individuals have participated in the hobby of home beekeeping for generations.




Though the process of keeping bees has changed somewhat during this time, millions of people still find it to be quite rewarding and fascinating. Beekeeping is a hobby that takes dedication, a bit of skill, and a good deal of patience.



It is not a hobby you can do part time or just when you have some extra time. You will need to ensure you can dedicate adequate amounts of time to care for your bees, and make sure the hive is as healthy as possible.



So, what does home beekeeping have to offer?



Bees provide plenty of benefits and they can be kept for many different purposes.



Everyone knows bees can be kept for the production of honey, however many people also choose to keep bees for beeswax harvesting, crop pollination, for selling to other beekeepers, and for the purpose of repopulating wild colonies.



Each year, the number of beekeepers continues to grow.



People in many different regions all over the world partake in this pastime, many of which are home beekeepers. These people keep bees in small hives, in their backyards for a personal yearly harvest.



While just about every beekeeper will tell you the hobby requires a good deal of patience, commitment, and dedication, they will also tell you that the end result is well worth the effort. Take a bit of time to really learn as much as you can before you start this process.



Hopefully you will find home beekeeping to be a very interesting, fun, and relaxing activity.



The most important thing with beekeeping is to educate yourself on all there is to know about how to get started.



Modern Beekeeping is a comprehensive guide created just for beginners that truly want to get the most out of this hobby. Find out what all the buzz is about and get your home beekeeping hobby off to a successful start.



Article Source: http://www.EzineArticles.com/?expert=Adam_B._Mills

Thursday, June 24, 2010

Beekeeping Beginners - Ten Reasons to Begin Beekeeping!

Perhaps you are wondering about whether to start beekeeping. But you are not sure. All those hours in the office are wearing you down. You notice that when you go to the beach or to a farm you can really relax. So you have been thinking lately that you would like to spend more time in the outdoors; maybe even most of your weekends. You have been trying to think of a hobby and a little voice somewhere said beekeeping. You are not sure why. It might be that you saw a film like The Secret Life of Bees, and it left an impression on you.



Beekeeping beginners wanting reasons to start beekeeping should read this List of Ten:



1. Beekeeping beginners will satisfy their need to know more about beekeeping



If you are reading this you have an interest in beekeeping. If you try beekeeping you may become fascinated with bees, and this will lead to rewarding changes in your life.



2. Beekeeping beginners can sell their honey



As you progress beyond the beekeeping beginners' level you will begin to make some money. As your understanding deepens you will begin to see opportunities. Your hobby may mean a good second income. It may become a full time occupation!



3. Beekeeping beginners can give presents of bee products to friends



If you are like me, you cannot think of anything to give friends for birthdays or at Christmas. Honey is something that most people use. It is a gift that represents your hard work. This gives your present of honey an added meaning for you and your friends.



4. Beekeeping beginners will re-connect with nature by doing something outdoors with their hands



You probably have experienced how nature can regenerate you. It slows your mind down. You become more aware of your surroundings. You can smell the trees, the flowers, and the grasses. You can feel the sea and the wind. Beekeeping brings you back to your self.



5. Beekeeping beginners will help pollinate flowers



Colony Collapse Disorder (CCD) has made an enormous impact on bee numbers around the world. The human food supply has been affected. If you are community-minded you will get satisfaction knowing your bees are helping the food supply through pollination.



6. Beekeeping beginners will be responsible for living things



You may be aware of how caring for a pet; a dog or a cat, makes you happier. Bees, unlike cats and dogs, cannot be cuddled and are not cute, but they will require care!



7. Beekeeping beginners will meet other beekeepers



Beekeepers are a different breed who are fiercely independent. They are very focused production and they are usually very active. You will learn about them and they will hopefully tell you some beekeeping tricks and short cuts! You could also gain a new social network.



8. You will find out if beekeeping commercially is an option



As a beekeeping beginners you will know quickly if you are meant to be a beekeeper. You will know in a few months. If it is not for you, have no regrets. But if you love it, you will be able to follow your passion!



9. Beginning beekeepers can educate others. For instance, children



If you have children they will gain an appreciation for nature and a knowledge of at least one way of getting food from nature. They will know that honey is not grown on a supermarket shelf! The value of this to a child is immense.



