(Contributed by the Ministry of Agriculture – Animal Division)
Equipment
To operate and examine your hive you must have the following beekeeping equipment — smoker, hive tool, bee veil and bee brush.
Care and Management
The beginner should examine his apiary at least once a week to see if the hive has sufficient food supply (honey and pollen).
Food is an important factor in the hive. The queen must have plenty to eat before she can do her job of laying.
If there is not enough honey in the hive it is necessary to feed the bees. This is called artificial feeding.
This could be done by making a syrup of 2 parts of sugar and 1 part of water mixed well. This should be poured on to the frames or given at the entrance of the hive by a boardsman feeder.
Feeding should be done weekly until the field bees have been able to collect enough nectar from nearby honey plants. In examining a hive, care should be taken first to spot the queen.
After she has been found, place her aside in the brood chamber and then proceed to examine the other frames for brood (young bees) and food.
Wax Moth Larvae
This is a pest which attacks only weak hives. If your hive is being attacked, the best method to get rid of danger is to unite two hives together. This can be done by the newspaper method.
First get rid of one of the queens. Spread a sheet of newspaper on the brood or bottom chamber. Then place the hive with the remaining queen on top of this chamber. In a few days the two hives will unite and become a strong colony.
Bee Pastures
When starting an apiary the beginner should first see that there are sufficient honey producing plants in his area.
The Courida which grows along the foreshores of the coastlands is considered to be our most dependable source of nectar in Guyana.
There are many other honey plants such as Citrus, Long John, Mangoes, Genip, Bat Seeds, Log Wood, Button Wood, Coconuts and all other fruit plants.
The coconut plant is mainly a source of pollen, but together with other honey plants will produce a crop of honey. Vines such as Bitter Tally and Daisies all produce some honey. It must be remembered that an abundant quantity of the above plants in an area is necessary before a crop of honey can be collected. Each hive needs at least one acre of flowering trees and plants.
Honey Season
Two crops of honey are reaped yearly from each supered hive that is in a strong and healthy condition. If the hive is weak, the bees use the honey. The crop is therefore lost.
The flow of honey commences just after the two wet seasons. The diagram Beekeeping Cycle’ will serve as a guide to the beginner.
A hive may produce an average of 150 lbs. honey per year though as much as 300 lbs. have been accomplished in Guyana.
Stings
Beekeeping is fun in spite of the occasional sting. However, most stings are avoided when the beekeeper learns to manage his bee properly and dress properly for the job.
