Bees are insects that are mostly reared for honey. However they also have other functions such as wax pollinating crop flowers as well as other medical functions in the body. In livestock farming bee keeping is a good venture to take on since it brings in larger incomes to farmers in Uganda.
REQUIREMENTS
Bee hive
In order to start a bee farm, a strong and durable beehive is necessary to house the bees and also keeping the safe from predators and harsh weather. The commonest bee hives in Uganda include langstroth hive, top bar hive, the traditional log hive.
All in all, the best bee hive should be easy to maintain, have a simple design of the top covers and supers (the frame that are usually removed to collect honey), have ample space between broad chambers and supers, removable frames for easy hive inspection and a hive stand. For these reasons therefore the langstroth is the most preferred for commercial purposes.
Suit
The suit should include a head veil to offer you maximum protection from bee stings.be careful when putting on the bee suit.
It should always be worn over on top of a pair of gumboots, if you tuck in the suit into your gumboots bees will sting you .When you harvest honey you will need a clean honey extractor and sieve.
Gloves
These are also needed especially the ones that are leather but they should be flexible to use. Bee wax is also necessary for the colony to occupy.
Smoker
Look for a smoker that burns for longer periods, preserves fuel and has a nozzle that will perfectly guide the smoke accurately.
Others
An uncapping fork is effective for removing comb caps without damaging the comb. During hive inspection, a bee brush with soft thistles is of great help to clear bees from the comb without making them aggressive.
LOCATION
Once you have all the materials the next step is to construct an apiary (a place where bees are kept; a collection of beehives). Look for a place that is less disturbed far from noise or human activities. This place should be well drained .Avoid fields frequently sprayed with chemical pesticides to reduce bee poisoning and honey contamination thus if a must use a bee friendly pesticide.
The apiary should also be close to water and nectar sources. Set the hives under trees or away from direct sunlight, flooded places or areas with strong winds. If your site is exposed, erect a small shade above the hives. Have enough space of about 1.2 to 5m to give you a working area. Where space is limited pair up the hives.
Place all the hives at a height that you will find comfortable to work. If placed on wooden stands or wire suspensions paint the stands and wires using used oil to drive away crawling ants. If resources allow, fence your apiary to protect it from vandals and predators like honey badgers, humans and monkeys.
Plants for the bees
The nearby plants should be producing high quality nectar. Bees love wild flowers, berries, flowering herbs and a variety of flowering fruits and vegetables. You can plant agricultural crops yielding abundant nectar such as ; sunflower, coffee, legumes, trees, bananas, lavender, strawberries, cucumbers, tomato, pumpkins, and flowering broccoli.
Fruit tress also make perfect forage materials with trees such as acacia producing good nectar for sweet honey.
EXTRACTING WAX FROM A HIVE
Most of the people keep bees for honey. On a good note there is another product got from bees called wax. Wax is used as a coating for hand tools such as hoes to prevent rust, preparing cheese, coating nails and screws, shoe polish, candles and furniture polish and also a remedy for dry hair.it is usually whitish and is mostly used to build combs for their nests.
These are the methods readily available for extracting bees wax from combs
The Solar Wax Extractor Method
The machine contains a glass or a clear plastic lidded box with a sheet of metal. It uses the suns heat to melt the wax.
Requirements: Clean new empty combs, suns heat, bar soap, solar wax extractor and mold. The method requires that you position the solar wax regular during the day such that it faces the sun. Also tilt it so that the glass is at a right angle with the sun’s rays. Place clean new empty pieces of the combs on the metal sheet. Then spread soap on the inside of the molds for the ease of max removal. Place the mold at end of the metal slope to collect the melting wax. Bend the edges of the metal sheet to funnel wax into the mold. Place the screen of wire mesh at the end of the funnel to prevent pieces of comb and debris from slipping into the mold.
Steam Wax Extractor Method
This consists of the two connected tanks one inside the other. This method uses steam from hot boiling water to melt honey combs.
Requirements: Empty combs, water, source of heat, molds and bar soups.
Fill the extractor with clean empty combs. Spread soap on the inside of the molds for ease of wax removal. Boil the water to produce steam which melts the combs. The molten wax flows into the molds. Allow it to cool for 6 to 12 hours. Remove the wax cake from the molds.
Squeezing Method
This is among the commonest methods of extracting wax from the hive
Requirements: Empty combs, water, pan, cotton straining bag, two wooden rods, soap, source of heat, wooden stirrer and mold.
Soften the honey combs by soaking in warm water to have pollen and remains of honey dissolve in the water to wash out unwanted materials like grass sand and dead bees other than breaking up the combs into small pieces and placing them in a pan.
You can also add clean water just above the level of the combs and then heat the pan gently and keep Stirling all the time. Smear the soap lather into the mold and pour the fully molten wax with water into the cotton straining bag and then tie it tightly.
Squeeze the bag between two pieces of wood. Ensure all the wax is squeezes out of the bag into the mold. Allow the mold with the mixture of hot water and wax to cool while covered .Remove the wax cake and scrape off any impurities on the underside.
Immersion Method
Requirements: Empty combs, sisal sack, large saucepan, large basin or pan, water, piece of rope or metal and mold.
This method also requires that you clean the combs as in the squeezing method before filling the sisal sack with the clean combs and tightly tying with a rope. Place the sack in the large basin or pan. Fill the pan with water to cover the sack and place the timber in the pan to protect the bag from touching the bottom.
Immerse the sack full of combs in the water to sit on the timber. Place a heavy stone or metal to keep the sack pressed on the timber .Place a heavy stone or metal to keep the sack pressed on the timber. Gently bring the water to boil completely melt the combs. Release the sack containing waste material from the drum. Remove the source of heat and cover the mixture to cool for 24 to 36 hours. Gather the wax from the cool water. Further purify the max by re melting using double boiler pour the molten wax through a clean and dry straining cloth to a mold container of your choice.
Key Points
Never heat beeswax on direct flame heat it in a container of water to melting point
Use soft clean water .hard water contains lime which makes the wax to foam when they react.
Suitable materials for working beeswax are stainless steel, or plastic
Prepare combs of the same type together to maintain the grade of the combs
To obtain the purest bees wax allow the water wax mixture to cool down as slowly as possible.
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