10. You will be able to apply your beekeeping beginners knowledge in your life



Your understanding of bee organization my help you in your own life. You will see the ruthlessness of nature. You will see the beauty of nature's design. There are always ways to take what you have learned from nature and use it in your work or daily life.



These Ten Reasons, hopefully, have convinced you or inspired you to start a brand new chapter in your life!



Bill Rutherfurd writes on Beekeeping and Bee related subjects. He is developing a site for marketing bee products but it is not yet live. For more information for the beekeeping beginner please visit:



http://www.squidoo.com/beekeepingbeginners



Article Source: http://www.EzineArticles.com/?expert=Bill_Rutherfurd





Tuesday, June 22, 2010

Honey Extractors For Your Beehive

Honey extractors are mechanical devices used for honey extraction during honey harvest. The main advantage of a honey extractor is the extraction of honey without destroying the honey comb. Honey extractors work by the principle of centrifugal force. A frame with honey spins in the extractor drum so that the honey flings out. After honey extraction the honey comb remains intact in the extraction chamber and hence this can be further used in the beehive.

Before using the honey frames inside the extraction chamber for extraction, these frames have to be uncapped for its storage of honey. There are a number of tools supplied by the beekeeping supplies for this purpose. Uncapping knifes, uncapping forks or electrically driven uncapping equipments are a few among them. While extraction expels out of the uncapped cells due to centrifugal force, flows down through the wall and finally pools at the bottom of the extraction chamber, which can be tapped out for further processing. Honey pumps are also used for the removal of honey from the extraction chamber.



Types of extractors include tangential and radial ones depending on how the frame is put in the extractor basket. The top of the frame face outwards in radial honey extractor whereas in tangential ones one side of the frame face outwards. Radial types are used in commercial honey extractors. The amount of work applied to radial ones are less when compared with tangential ones as they do not need to turn over of the honey comb to extract honey from the other side. Extractors are of different sizes. For commercial uses extractors can hold over hundred frames at a time where as small honey extractor normally holds two frames.



You can also make your own honey extractors with some great ideas available across the internet. Of all the methods the conversion of an antique washing machine to a honey extractor is a pretty interesting one. If a extractor is not affordable, you can choose any of these simple extractor construction ideas. Many of these are economical and also you can make use of the several antique pieces available at home.



Some alternatives used other than extraction in some counties is just cutting the honey comb and using it as cut comb honey. Whereas in some countries they take out honey comb from the frame and squeeze it out for honey extraction.

A variety of extractors with different sizes and dimensions are available with bee supplies. The commercially used medium ones normally use 30 or 60 frames at a time in a small farm. Normally honey extractors are of reasonable cost. It becomes more expensive when the shipping charge is added to it. For small scale producers most of them consider it as not worth to invest such a huge amount for extractors. Hence if you have some technical and carpentry skills make use of it for constructing your own extractors.



Conclusively, just like bees keep their hives protected from ants and other foreigners. It is preferable to clean or keep your honey extractor in a safe place for you can increase its life for several years ahead.



If you found this article interesting and informative, and you would like to learn more about the joys of Beekeeping, please visit my Blog at http://www.goodbeekeeping.com



Regards, Mick.



http://www.goodbeekeeping.com



Article Source: http://www.EzineArticles.com/?expert=Mick_Stevenson



Monday, June 21, 2010

Beekeeping - Apiaries And Hives That Bee Colonies Call Home

Our hunter-gatherer ancestors collected honey from wild beehives they chanced upon. The hive was routinely completely destroyed and rendered useless. The bee colony would've no other choice but to build again in a different spot.




Bee Colonies Contain Thousands of Individual Bees.



This rough treatment of the hive and comb also resulted in the honey being full of contaminates. But, there was no grounds to worry since they didn't need to keep the honey for long periods. They consumed what they gleaned and they simply raided another hive and got some more.



Early attempts at collecting the honey from local beehives were not much better. Fixed frame beehives were generally used, this meaning that the complete hive was sunk to get the honey.



