INDEX

S.NO CONTENTS
1. INTRODUCTION TO BEEKEEPING
2. WHO CAN DO BEEKEEPING?
3. BEEKEEPING IN INDIA AND ITS BENEFITS
4. BEEKEEPING EQUIPMENTS
5. MIGRATORY BEEKEEPING -THE PROBLEMS
6. SEASONAL MANAGEMENT IN BEEKEEPING
7. SAFETY MEASURES DURING BEEKEEPING
8. NATURE OF WORK
9. IMPORTANCE OF HONEY BEES
10. HONEY BEE SPECIES OF ECONOMIC IMPORTANCE

11. CASTES OF BEES

12. ESTABLISHMENT OF A BEEHIVE

13. CONCLUSIONS

14. BIBILIOGRAPHY
 INTRODUCTION TO
BEEKEEPING
 Beekeeping, or apiculture, is the scientific practice of maintaining
and managing bee colonies, primarily for the production of honey,
beeswax, royal jelly, and other beneficial hive products. Beyond its
economic importance, beekeeping plays a crucial role in ecological
conservation by facilitating pollination, which enhances agricultural
productivity and biodiversity. Honeybees (Apis species) are among
the most efficient pollinators

 This investigatory project aims to explore the fundamentals of

beekeeping, including hive management, bee species selection, the
role of worker bees, drones, and the queen in colony organization,
as well as the environmental factors that influence bee health.
Additionally, it seeks to highlight the scientific principles behind
honey production, pollen collection, and the significance of bees in
maintaining ecological balance.

 Beekeeping is not only a traditional practice but also a growing field

in sustainable agriculture. With increasing awareness of the
environmental and economic benefits of bees, scientific
advancements in apiculture are making it more efficient and
accessible. This study aims to provide a comprehensive
understanding of the significance of beekeeping and encourage its
adoption as a profitable and environmentally friendly practice.
 WHO CAN DO
BEEKEEPING?
Anyone who has undergone education and training in rearing and
management of beekeeping can do beekeeping. Beekeeping can be a good
source of income for anyone, including farmers, house –makers, retired
persons, unemployed persons, girls, women, differently-abled persons
and even students. There are three types of beekeeper:
1. Commercial beekeepers: People who are doing beekeeping for
production and sale of honey on a commercial scale.
2. Sideliner: People who are doing beekeeping as a side business.
3. Hobbyists: People who have taken up beekeeping as a hobby.
BEEKEEPING IN INDIA AND
ITS BENEFITS
Traditional beekeeping in India was mainly forest based as mostly the
tribal farmers were involved in it. The farmers have been keeping Indian
bee, as it is a good pollinator and accustomed to the Indian climatic
conditions. The Sunderban forests in West Bengal are rich in Rock bee
and the organic honey from these forests is in great demand. The exotic
bee, popularly known as Western bee, was successfully introduced from
Europe during 1960’s in foothills of Himachal Pradesh and agricultural
plains of Punjab. It has become popular among commercial beekeeper
because of its higher honey yield. It spreads gradually to Himachal
Pradesh, Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, West Bengal, Kerala, Karnataka and
Maharashtra.
BENEFITS OF BEEKEEPING:
Beekeeping is the secondary source of income. Because of the following
reasons you may adopt it:
(i) Production of bee hive products: Honey bees are the sole
source of honey and beeswax. The bee hive products namely
honey, pollen or bee bread, royal jelly, bee propolis, bee
venom and beeswax can be produced by bee keeper after
 adoption of beekeeping for generation of income and self-
employment among rural masses of the country.

(ii) Apitherapy for cure of diseases: Bee hive products are used
as medicinal agent. These materials such as honey, royal jelly,
propolis and bee venom can cure more than 50 human
diseases. Few are mentioned below –

A. Honey: The honey consists of antimicrobial substances.

It is useful for respiratory infection and is beneficial
against heart diseases. It is also a rapid source of energy.

B. Royal Jelly: This bee hive product is anti- tumorous,

antimicrobial and most nutritious substance, secreted by
the young worker bees for feeding of queen and queen
larva. It is used for the treatment of high blood pressure,
arthritis and joint pain.
 C. Propolis: It is beneficial for the treatment of skin diseases as
antimicrobial agent, skin burns, joint pain, throat and dental diseases.

