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Is it easy to keep bees? How to keep them?

Honey bees are now divided into two types: Chinese honey bees and Italian honey bees.

Chinese bees are easier to raise than Italian bees. Beekeepers must be able to endure hardships and work hard.

Italian bees are completely dependent on manual management. Queen bees generally do not sting people, nor do queen bees and drones. It is the worker bees that sting people. Queen bees generally mate and conceive once, and they lay eggs for life. Isn't it amazing? Generally, wherever the queen bee goes, the worker bees will flock there. The most feared thing in bee colony management is swarming, that is, when the queen bee finds that a new queen bee is born, she will fight with the new queen bee (unmated bee)!

Feeding:

1. Supplementary feeding: artificial feeding when nectar sources are scarce. The methods are:

①Supplementary feeding with honey. Honey can be diluted with 20% warm water (crystallized honey needs to be boiled with a little water). The diluted honey can be fed to bees by pouring it into the comb or pouring it into the frame feeder.

②Supplementary feeding with syrup. Syrup is made of 50% white sugar and 50% water. After heating and fully dissolving, it is cooled to lukewarm. It is best to add 0.1% citric acid to the syrup to facilitate digestion and absorption. Brown sugar should not be used at this time.

2. Reward feeding: artificial feeding during the bee colony breeding period and bee production period. Generally, a small amount of 60% nectar or 50% syrup is given every other day in early spring, and then once a day as consumption increases. The time starts from 40 days before the nectar flow period until there is a large amount of honey and pollen from the outside world. Each frame of bees can be rewarded with 50-100 grams of syrup each time.

3. Feeding pollen: The purpose is to supplement protein feed. In the late winter and early spring, the pollen saved in the previous autumn can be supplemented, and soybean powder can also be used instead. The feeding method is as follows:

(1) Liquid feeding: Add 10 times the amount of syrup to the pollen, boil it, wait for it to cool, and then put it in a feeding container for feeding.

(2) Cake feeding. Add an equal amount of honey or syrup to pollen or pollen substitute, mix thoroughly, and make into cakes. Wrap them with plastic paper, open at both ends, and place them on the frame beam for bees to feed. This method is often used during cold snaps.

4. Feeding water and salt:

① Water. Generally, each bee colony needs 200 to 300 ml of water per day. Put water in the feeder or put a wet towel on the gauze cover for the bees to collect water.

②Salts: Just add 1% of table salt to the syrup.