CATDOLL : CATDOLL: What are the requirements and taboos for raising bees? (Video on What are the requirements and taboos for raising bees)

1. What are the eleven taboos in beekeeping?

Avoid "random addition of spleen"

A common mistake made by novice beekeepers is to add more combs and foundations to the bee colony, which results in a sparse number of bees on the combs, which is a taboo for the development of the colony. The main hazards are: ① There are too many larvae and too few feeding bees, which causes malnutrition and leads to congenital disabilities of a considerable number of new bees (crawling bees). Even if they can fly normally, they will have a long life; ② In summer, because there are too many combs and too few bees, it is difficult for worker bees to fan the wind and drive away heat in all areas. Excessive room temperature shortens the life of worker bees and affects the heat injury of larvae (rotten larvae); ③ In spring and winter, it is not conducive to heat preservation, resulting in cold injury, which is very likely to cause diseases (rotten larvae and middle cysts). More combs than bees will eventually lead to the collapse of the colony.

2. Avoid “random grouping”

Some beekeepers are greedy for more colonies and will divide the colonies when there are 4-5 combs in the hive. The disadvantages of having more colonies and fewer combs are: ① It increases the labor intensity of the beekeeper; ② It is not conducive to the heat preservation and cooling of the bee colony; ③ The colony development is slow. ④ It affects economic income. ⑤ It is easy to induce diseases.

3. Avoid opening the box frequently during the day

Some novices like to "open the box frequently to check", which will destroy the temperature control effect in the box. The bee colony is emulsified at around 35 ℃, and frequent entry of hot and cold air will affect reproduction. Frequent opening of the box will also disturb the bee colony; if it attracts bee thieves, it will be more difficult to manage.

4. Don’t be fooled by the saying “white-headed pupae are nest worms”

The causes of white-headed pupae are not only nest insects, but also dead pupae caused by shaking honey and careless inspection, as well as "honey bee pupal disease". The manifestations of various white-headed pupae are as follows: ① The white-headed pupae are connected in a continuous line, which is undoubtedly caused by nest insects; ② The white-headed pupae are scattered and sparse, which is caused by human factors; ③ The white-headed pupae are dense and in pieces, which is caused by bee pupal virus.

5. Don’t trust in multiple insect transfer

Queen rearing is an important part of beekeeping. In order to achieve the required number and timely change of queens, experienced beekeepers will adopt the method of queen rearing by transferring worms. However, there is no scientific evidence to prove that queens reared by "double worm transfer and queen rearing" are better than those reared by single worm transfer (except for the high acceptance rate). Disadvantages of "double worm transfer and queen rearing": ① Increase unnecessary fatigue; ② Delay the date of queen rearing; ③ If not properly controlled, the quality of queens will be worse (because 2- and 3-day-old larvae are transplanted in, the larvae are picked out on the second day, and then 1-day-old larvae are transplanted. After the 1-day-old larvae eat the royal jelly of the 2- and 3-day-old larvae, the larvae will have physiological disorders in their development, their growth will be accelerated, and the date of emergence will be shortened. Although the queen is large at the emergence, it has actually become a low-quality queen).

6. Avoid having two kings in the same group

Except for a very small number of beekeepers who like to have two queens in one colony, it is meaningless to have two queens in one colony. One good queen bee has enough ability to maintain the egg-laying capacity of more than 10 combs. Disadvantages of having two queens in one colony: ① Different royal hormons are difficult to be compatible (even for sister queens), which leads to the agitation of worker bees in the colony and passive feeding and collection; ② After about 2 weeks of stability, the worker bees gradually become indifferent to the weak queen and let it slowly wither and die; ③ Chinese bees have the characteristics of good swarming (generally, swarming occurs after a few combs).

7. Avoid feeding Chinese bees with substitute feeds

There are obvious differences in temperament and preferences between Chinese bees and Italian bees: Italian bees have a wide range of diets, including soybean meal, corn meal, and various substitute feeds. Chinese bees generally do not need to be fed with feed. In the season when pollen is scarce, it is best to feed them pure natural pollen for the sake of bee breeding. If you really need to feed "substitute feed", it is best to use half "substitute feed" and half "natural pollen".

