By: Dr. Ripudaman Singh (Special Correspondent ICN Group) & Hemant Kumar ( Agriculture Correspondent ICN Group)
NEW DELHI: Depends on suitable climatic conditions and availability of bee flora in plenty, if climate and floral condition are suitable, proper seasonal management of the honey bee colonies is the key to the success of beekeeping.
For manipulation of the honey bee colonies one must understand the behavior and needs of the honey bee colonies and follow the required operations to fulfill their needs. This will lead to the maximum efficiency of bee colonies and benefits from beekeeping.
The bee management operations vary in time and space and also with the species of honey bees adopted for beekeeping. The seasonal management operations to be undertaken in the honey bee colonies are generally based on the following principles.
Help the bees to build up colony strength to the maximum just 1-1 ½ month prior to the major honey flow season and not during the honey flow, so as to harvest a bumper honey crop.
This can be done by replacing old exhausted queen bees, every year in the colonies, with young mated / prolific queen bees; ensuring required space by adding worker combs / comb-foundation sheets and new supers and uniting unproductive week / laying worker colonies with stronger ones.
Maintain optimum strength during dearth season so that the bee colony does not perish but is able to perpetuate to the ensuing good season.
The bee colonies should not suffer for want of space for brood rearing, honey / pollen storage and honey ripening during active season. Provision of space in the colonies also lessens congestion and checks swarming instinct in the honey bee colonies.
Extract only surplus and sealed honey that too at right time i.e. 7-10 days prior to cessation of the honey flow and also manage the colonies to check robbing, in the apiary, if any.
Help the colonies suitably to tide over the adverse climatic conditions, floral dearth periods through migration of the colonies to suitable localities.Manage the incidence of bee enemies and diseases but be cautions.
