Apiculture (0+1)

Selection of Apiary Site and Bee Species

The key to success of beekeeping lies mainly in three things:

A. Good apiary site.
B. Good bee.
C. Proper management.

What is an apiary?
Apiary is the place where the bee colonies are kept (Fig. 7.1).
Selection of good apiary site:

• The apiary site should be rich in bee flora which may provide forage for most parts of the year and in addition there should be good density of honey flow sources near the apiary site. For collecting 20 kg of honey, one colony needs 100 blooming trees or 2-4 acres of blooming crop
• The apiary site should be easily accessible by road
• There should be availability of fresh running water near the apiary
• The apiary site should have natural or artificial wind breaks to protect the bees from strong/chilly winds
• The site should receive morning and afternoon sunshine. During summer provision of shade (either using artificial structures or using shade of the trees) should be made (Fig. 7.1).

Figure 7.1 Bee colonies in an apiary kept under trees which provide shade during summer

Selection of good bee:
Beekeeping can be taken up with either of the two domesticated honey bee species (Apis cerana and A. mellifera Figs. 7.2 & 7.3). However, in cold areas e.g. high hills, A. cerana being cold hardy performs better than A. mellifera. Moreover this bee is more frugal and does well even in areas, which are not very rich in bee flora. Farmers who are incapable of making more investment in bee keeping with A. mellifera can use A. cerana, since it needs less investment.





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