A. Bee venom: This is the poison that makes bee stings painful. Bee
venom is used to make medicine for curing muscular diseases,
arthritis and gout

(iii) Generation of income and self-employment as natural agro based

cottage industry:
The potential of generation of income per colony per year is about
Rs. 3000 – 4000 annually through honey production and
multiplication of bee colony. Only two trained man power is
required for management of apiary of hundred bee colonies.
BEEKEEPING EQUIPMENTS
 To start beekeeping, you would need the basic components of
beehive, a source of bees, protective clothing, hive tools and other
equipments for handling the bees and honey. An early procurement
of equipments should be done so that they are ready to use when the
bees arrive. Always purchase bee equipments from reliable source.
Use of standardized equipment will make it easier to interchange
hive parts, frames etc. between hives as needed. After gaining
experience, you can save money by making your own beehives or
renovating used ones. However, it is important that the equipment
used should be of standardized size, otherwise you may face
problems in using them. As a beekeeper you should get the latest
equipment free from any defects and diseases to make sure that
honey produced is the best in every way. You should also maintain
your equipments well to reduce the overload cost on repair and
replacements
 Besides the hives, you will need other equipment and tools like the
hive stand, nucleus box and smoker to run your business smoothly.
You will also need various equipments and machinery for handling
and processing of honey, beeswax, for manufacture of comb
foundation sheets, and for other operations. Few are described as
below:
1) Hive stand: A four legged wooden, metal pipe or angle iron,
rectangular support to the hive. It helps to protect the bottom board
from rot and cold transfer.
2) Smoker: The smoker is used to protect beekeepers from bee stings
and to control the bees. Smoke is the beekeeper’s third line of
defense. You may use “smoker”– a device designed to generate
smoke from the incomplete combustion of various fuels to calm
down the bees. Smoke initiates a feeding response in anticipation of
possible hive abandonment due to fire. Some beekeeping supplying
sources also sell commercial fuels like pulped paper and compressed
cotton, or even aerosol cans of smoke. Some beekeepers are using
“liquid smoke” as a safer, more convenient alternative.

3) Protective Clothing: To protect beekeeper’s eyes and nose from

stings at the time of work near the apiary, proper cloths are required.
As novice beekeepers you should always wear gloves and a hooded
suit or hat and veil. The face and neck are the most important areas
to protect, hence you should wear atleast a veil. Defensive bees are
attracted to the breath, and a sting on the face can lead to much more
pain and swelling than a sting elsewhere, while a sting on a bare hand
can usually be quickly removed by fingernail scrape to reduce the
amount of venom injected. The protective clothing is generally light
coloured and of a smooth material.
This provides the maximum differentiation from the colony’s natural
predators. ‘Stings’ retained in clothing fabric continue to pump out
an alarm pheromone that attracts aggressive action and further
stinging attacks. Washing suits regularly and rinsing gloved hands
in vinegar minimizes attraction. The important clothing and
accessories are as follows:
(i) Bee veil: It is a cap made of cloth and wire or fabric net.
It is worn over face for protection against stings. It should
be made up of black nylon netting screen (12-mesh).
Veils should be made to fit snugly around the hat and to
fit tightly to the shoulder leaving enough space between
veil and face.

(ii) Overalls: Also known a bee suit, is a protecting garment

worn loosely over the clothes so that the bees cannot get
under the clothes. Light coloured cotton materials are
preferable since they are cooler and create less risk for
 antagonizing bees. It should be worn bee-tight so that the
bees are not able to enter from the sleeves.

(iii) Gloves: Bee gloves are made of tightly-knit cloth (or)

soft leather. They cover the fore arms. The gloves are
useful for the beginners to develop confidence in
handling bees. But handlings of frames will be
cumbersome if gloves are worn.

