It's vital to know other beekeepers and grow the skill's bank for beekeeping in SA and the world!
The Bees are on!
What happens now with bees?
The bee season is about to go LIVE in Southern Africa! [southern hemisphere apiaries] What does this mean for your bees?
Everything is More!
The queen bee would be kicking up her laying capacity from about 200 - 400 eggs a day to upwards of 1500 eggs a day while pollen and nectar flows! Spring is in the air and it means bees are too!
The worker bees that are foraging will begin to do so about 21 days after they emerge from their cells. The foraging workforce don't just collect nectar and pollen but they are also responsible for collecting water & resin - to create propolis.
Worker bees have been recorded visiting onion flowers, for example, from 08h15 - 16h30 during the day with a peak activity between 11h00-12h00! This finding could vary between locations but makes for interesting observation. Not all food sources experience the same length of foraging activity during the day.
In summary, bees will spend different lengths of time visiting different flowers. They will also have a preference for the placement of the flowers on the plant/tree as well as even the elevation level of such flowers. For example, foragers will focus on flowers in the middle of the branches of apple trees versus those higher up or lower down.
The distance bees travel will also differ from month to month with winter distances being as low as 670m for large colonies and only 620m for small colonies. During spring months however the average distance for smaller colonies is 1430m and 2850m for larger colonies with the foraging range being between 45m and 5983m.
All of these factors determine the honey production. It is vital to plan your apiary placement with relation to where the food sources are when the bee season is on and there is honey to be made. It is also important to ensure bee colonies are not placed inside a crop but on the outskirts as the minimal "no-foraging" zone is 45m.
Well worth all of the effort to get the delicious golden honey!
Advanced Beekeeping Course
There will be an Advanced Beekeeping Course held in Midrand on the 26th September. {We will also consider running one on the 19th if we have 3 or more people registering}
The Advanced Bee course focuses on a beekeeper looking to grow their passion/interest into a small-scale operation for up to 100 hives.
To find out more, visit the website!!
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