When managing multiple beehives, it is advisable for a bee farmer to paint each hive in different colors to prevent bee drifting. Bee drifting occurs when bees unintentionally enter other hives because they are unable to distinguish their own hive from others of the same color. In cases of bee drifting, bees from foreign hives are often eliminated by the resident bees, as they are considered intruders.
Harvesting Process
During the honey harvesting process, it is recommended that the farmer perform the following steps:
- Harvesting at night: The farmer should wear a bee suit and carry essential tools such as a bee brush, hive tool, and smoker.
- Using a smoker: Inside the apiary, the farmer employs the smoker to calm the bees. This device emits smoke that helps to pacify the bees and make them less aggressive.
- Opening the hive: Utilizing the hive tool, the farmer gently breaks open the hive, ensuring minimal disturbance to the bees.
- Brushing off bees: After opening the hive, the farmer sprays the smoker directly inside to further subdue the bees. Then, they use a bee brush to carefully remove the bees from the frames.
- Identifying honey-filled cells: The frames containing fully capped honey, which is ready for harvesting, can be recognized by their white coating.
To continue the honey extraction process, the farmer employs an uncapping fork tool to open up the honey cells. This facilitates the flow of honey from the cells during extraction. The honey extractor is then used to remove honey from the combs. Subsequently, the extracted honey undergoes filtration using a double-sieve honey strainer to eliminate debris, wax, and impurities, resulting in honey that is ready for consumption.