(iv) High boots: A pair of gum boots will protect the ankles
and prevent bees from climbing up under trousers.
MIGRATORY BEEKEEPING
-THE PROBLEMS
 Although migratory beekeeping has bright prospects, you may face
several problems too. Few are mentioned below:
 Because of lack of awareness in the farming fraternity about the
utility of honey bees in increasing crop yields through bee
pollination, many farmers do not allow or hesitate to allow the
beekeepers to site their migratory apiaries in or around their fields.

 Oilseed crops such as Brassica, sunflower etc. constitute major

utility bee flora. However, because of import of cheaper vegetable
oils under WTO regime, domestic cultivation of these oilseed crops
is not remunerative now, resulting in drastic reduction in area under
these bee forage crops. Area under many other non-oilseed bee
plants is also declining. This has reduced the carrying capacity of
the localities with respect to the honey bee colony density and,
 thereby increasing competition among migrated bee yards in those
localities.
 In India, there is no agency unlike those in Israel, who would
effectively register the beekeepers and allot them the specific sites
for colony migration so as to distribute the colonies evenly in the
area and reduce the above referred competition.
 Because of decline in cultivated bee flora, the forest based
beekeeping has great scope in the country. There is an urgent need
to adopt multipurpose agro-forestry and plant avenue trees that
would, in addition to other utilities, serve as good bee flora too.
 While evolving new varieties of plants, which serve as good bee
flora, due consideration must be given to its nectar/pollen
production potential i.e. they should also be evaluated from
beekeeping point of view before their release.
 Migratory beekeeping also carries a risk of spreading potential bee
diseases and enemies from one region to the other as there is neither
any functional agency nor any concept of Apiary Health Inspectors
who would enforce domestic quarantine and monitor the health of
bee colonies. In fact, the aspect of bee pathology and domestic/
international quarantine need to be given special emphasis in the
country.
 Excessive use of pesticides in the areas of colony migration by the
farmers without any prior information to the beekeepers is another
serious concern for the migratory beekeepers.
 Unlike advanced countries, there are no specific vehicle-types and
other allied equipment required for loading and unloading of
colonies. Beekeepers also lack the honey house facilities, blowers to
dislodge the bees from the honey combs, motorized/ power driven
radial honey extractors, automatic uncapping machines etc. at the
 migration sites. In the Punjab, however, some commercial/
migratory beekeepers modify their, to be used movable honey house
at the time of honey extraction by fixing a wire mesh all around and
temporarily covering it at the top with nylon netting. Alternatively,
many beekeepers use large sized mosquito nets specially fabricated
for this purpose.
 Poor adoption of scientific management technologies such as timely
replacement of old/ exhausted queen bees, supering the colonies is
also a limiting factor in realizing the full honey potential
of migratory beekeeping. Most of the commercial beekeepers
extract the honey from single chambered colonies and even from the
brood combs which may lead to brood mortality and colony
dwindling.
 Many times, migratory beekeepers are harassed at the inter-state
borders. Since apiculture is not recognized as an agriculture activity,
octroi has to be paid by beekeepers while moving their yield back
home. The beekeepers are also harassed by octroi people while the
former are moving colonies and the required equipment to and fro
for migratory beekeeping.
SEASONAL MANAGEMENT IN
BEEKEEPING
 The climate and vegetation in different areas is different from season
to season. Hence, follow specific management tactics as follows:
Honey Flow Season Management:

• Provide more space for honey storage by giving artificial comb

foundation sheets.
• Prevent swarming.
• Prior to honey flow, use sugar syrup to stimulate the queen to start
laying in the spring
• Divide strong colonies into 2-3 new colonies, if colony
multiplication is required.
• Artificial queen grafting technique may be followed to produce new
queens for new colonies. By following this technique, queens can
be produced throughout the year. In normal case queen cells are
constructed only in honey flow season
Summer Management:
• To reduce the effect of high temp in summer the colonies are kept
under shade of trees or shade provided with sheds.
• Place gunny bags on all sides of beehive except entrance and
sprinkle water twice a day.
• Increase ventilation by introducing a splinter between brood and
super chamber.
• Provide sugar syrup and pollen supplement.
• A source of fresh water within a short distance of an apiary is
essential. Water is required to blend with the food and to lower the
temperature of the hives during hot weather.

