How Are Bees Kept? A Detailed Guide to Methods and Techniques

Bees are something we are relatively familiar with, but many friends still get quite panicked when they encounter them in daily life. For beekeepers, bees are irreplaceable. So how are bees kept? Let's take a look together!

1. How Are Bees Kept

Choose a suitable bee colony and select a hive according to the bee species. Transfer the bees into the hive and let them adapt to the new environment. During the honey-gathering period, appropriate artificial feeding should be carried out, and during the spring and autumn breeding periods, reward feeding should be given; during the autumn breeding period, help the bees overwinter successfully.

2. Points to Note When Choosing a Bee Species

1. Determine your own beekeeping region

Different regions keep different bee species, mainly because of differences among bee species in cold tolerance, reproduction, honey gathering, royal jelly production and so on. Generally speaking, in North China it is best to use black bee species, which have strong cold tolerance, but their heat tolerance is poorer than that of the Chinese bee (Apis cerana) suited to growth and keeping in South China (subtropical). For example, in many areas of South China, Chinese bees are kept. In other plains and shallow mountainous areas rich in nectar sources, Italian bees (Apis mellifera ligustica) are suitable for keeping. By choosing the appropriate bee species according to your own region, you can give full play to the excellent traits of each bee species.

2. The number of bee colonies to buy for the first time

As mentioned above, first determine your beekeeping region, and then decide the number of bee colonies to buy according to your own needs. If you are a beginner, it is best not to buy more than 10 colonies, with 5-10 colonies being ideal. This way you can advance or retreat, exploring and learning step by step. Once your beekeeping skills are mature, it will not be too late to buy more or breed a large number of colonies yourself, so as to avoid uncontrollable losses.