Craft and Skill in the Cottage Industry are our pride and heritage Make investment in the Small Industry Make more profit

Bee keeping

BEEKEEPING:

Beekeeping is the art of caring for, management, nursing and manipulating colonies of honeybees (Apis sp.) so that they will collect and store a quantity of honey above their own instant and/or present requirements.

APICULTURE:

Apiculture is a scientific subject in the field of economic and/or applied Entomology which comprises to keep bees, rearing bees, management of bees, honey production, research on bees and bee-products having a good contact with Agriculture and Horticulture.

BEES :

Bees- a large group of animal dedicated for the welfare of mankind in multifarious way in the order Hymenoptera comprising the family Apidae under the class Insecta which are economically important in the insect world and scientifically recognized for their behavioral efforts to study, honey production, pollination, production of other bee-products.

HONEY BEES:

Honey bees are the most significant group of insects under Apidae family in the field of applied Entomology. Rendering enormous dedication for the production of fruits, seeds, crops, vegetables and fibers in addition to honey and many other by products.

OBJECTIVES OF BEE KEEPING :

• Production of honey throughout the country. • Increase the production of crops, fruits, seeds and vegetables by honey bee pollination. • Increase the nutrition value of human food. • Develop bee-products by way of beekeeping. • Develop plant environment through plantation for keeping bees. • Employment generation.

SPECIALITY :

1. No specific land is required. 2. No monetary value for required raw materials. 3. Minimum investment in comparison to output and/or other activities. 4. Applicable profession for everybody 5. Good venture for part time and/or full time activities. 6. Potentiality is almost every where in the country. 7. By-products are not less valuable and important than the main products- honey as we know. 8. Important role for the enhanced production seeds, crops, fruits, vegetable and fibres. 9. Creation of employment opportunities. 10. Increase the Agro based cottage industry.

Species of honey bees:

Apis dorsata

• Origin- Asia.
• Large size and ferocious.
• Honey production is 10-40 kilograms/year/colony.
• Cannot be rearing in boxes.
• Naturally found.
• Single comb in a colony.

Apis Cerana

• Origin- Asia.
• Medium size and comparatively quiet in nature.
• Honey production 2-10 kilograms/ year/colony.
• Rearing is possible in the specified bee boxes or in other means of traditional devices.
• Naturally found.
• Absconding from the box is happened.
• Many combs in a colony.

Apis florea


• Ancient home- Asia.
• Small size and quiet in nature.
• Honey production is very poor- about 250 grams/year/colony.
• Cannot be rearing in boxes.
• Naturally found.
• Single conb in a colony.

Apis mellifera



• Origin- Europe and Australia.
• Newly introduced in Bangladesh.
• Large size but quiet in nature.
• Highest honey producer- about 40-90 kilograms/ year/colony.
• Rearing is possible in specified bee boxes.
• Naturally not found in Bangladesh till today.
• No absconding is happened.
• Many combs in a colony.

Apis laboriosa

• Origin Asia
• Found in high altitude.
• Not identified in Bangladesh.
• Can not be rearing in boxes.
• Naturally found mainly in the rock.
• large in size and ferocious in nature.
• Honey production 20-50 kilograms/ year/colony.
• Single comb in a colony.

 

BEE PRODUCTS IN THE WQRLD:

Honey : Food, medicine and nutrition value
Wax : Medicine and industrial value
Royal Jelly : Health food and medicinal value
Pollen : Health food Bee food and medicinal value
Propolis : Medicinal value
Bee-venoms : Medicinal value
Increased crop : By bee pollination Yield
Apilarnil : Under research

 

Honey flow season (6 months):

October : Major source- Jujube.
December-January : Major source-Mustard.
Mid February-Mid March : Major source-Litchi & Niger.
Mid April- Mid June : Major source-Sunderban & Sesame.

Semi-honey flow season(3 months):

15-30 September : Growth period during Jujube.
15-30 November : Mustard –early crop.
1-15 February : Late mustard, Nger spp. & others.
1- 15 April : Sunderban & Sesame.
Mid June-Mid July : Miscellaneous.

Dearth period(3 months):
1-15 November. 15 July-15 September. 15-31 March.

Bee-plants:

- Large number of bee-plants species are available in the country.
-About 200 species are identified.
-At least 11 are major.
- About 60 are semi-major.
- The rests are minor.

Major bee-plants :

• Brassica spp. L.
• Litchi chinensis Camb.
• Zizyphus jujuba Lamk.
• Moringa oleifera Lam.
• Cocos nucifera L.
• Helianthus annus L.
• Eugenia jambolana Lamk.
• Coriandrum sativum L.
• Citrus spp. L.
• Sesamum indicum Dc.
• Niger spp.

History of Beekeeping in Bangladesh:

• Practiced haphazardly since time immemorial.
• In 1940 keeping or rearing bees in wooden hives probably started during the self reliant movement of Mahatma Gandhi
• In 1950’s experimental Beekeeping was done in the Tea growing areas of Sylthet district.
• In 1960’s BSCIC has started Bee-keeping at Jatrapur in Bagerhat district.
• During this whole period the result was not-satisfactory due to inappropriate technology
• In 1977 BSCIC again started Beekeeping in modern and scientific way.
• Since inception BSCIC has trained out about 18000 target people in Beekeeping.
• Now many other Govt. and Non Govt. organization have undertaken Beekeeping program having successful efforts.