Winter Management:
• Strong colonies perform well in winter as more bees produce heat.
• All cracks crevices and holes should be closed.
• The direction of hives should be in such a way to avoid winds
entering.
• Artificial diet should be given to maintain strong and disease free
colonies.
 • Provide new queen to the hives.
• Winter packing in cooler areas.

Rainy Season/Monsoon Management:

• A regular examination of the colony immediately after rains.
• Clean the hive to reduce undue water contents inside the hive.
• While raining when bees are confined to the hive, feed them with
sugar syrup.
 SAFETY MEASURES
DURING BEEKEEPING

It is good to remember that ‘prevention is better than cure’. If you

follow this rule you will be able to avoid most of the hazards that may
threaten your valuable life and of others too.
(i) Protect yourself from Sting of Bee: As a beginner, you should
always wear the overall, bee gloves and rubber boots to protect
yourself from the stings of the bees. You should always use a
smoker before opening a beehive. Smoke has a calming effect
on bees and a light puff of smoke at the entrance hole calms the
bees and makes inspecting easier. A bee stings when you visit a
hive during the warm period of the day and disturb them without
smoke. Don’t make any noise when bees are busy. Standing in
the flight path and wearing dark clothes attract bees. Do not
crush a bee near a hive as the juice from the bee’s body will
attract other bees and you may be attacked by them. The sting of
bees could be fatal. Avoid using after shave lotion and perfumes
when working with bees. Wash your clothes regularly to
eliminate the smell. Consult your doctor before you start
beekeeping for allergy to bee stings, if any. In case you are stung
by a bee, remove the sting immediately by scraping or plucking
the sting, as any delay will increase the quantity of venom
injected.
(ii) Avoid burns: You should be careful while using smoke as any
negligence in handling may cause burn injury to you. Extinguish
the smoker carefully after you finish the work. Always keep a
handy first aid kit while working with smoker.

(iii) Use tools carefully: Learn to use the tools as per instructions, as
it will help you in avoiding cuts and bruises while using them.

(iv) Avoid too much exposure to heat: Take necessary precautions

while working on hotter part of the day to avoid heat stroke. Do
 not expose yourself continuously to the direct sunlight for long
hours. Take breaks to avoid heat cramps, heat exhaustion or heat
stroke.

(v) Avoid stress: Beehives are heavy; therefore, you should be

careful while lifting them. Do not stress yourself too much while
doing lifting and bending work. Use correct postures such as
bending your knees when lifting.
 NATURE OF WORK
Beekeeping is a labour intensive process and therefore, generates lot of
employment opportunities for people. Most of the work in beekeeping
including processing of honey is manual hence emphasis is given on
hands-on training.
As a beekeeper, you have to perform the following major activities:
 Decide on the bee species to be kept.
 Prepare a business plan for beekeeping.
 Arrange all the resources required for setting up an apiary and order
supplies such as equipment, raw materials, etc.
 Plan the activities to be undertaken and estimate operating costs.
 Supervise various activities for beekeeping and make sure that the
temperature, ventilation and other conditions are proper for honey
bees.
 Build and maintain equipment and facilities to ensure health
standards and high quality of bee products.
 Seek advice of experts.
 Observe and record the amount of produce, expenditure, sale, etc.
 Adjust practices to increase production and decrease expenditure.
 Manage the business. As a beekeeper, you may earn Rs 20,000 to
Rs 60,000 per month depending upon the size of the apiary.
Therefore, proper training on all these and other aspects of
beekeeping is necessary before you start beekeeping.
IMPORTANCE OF HONEY BEES
 Honey bees visit flowers of plants and collect nectar and pollen from
them. Nectar is collected by bees from the nectaries, which are the
glands, located within the flower or on other portions of the plant
(extra- floral nectarines). Bees sometimes collect ‘honey dew’, a
sugary secretion of certain insects which feed on plant sap. Honey
produced from honey dew is dark, strong tasting and of inferior
quality.