2. What are the methods and precautions for raising bees?

1. Avoid random grouping

Some beekeepers are greedy for more colonies and divide the colonies when there are 4-5 combs in the box. It seems that the more boxes they have, the bigger their business will be. But this is actually not conducive to the growth of bees.

2. Avoid opening the box frequently during the day

New beekeepers often like to open the hives frequently. Frequent opening of hives in hot and cold weather will destroy the temperature control effect inside the hive. The bee colony is emulsified at around 35 degrees, and frequent entry of hot and cold air will affect reproduction. Frequent opening of hives will disturb the bee colony, and if stealing bees are attracted, it will be more difficult to manage.

3. Avoid having two kings in the same group

In real beekeeping operations, except for a very small number of beekeepers who like to play "two beekeepers in one group", real beekeepers never play this meaningless game. Two beekeepers in one group do not reproduce quickly and maintain a large group as some people think. On the contrary, it has more disadvantages than advantages.

4. Avoid unsterilized feed

Feeds of unknown origin must be sterilized before feeding bees. Most beekeepers boil sugar, pour it into pollen, stir and ferment it overnight, and then feed it to bees. This is not feasible. First, pollen may contain germs that may cause various diseases. Only by boiling it for a certain period of time can the purpose of killing it be achieved.

5. Avoid being too closed

I think it is better to ventilate the beehive. Chinese bees are animals, and animals need fresh air. A stuffy environment cannot support a healthy colony. Whether to open air windows is best decided by the bees themselves. The easiest way is to see the bees fanning at the entrance of the nest, which means it is time to open the air windows or the hive.

3. What are the top ten taboos in beekeeping?

1. Being greedy for combs: This is a common mistake made by novices and even some veterans. They blindly add combs and foundations to the bee colony, resulting in more combs than bees.

2. Like to form a colony: Some beekeepers always like to form a colony and will divide the colony when they see there are 4-5 combs in the box.

3. Random use of pesticides for bee diseases: Good beekeepers rarely encounter bee diseases throughout the year. Once a disease occurs, targeted pesticides will be applied and it will be quickly suppressed.

4. White-headed pupae are nest insects: Whenever I see white-headed pupae mentioned in almost all forums, almost all the commenters say that they are caused by nest insects.

5. Trusting in multiple worm transfers: Queen rearing is an important part of beekeeping. In order to achieve the required number and replace the queen in time, experienced beekeepers will adopt the method of queen rearing by transferring worms.

6. Two kings in the same group: In the actual beekeeping operation, except for a very small number of beekeeping players who like to play "two kings in the same group", those who really make beekeeping a business never play this meaningless game.

7. Feeding Chinese bees with random substitute feeds: Chinese bees and Italian bees are both bees, but there are obvious differences in their temperaments and preferences.

8. The more closed, the better: beekeepers have different opinions on this issue, and no one should disagree. According to my experience, ventilation is better.

9. Unsterilized feed: Feed from unknown sources must be sterilized before feeding bees. Most beekeepers boil sugar and pour it into pollen, stir and ferment it overnight before feeding it to bees. This is extremely unscientific and unscientific.

10. Shake out all the honey: Most beekeepers shake the honey as soon as they see it, and they can shake out a whole box of honey combs in one go.

4. What are the taboos in home beekeeping?

The worst thing to do in beekeeping is to add honeycombs randomly. There are three main relationships between bees and honeycombs: too many bees have too many honeycombs, bees and honeycombs are in proportion, and bees and honeycombs are too few. In fact, if the bees are too few honeycombs for a long time, the colony is bound to collapse. The reason is that too few bees and honeycombs will weaken the worker bees' ability to protect the honeycombs, and in severe cases, the larvae may even freeze to death or a bee disease may break out. The correct approach is to ensure that there are too many bees and honeycombs or at least that the bees and honeycombs are in proportion after adding honeycombs.

5. What are the seven taboos of beekeeping?

1. Being greedy for combs: This is a common mistake made by novices and even some veterans. They blindly add combs and foundations to the bee colony, resulting in more combs than bees.

2. Like to form a colony: Some beekeepers always like to form a colony and will divide the colony when they see there are 4-5 combs in the box.

3. Random use of pesticides for bee diseases: Good beekeepers rarely encounter bee diseases throughout the year. Once a disease occurs, targeted pesticides will be applied and it will be quickly suppressed.

