CATDOLL : CATDOLL: What skills should a novice beekeeper learn first?

1. Bee collection technology

1. Collecting bees: Collecting bees refers to directly capturing Chinese honey bee colonies living in the wild. One is to find the beehive of wild Chinese honey bees and capture the hive and the bees together. The other is to capture the swarming colonies when they are naturally swarming or the migrating colonies when they abandon the nest and migrate.

2. Bee luring: Bee luring refers to the use of beehives to lure wild Chinese honey bee colonies. One method is to lure swarming bees that find a new location to build nests during natural swarming. The other method is to lure migratory bee colonies that have to abandon their nests and migrate due to lack of nectar sources or serious enemy damage.

2. Swarming Technology

1. Natural swarming: Natural swarming is the natural behavior of a bee colony after it develops to a certain size. The advantage is that it is completely in line with the swarming habits of bees. After swarming, both bee colonies can recover quickly and basically will not return. The disadvantage is that there are many uncertain factors in the time of natural swarming. The slightest carelessness in managing the bee colony may cause the swarm to escape.

2. Artificial swarming: Artificial swarming is the process of artificially splitting a bee colony into two or more colonies. The advantage is that the swarming time can be determined freely, and it can be done at any time as long as the climate and colony strength are met. The disadvantage is that artificial swarming requires beekeepers to have certain skills. In addition, artificial swarming can easily cause the bees to return if the operation is not careful.

3. Grouping Technology

1. Principle: Although bees are typical social insects, bee colonies are relatively independent and rely on smell to identify whether they are from the same hive. When the smell is the same, the bees can cooperate with each other, but once the smell is different, the two colonies will fight each other. Therefore, the basic principle of merging bee colonies is to find a way to confuse the smell of the colonies.

2. Method: There are two methods to merge bee colonies: direct and indirect. The direct method is to spray some white wine or honey water on both colonies and then merge them into one colony directly. The indirect method is to first separate the two colonies in a beehive with a partition, and then remove the partition after the smells are mixed to allow the two colonies to merge into one colony on their own.

4. Jiewang Technology

1. Principle: Bees are typical social insects, and each bee colony has a unique smell (group smell). In fact, smell is also the most important basis for bees to identify whether they are from the same hive. The basic principle of queen introduction is to find a way to confuse the smell of the queen bee and the colony. As long as the smell is the same, the bee colony will accept the new queen bee.

2. Operation: There are two main methods of queen introduction: direct and indirect. It is generally recommended to use the relatively safe indirect method when purchasing queen bees online. The specific operation is to first lock the queen bee in a queen cage or a queen carrier, then put the queen bee on the honey comb and spray some honey water to confuse the smell, and then release the queen bee after the bee colony accepts the queen.

5. Feeding Technology

1. Supplementary feeding: The purpose of supplementary feeding is to supplement the food necessary for the survival of the bee colony. For example, before wintering, beekeepers must supplement the feed needed for the bee colony throughout the wintering period. When the nectar source is scarce and the honey storage in the hive is insufficient, the bee colony must also be supplemented with feeding.

2. Reward feeding: The purpose of reward feeding is to stimulate the queen bee to lay eggs and motivate worker bees to raise larvae. For example, both spring and autumn breeding require reward feeding. The reason is that the reproduction rate of the bee colony is regulated by the nectar source, and reward feeding can create the illusion of abundant food.

3. Soothing feeding: The purpose of soothing feeding is to help the bee colony stabilize its emotions quickly. For example, timely feeding after transferring to a hive can help the bee colony calm down quickly. Merging bee colonies or introducing a new queen and timely feeding can also help the bee colony quickly return to normal order.

6. Queen breeding technology

1. Emergency construction of queen cells: Emergency construction of queen cells is the simplest method of queen breeding for novice beekeepers. The specific operation is to take the queen bee from the bee colony during the nectar flow period. Generally, the bee colony will emergency build queen cells after 2 to 3 days. After the queen cells are mature, they can be replaced by old, weak, sick and disabled queens from other bee colonies.

2. Artificial selection: Artificial selection is the simplest method of queen breeding for novice beekeepers. The specific operation is to retain the queen cells and drones in the bee colonies with excellent genetic characteristics during the natural swarming period, and all the queen cells and drone cells in other defective bee colonies should be cleared away.

3. Transferring worms to raise queens: Transferring worms to raise queens is the most commonly used method of queen raising by novice beekeepers. The specific operation is to first make a base with beeswax, and then move 1-2 day old worker bee larvae into the base. Finally, place the artificial queen cell into the queen raising group and let the worker bees feed the queens.

1. Collecting bees: Collecting bees refers to directly capturing Chinese honey bee colonies living in the wild. One method is to find a wild Chinese honey bee hive and capture the hive and bees together. The other method is to capture swarming bees during natural swarming or migratory swarms when they abandon their nests and migrate. 2. Bee trapping: Bee trapping refers to using beehives to trap wild Chinese honey bee colonies. One method is to trap swarming bees that find a new location to build a nest during natural swarming. The other method is to trap migratory swarms that have to abandon their nests and migrate due to lack of nectar sources or serious enemy damage.

You need to learn the bee collecting technology first. You need to know how to put the bees in one place, trap the bees, and then get the honey out.

First of all, you need to understand the daily living habits of bees, pay attention to the composition of the bee colony, and learn how to manage the bee colony simply.