 Pollen, which is the male reproductive cell bodies produced by

anthers of flowers, is collected and used by honey bees as their
source of protein. In this process bees serve as agents, who bring the
male (pollen) and female (stigma) parts of flower together, thus
promoting the fertilization in plants, which is known as pollination.
Bee place the nectar and pollen in the cells (small hexagonal
divisions) of the honey comb made of wax, ripen it to turn it into
honey and seal it for storage and future use as food. Bees use honey
as the main source of energy food.
 Honey bees are the primary source of pollination for approximately
one-fourth of all crops produced all over the world. Examples of
fruit crops that rely on honey bees are almonds, apples, apricots,
avocados, blackberries, blueberries, cantaloupes, cherries,
cranberries, pears, raspberries, strawberries and watermelons.
 HONEY BEE SPECIES OF
ECONOMIC IMPORTANCE
Honey bees belong to Phylum- Arthropod, Class- Hexapoda / Insecta,
Order- Hymenoptera and Family- Apidae. There are five species of honey
bees which are of great economic importance
 Apis dorsata (Giant / Rock honey bee)

 Apis florea (Little/ Dwarf honey bee)

 Apis cerana (Indian/Asian / Eastern honey bee)

 o Apis mellifera (Italian/ European honey bee)

o Trigona iridipennis (Stingless bee/ Dammer bee)

The first three species are indigenous, while the fourth species A.
mellifera was introduced in India in 1962 from European country. A.
dorsata and A. florea are wild bees as they construct nest in open and
cannot be domesticated in wooden hives. Trigona sp. is wild but is rear in
peculiar bee hive. Whereas A. cerana and A. mellifera are hive/
domesticated bees as they can be hived inside the wooden hives.
 CASTE OF BEES
We all are social beings. We live in society and work for society. Similar
are the bees, a social insect. Like us, each individual in the bee colony
has to work for the welfare of others and the colony which we termed as
‘division of labour’. A bee colony consists of different types or ‘castes’
of individuals, who cooperate in collecting food, taking care of young
ones and production of honey. A normal bee colony has
 1 Queen bee
 2000- 70000 Workers
 0-500 Drones.

Worker bees:
 The workers are sterile females which developed from fertilized
eggs.
 Workers are smaller than the drones and have yellowish and dark
brown abdominal stripes.
 The workers are the main group in a colony, with 60,000 –70,000
in an Apis mellifera colony and 25,000 –30,000 in an Apis cerana
colony.
 They have specialized structures, such as hypo pharyngeal glands,
scent glands, wax glands, and pollen baskets, which allow them to
perform all the labors of the hive.
 All the work in a honeybee colony is performed by the worker
bees, including honey and pollen collection, brood rearing,
building combs, feeding the drones and queen, cleaning the hive,
and defending the colony.
 The specific activities are defined by the age of the bee, with tasks
inside the hive for the first 3 weeks after emergence (comb
building, brood care, hive cleaning, thermoregulation, queen care,
honey ripening) and then outside (foragers and scouts). Under
special circumstances, workers can perform any kind of task
irrespective of age as per the need of the colony.
 When the colony is active in spring and summer, worker bee may
live as long as 5- 6 weeks. During inactive period in winter a
worker bee lives five months or more.
Queen bee:
 Each colony has a single queen bee irrespective of the colony size.
 The queen bee is larger than the worker and drone bees, has a black
and shiny cylindrical and longer body, and a round and
comparatively small head.
 She is the only perfectly developed female and is the mother of the
colony.
 Her primary function is reproduction. She produces both fertilized
and unfertilized eggs. During peak production, queens may lay up
to 2000-2500 eggs per day. One queen may produce up to 250,000
eggs per year and possibly more than a 10, 00000 in her lifetime.
 The second major function of a queen is secreting pheromone
known as queen substance, required for the stability of the colony
including inhibition of ovaries of worker bees.
 The average productive life span of queen is 2 to 3 year.
Drone:
 Drones (male bees) are the largest bees in the colony and are
blackish and hairy.
 They develop from unfertilized eggs and complete their life cycle
in 24 days.
 They lead a life of leisure, doing no work while being fed by the
workers.
 Their sole purpose is to mate with a new queen and also useful to
reduce the temperature of the colony by wing beating. They die
after mating, or are expelled from the hive as winter approaches.
 ESTABLISHMENT OF A
BEEHIVE?
A new beehive may be established by following ways:
• Capturing a swarm of bees.
• Purchase a packaged bee colony.
• Using of nucleus.
Capturing a Swarm of Bees:
To establish a bee colony, bees can be obtained by transferring a wild
nesting colony to a hive or attract a passing swarm of bees to occupy it.
Collecting honey bee swarms in the spring is an excellent way to replace
winter losses, strengthen weak colonies, or start new ones. Swarms
normally cluster on a tree limb shrub, fence post, or on the side of a
building. Swarms near the ground are relatively easy to capture. When
possible, remove the swarm gently, disturbing the cluster as little as
possible, and put it directly into a hive or enclosed container to transport
it to a new hive or location
Purchase a Packaged Bee Colony:
The easiest and the best way to start beekeeping is by purchasing a
packaged bee colony from an established beekeeper or a reputed supplier.
A package consists of about 3000- 4000 bees. It has a cage with a young
mated queen and two or three worker bees to care for her. The cage
contains sugar candy as a food source. A cage containing sugar syrup is
positioned in the middle of the package for feeding the bees during
transportation. The package bees may not produce a honey crop in the first
year. The bees will have to be fed until the start of the nectar flow.