After the comb was pulled from the hive, it was completely crushed and the honey extracted. This demolished the larva and eggs of the bees and left the beekeeper with contaminated honey. Purification of the honey was only fairly effective and didn't keep well for long periods.



The biggest trouble with this type of beekeeping idea is that the entire colony is destroyed come harvest time. Obviously, the entire operation had to be started all over again. Hives would need to be built again, and a new colony of bees had to be found and inserted. Honey simply could not be delivered on a fixed basis, it was too ineffectual.



The discovery of the top bar beehive by Langstroth in the middle of the 1800's was just what apiculturists needed. This gentleman truly changed everything in the apiculture world. His advanced plans granted for a top access and removable frames. Not only did this allow for easier removal of the honey, but the colony and hive would not be wiped out.



Entire Colonies Are Maintained In Man-Made Hives.



In addition, Langstroth's hive afford the beekeeper to inspect the colony. At last, beekeepers could reduce parasites and diseases in the hive. Honey production and hardiness of the colony both increased dramatically.



Apiarists could now maintain a steady supply of honey in lieu of the sporadic production of the past. The caliber and purity of the honey that was harvested accelerated as well.



That basic beehive innovation is still being used in approximately 75% of beekeeping operations around the world. Regionally, the hives may appear different, but the idea is the same. One such variant is called a bar and frame beehive. It has a slanted roof like a cottage would have. This keeps rainfall out of the hive.



Determining the size of hive to construct for your colony is a subject of conditions. Bees will continue to reside in their hive year round but will require security from extremes. In frigid weather climates, what are known as double-deep boxes are used. In other areas, a single box unit works all right. The key is to assure your bees are comfy in their home.



Apiaries House Groupings of Hives Comprising Several Colonies.



In some cases, several groups of bees and their hives are live in what's called a bee house. This is an open construction that assists as protection and shade from the elements. Several hundred of colonies are kept at commercial apiaries, while a home apiary may have only a just a few.



With a good apiary plan, a beekeeper can comfortably set up his own apiary to the size he calls for.



Groups of hives are also maintained in natural settings such as alongside a flower-laden meadow or agriculture field. Groves of standing timber or the edge of woodland around wild flower fields make the best natural apiaries. They afford shade and security as well as a nearby food source. Bees need to rehydrate and having a pool or other body of water close is a must.



One consideration for where the hive is located, is the honey you wish to produce. Bees that feed off of flowers such as clover produce pale colored, mild flavored honey. In contrast, bees feeding from plants such as buckwheat give rise to a very dark honey. This dark honey is exceedingly potent in flavor and is said to contain a lot more antioxidants.



Once set up in the hive, the bees can go to work for you. Sure, they will be producing golden honey and bees wax nearly constantly, however they can accomplish even more. Many beekeepers pack up their hives and lease them out to farmers for pollination.



Bees are a necessity to pollinate about 50% of the food that we consume. These dynamic tiny creatures ensure the farmers crop produces food that he can harvest. Meanwhile, the bees get a free meal that they turn into combs full of rich, golden honey. It's a near ideal partnership between mankind and nature.



Honey collection has come a long way since our early ancestors first raided a beehive. Today, beekeepers are well stocked and have more understanding of bees and their natural habitat. That really means that nearly anyone can raise bees now and produce honey, beeswax or cater bees to other beekeepers.



For more information and to request your Free Do-It-Yourself Beekeeping [http://beekeeping.biblioflip.com] articles, visit: [http://beekeeping.biblioflip.com]



K.L. "Vin" Hayes leads a group of independent authors and investigators. Over the last decade, they've worked together to develop high-quality digital reprints of vintage documents as well as original works. Vin specializes in how-to information that includes a wide variety of matters such as hunting & fishing, hobbies & crafts, construction, self-improvement and more.



Article Source: http://www.EzineArticles.com/?expert=Vin_Hayes


Honey bees & beekeeping: A year in the life of an apiary
 
How To Become A Bee Keeping Pro

Organization and management of apiaries producing extracted honey in the white clover region (Technical bulletin / United States Department of Agriculture)

Bee Keeping: Everything You Need to Know


New observations on the natural history of bees


Bee Keeping: Learn How to Keep Bees Successfully


Beekeeping - Learn How To Keep Bees Successfully