Honeybee Varieties Used for Bee Keeping

The scienitifc name of honey bee is Apis indica. In India, both indigenous and exotic varieties of honeybees are used for the commercial production of honey.

Indigenous Varieties of Honeybees

  • Apis cerana indica F. (Indian bee).
  • Apis dorsata F. (Rock bee).
  • Apis florae F. (Little bee).

Exotic Varieties of Honeybees

  • Apis mellifera (European or Italian bee).
  • Apis adamsoni (South African bee).

Why is Italian bee variety preferred for commercial production?

Italian bee is preferred as it:

  • Provides a higher yield of honey.
  • Have a good honey collection capacity.
  • It has self-defense ability.
  • Stings lesser than that of the local variety bees.
  • Has a longer breeding period.
  • It has a prolific queen with less swarming.

Apiculture or BeeKeeping

Beekeeping, also known as apiculture, is vital in enhancing food resources and agricultural ecosystems worldwide. Food is the basic requirement for all living organisms to grow and function. As bees pollinate a wide variety of crops, they contribute to the production of fruits, vegetables, and nuts. By maintaining colonies of honeybees, beekeepers produce honey, beeswax, and other hive products.

Through the careful management of bee colonies and the promotion of sustainable beekeeping practices, beekeepers play a role in supporting biodiversity and enhancing ecosystem services. In this article, you can find the beekeeping class 9 notes, products obtained from apiculture, and more.

Table of Content

  • Apiculture or Beekeeping
  • Products Obtained from Apiculture or Beekeeping
  • Honeybee Varieties Used for Bee Keeping
  • Colony and Castes of Honeybee
  • Diseases and Enemies of Honeybee
  • Importance of Beekeeping
  • Working at Beehive
  • Conclusion – Bee Keeping
  • FAQs on Bee Keeping

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Apiculture or Beekeeping

The word ‘apiculture’ comes from the Latin word ‘apis’ meaning bee. Beekeeping or apiculture is the rearing, care, and management of honeybee for acquiring honey, wax, and other substances. Beekeeping has been practiced for centuries and is integral to agriculture, horticulture, and ecological conservation. By managing bee colonies, beekeepers not only harvest valuable products like honey but also play a crucial role in pollinating crops, thereby improving agricultural yields and food security. Beekeeping is a low-investment enterprise....

Products Obtained from Apiculture or Beekeeping

Apiculture or beekeeping give us many useful products such as honey, wax, propolis, royal jelly and bee venom....

Honeybee Varieties Used for Bee Keeping

The scienitifc name of honey bee is Apis indica. In India, both indigenous and exotic varieties of honeybees are used for the commercial production of honey....

Colony and Castes of Honeybee

The bee is a social insect. The nest of the honeybee is termed the beehive. Honeybees provide a good example of teamwork and division of labor. A colony of Italian bee usually has a single queen, 40,000 to 100, 000 workers, and a few hundred drones. A caste is defined as the collection of individuals within the colony that are morphologically different from individuals in other castes and perform specific tasks. Based on the roles, there are following three kinds of castes in the colony of bees:...

Diseases and Enemies of Honeybee

Honeybees are commonly infected by viruses, bacteria, fungi, and protozoa:...

Importance of Beekeeping

Some of the importance of beekeeping are:...

Working at Beehive

There are 10,000 to 60,000 bees in a colony. But all of them do not play a role in collecting nectar. The queen bee and female bees lay thousands of eggs. All larvae of bees are fed on special proteinaceous food, called royal jelly or bee milk, which is secreted by the hypopharyngeal glands of the young workers. And the duration that they fed will decide their role as a worker or queen. The drone bees are male, and they only take part in fertilizing the eggs laid by the queen, and the worker bees do the real work of collecting nectar....

Conclusion – Bee Keeping

Beekeeping is an important practice that benefits both the environment and humans as a whole. Individuals who keep bees can help to replenish the declining bee population, contribute to increased biodiversity, and enjoy the many products that bees produce, such as honey and beeswax. Beekeeping plays a crucial role in improving food resources by helping in the pollination of crops, increasing crop yields, and enhancing biodiversity. By supporting bee populations through sustainable beekeeping practices, ensure a more secure and sustainable food supply for future generations....

FAQs on Bee Keeping

What do you mean by Beekeeping?...