4. White-headed pupae are nest insects: Whenever I see white-headed pupae mentioned in almost all forums, almost all the commenters say that they are caused by nest insects.

5. Trusting in multiple worm transfers: Queen rearing is an important part of beekeeping. In order to achieve the required number and replace the queen in time, experienced beekeepers will adopt the method of queen rearing by transferring worms.

6. Two kings in the same group: In the actual beekeeping operation, except for a very small number of beekeeping players who like to play "two kings in the same group", those who really make beekeeping a business never play this meaningless game.

7. Feeding Chinese bees with random substitute feeds: Chinese bees and Italian bees are both bees, but there are obvious differences in their temperaments and preferences.

8. The more closed, the better: beekeepers have different opinions on this issue, and no one should disagree. According to my experience, ventilation is better.

9. Unsterilized feed: Feed from unknown sources must be sterilized before feeding bees. Most beekeepers boil sugar and pour it into pollen, stir and ferment it overnight before feeding it to bees. This is extremely unscientific and unscientific.

1. Pollen may contain potential "bacteria" that can cause rot or "viruses" that can cause mycoplasma, as well as other bacteria and viruses that can cause various diseases.

10. Shake out all the honey: Most beekeepers shake the honey as soon as they see it, and they can shake out a whole box of honey combs in one go.

6. What are the ten taboos in beekeeping?

1. Avoid adding spleen indiscriminately

A common mistake made by novice beekeepers is that they like to add honeycombs to the hive, regardless of whether the bee colony needs it or not. They always think that it is better to be prepared, which results in the bees becoming weaker and weaker, and they are more likely to get sick, escape, or even die out. To add honeycombs to the bees, first of all, there must be enough bees, and there must also be auxiliary pollen and nectar sources, and there must be more capped bees or young worker bees. If there are old honeycombs, or if you find that the bee colony is insufficient, you can reduce the honeycombs. You can reduce the honeycombs outside the insulation board, wait until the capped bees leave the room, and the bees have moved all the honey, and then discard the honeycombs.

2. Avoid blindly following the herd

Here we are referring to the number of weak bee colonies. Do not raise weak bee colonies when there is no pollen or nectar source. Weak bees are difficult to manage and the bee colony is difficult to develop. Weak bees are easy to escape or even die. Moreover, weak bee colonies are too inefficient and collect less honey. Therefore, weak bee colonies need to be merged. Two weak bee colonies can be merged into a medium-sized colony. In fact, worker bees are also a factor that determines the egg-laying capacity of the queen bee. Therefore, novices who raise bees should avoid weak bees.

3. Avoid taking all the honey

Honey harvest is the harvest season for beekeepers. It should be a very happy thing, but many novices are not happy after harvesting honey. It turns out that the bees escaped after harvesting honey. The main reason for the bees to leave is that you took away all the honey and left no food for the bees. Without food to eat, of course they will leave.

4. Avoid frequent unpacking

For a beehive, maintaining a stable environment is a major advantage for the development of the colony. If the beekeeper opens the box to check on the bee colony from time to time, the influx of outside air will often destroy the climate environment of the honeycomb that the worker bees have worked so hard to create. This is because the hatching and growth of bee larvae require a constant temperature. Changes in hot and cold environments can easily affect the development of bee larvae, not to mention disturbing the bee colony, and easily increase the chances of bee theft, causing losses to the bee colony.

5. Avoid taking medication at will

Some novices, when encountering bee diseases, use drugs indiscriminately due to anxiety, which often leads to big problems because the drugs are not suitable for the symptoms. Even healthy colonies that were not originally sick become sick colonies. Therefore, when bees are sick, do not rush to use drugs, first find out the disease the bees are suffering from, and then prescribe the correct drugs.

6. Avoid feeding at will

There are many ways to raise bees, but they can be roughly divided into reward raising and supplementary raising. Reward raising can stimulate the queen bee to lay eggs and stimulate worker bees to eat, while supplementary raising can provide the necessary material basis for the bees. Many new beekeepers are completely disorganized when feeding bees, and they feed them in a mess. However, this will not only not promote the development of bees, but may even bring many negative effects.