Using Nucleus:
A nucleus, popularly known as “nuc”, is a hive of bees comprising two to
five frames of comb instead of the standard 10 frame in a standard hive
and smaller in size. A nucleus usually consists of brood, honey and pollen,
a laying queen, and each frame has adult bees. Get them inspected for any
disease or pest by an expert. If the nucleus colony is strong then there is a
possibility of getting a honey crop in the first year itself.
 CONCLUSION
 Beekeeping is more than just honey production; it is a vital
agricultural practice that supports biodiversity, enhances crop
pollination, and contributes to environmental sustainability.
Through this investigatory project, we have explored the essential
aspects of beekeeping, including hive management, the behavior of
bees, and the significant role they play in maintaining ecological
balance. Our findings demonstrate that responsible beekeeping can
not only yield economic benefits but also protect and sustain bee
populations, which are currently threatened by habitat loss, climate
change, and pesticides.
 The success of this project underscores the importance of education
and awareness in promoting sustainable beekeeping practices.
Furthermore, this study highlights the need for conservation efforts
to protect pollinators, as their decline could have severe
consequences for food security and natural ecosystems.
 Moving forward, future research can explore the impact of climate
change on bee populations, the effectiveness of organic beekeeping
methods, and ways to enhance honey quality through advanced hive
management. With the growing global concern over pollinator
decline, promoting responsible beekeeping can be a step toward
environmental conservation and agricultural sustainability.
 Ultimately, this project serves as a reminder that small-scale
initiatives like beekeeping can create a significant positive impact
on both nature and society. By fostering a deeper understanding of
bees and their importance, we can contribute to a more sustainable
and thriving environment for future generations.
 BIBILIOGRAPHY
Books
1) NCERT Class 12 CBSE book
2) Winston, Mark L. The Biology of the Honey Bee. Harvard University
Press, 1991.
3) Seeley, Thomas D. Honeybee Democracy. Princeton University
Press, 2010.
4) Sammataro, Diana, and Avitabile, Alphonse. The Beekeeper’s
Handbook. Cornell University Press, 2011.

Research Papers & Journals

1) VanEngelsdorp, Dennis, and Meixner, Marina D. “A Historical

Review of Managed Honey Bee Populations in Europe and the
United States.” Journal of Invertebrate Pathology, vol. 103, 2010,
pp. S80-S95.
Websites
1) Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) –
Beekeeping and Sustainable Agriculture (www.fao.org)
2) National Bee Board of India – Beekeeping Practices and Guidelines
(www.nbb.gov.in)
3) Apiculture Resources, Indian Council of Agricultural Research
(ICAR) – Beekeeping in India (www.icar.org.in)
4) The Honeybee Conservancy – Bee Conservation and Pollination
(www.thehoneybeeconservancy.org)