7. Avoid having two kings in the same box

Double-king with boxes is a relatively high-end beekeeping technology. Many novices who don't even understand the basic habits of bees also like to study double-king colonies. It seems that a good double-king colony is just like raising bees. In fact, there is no need to have a double-king colony at all, and a group of bees can reach a strong colony of more than 10 boxes after being raised. Of course, this does not mean that a double-king group cannot be established, but it is not suitable for novices.

8. Avoid white-headed pupae, which are all nest insects

Most beekeepers still think of white-headed pupae as nest worms, but white-headed pupae are not only caused by nest worms, but also by dead pupae, shaking honey or "bee pupae disease" caused by improper inspection. These diseases are manifested as follows: first, if the white-headed pupae are connected in a continuous line, it is caused by nest worms; second, if the white-headed pupae are scattered and scarce, it is caused by improper inspection; third, if the white-headed pupae are densely packed, it is caused by "bee pupae disease". Make appropriate adjustments based on the causes of the appearance of white-headed pupae.

9. Avoid closing everything

Too closed will increase the bee's fatigue, shorten the life of the bee, and cause heat damage and rotten bees. Above 22 degrees and below 35 degrees, on the premise of keeping the temperature moist, open the air windows as much as possible to ventilate the hive, but avoid cross-ventilation. Whether to open the air windows is best decided by the bees themselves. The simplest way is to see that the bees are fanning the air at the nest entrance, then it is time to open the air windows or open the box cover.

10. Avoid unsterilized feed

Feeds of unknown origin must be disinfected before feeding bees. Most beekeepers boil sugar and pour it into pollen, stir and ferment it overnight before feeding it to bees. This is extremely unscientific and unscientific. Pollen may contain potential "bacteria" that can cause rotten bees or "viruses" that can cause cysts, as well as other bacteria and viruses that can cause various diseases, so disinfection must be done well.

7. What is the biggest taboo in beekeeping?

The biggest taboo in beekeeping is not to divide the hives in time, so that the bees will naturally split into groups and run away. Another taboo is that someone uses pesticides in the beekeeping area and causes poisoning.

8. What are the best time and taboos for beekeeping?

March, April and May are ideal months to start beekeeping for most of us. Setting up a hive early in the year is best as it gives the bees enough time to accumulate the resources they need to survive the winter.

At the same time, there are taboos in beekeeping.

1. Avoid adding spleen randomly 2. Avoid blind greed 3. Avoid taking all the honey 4. Avoid opening the box frequently 5. Avoid taking medicine at will

6. Avoid feeding at will 7. Avoid keeping two queens in the same box 8. Avoid white-headed pupae as they are all nest worms 9. Avoid sealing everything 10. Avoid unsterilized feed

9. What are the top ten taboos in beekeeping?

1. Being greedy for combs: This is a common mistake made by novices and even some veterans. They blindly add combs and foundations to the bee colony, resulting in more combs than bees.

2. Like to form a colony: Some beekeepers always like to form a colony and will divide the colony when they see there are 4-5 combs in the box.

3. Random use of pesticides for bee diseases: Good beekeepers rarely encounter bee diseases throughout the year. Once a disease occurs, targeted pesticides will be applied and it will be quickly suppressed.

4. White-headed pupae are nest insects: Whenever I see white-headed pupae mentioned in almost all forums, almost all the commenters say that they are caused by nest insects.

5. Trusting in multiple worm transfers: Queen rearing is an important part of beekeeping. In order to achieve the required number and replace the queen in time, experienced beekeepers will adopt the method of queen rearing by transferring worms.

6. Two kings in the same group: In the actual beekeeping operation, except for a very small number of beekeeping players who like to play "two kings in the same group", those who really make beekeeping a business never play this meaningless game.

7. Feeding Chinese bees with random substitute feeds: Chinese bees and Italian bees are both bees, but there are obvious differences in their temperaments and preferences.

8. The more closed, the better: beekeepers have different opinions on this issue, and no one should disagree. According to my experience, ventilation is better.

9. Unsterilized feed: Feed from unknown sources must be sterilized before feeding bees. Most beekeepers boil sugar and pour it into pollen, stir and ferment it overnight before feeding it to bees. This is extremely unscientific and unscientific.

10. Shake out all the honey: Most beekeepers shake the honey as soon as they see it, and they can shake out a whole box of honey combs in one go.